Hi gang,
Chris French here from Modern Midwest Entertainment. I've recently began thinking about artist management. I've begun to think about it, not only because I'm taking a class in it, but because I'm also going to have to start dealing with managers on a consistent basis. You see, I am currently involved in a project, along with several other folks, to buy a small entertainment venue. I have realized, recently, that there is a LOT more to artist management than just standing around and saying, "I'm with the band." I've been looking at this from the manager's prospective, but now, since I'm going to be the booking agent for my venue, I have to look at it from the venue's prospective.
Knowing that an artist manager basically handles every aspect of that artist, from music, to promotions, to negotiation of shows, and so on, I have come to realize that I have to think in terms of my own venue's attributes and expectations when booking in an act. Most managers, when accepting a booking, will invariably include a rider on the contract with the demands of the artist themselves. One thing I have to make sure, when I book a show, is that I can fulfill the contract riders. If I can't reasonably fulfill the rider of the contract, then I can't feasibly book the show.
A lot of what goes into booking an act at the venue level is going to be negotiation. The manager and I will hash things out as to what we need in terms of both the venue and the artist. Most artist managers handle pretty much all aspects of the negotiation themselves, but there are exceptions. For example, Bill Silva Entertainment (the company that manages Christina Perri of Jar of Hearts fame), has a director of ticketing/artist relations that is in charge of the concert promotion, as opposed to the manager themselves.
According to the Bill Silva Entertainment website, Reba Alexander serves in this capacity. Her job description is as follows:
As Director of Ticketing for Bill Silva Presents and Andy & Bill Concerts, Reba oversees all aspects of ticketing from show build to settlement, acting as a promoter liaison to the venue for artist representatives which include managers, agents, touring personnel, additional promoters, marketing, record labels, fan clubs, subscription programs, etc. She also manages relationships for the company with Ticketmaster, local box offices, production, operations, security and parking and additionally handles all incoming industry and VIP requests.
For Bill Silva Management, Reba communicates ticket requirements to local promoters and venues for our touring clients from the artist/management perspective.
As the venue owner, and booker, I would be dealing with Ms Alexander if I were to want to have Christina Perri or any other BSE managed artists at my venue. I am still considering managing artists myself, so, in those instances it would not take much to get artists into the venue. It's a lot easier negotiating with yourself than anyone else (though folks might think you've gone wacko).
Well gang, I hope I've shed a little light on things today! Keep your chin up and keep guarding with that left!
SEE YA!
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Sunday, November 13, 2011
The Fine Art of Negotiation.
Hello gang,
Chris French here from Modern Midwest Entertainment. Recently, I had the opportunity to have a phone chat with Jason Dilyard, founder of Hillsdale, Michigan's Dily Promotions. Since the beginning of 2008, "Dily", as he's known to everyone that knows of him, has been involved in over 50 different negotiation sessions with artists from comedians to rock bands to country bands. During the course of our discussion, we talked about different issues in doing negotiations.
I started off the interview by discussing the issue of people. More specifically, we talked about how he separates people from the problem, or basically, how the human factor doesn't affect his negotiations. "You have to work with people you don't know. That way, personal interest, such as working with friends, isn't there. It allows me to be more objective in what I want and how I'm going to get it."
Most of the time, a negotiation is conducted to garner a mutually beneficial result for both parties. When I asked Dily about this, he stated that his role in negotiations has been a little bit different. "Most of the deals I've done, I've been the middleman. I gotta make the clubs happy, I gotta make the acts happy. I have to make sure the venue's gonna make money by getting people into the place, and I gotta make sure the band gets a good price from the venue."
When a negotiator can show affiliation to the other party, such as an Oscar winning actor, a Golden Globe winning producer or director, it lends credibility to that person as an expert in their field. I asked Dily his thoughts on affiliation, "It goes to benefit because everyone knows that you bring more to the table. You have to keep all of your newspaper clippings and stuff so people can see what you've done. Bands that you've booked, venues you've gotten bands into. Name recognition is a lot to this business."
Getting into the heart of the negotiation, leverage and power are two key elements that each negotiator hopes to curry in their direction during the negotiation. "Try to keep it on your side," Dily commented, "It helps make it so much easier when you're able to have that leverage and power. You're able to get what you want. It helps make a profit and get things done when you get what you want from someone."
Sometimes in a negotiation, one party may try to "pull the wool" over somebody's eyes. I asked Dily how he deals with dirty tricks from a venue or a band when he's in a negotiation. "If it comes to a lost venue, you have to suck it up and take it. Sometimes you just have to deal with it and move on. That's when you have to realize that they're not the only venue or band out there and you have plenty of other opportunity."
Often times in a negotiation, the first deal is not readily accepted. That's when you have to turn to The Best Alternative To the Negotiated Agreement (BATNA*), "I try to concede to a middle ground so that each side leaves somewhat happy."
I would like to thank Jason "Dily" Dilyard for speaking with Me about negotiations. I hope you've learned a little something today!
*na-na na-na na-na na-na nah. . .BAT-NA!!! Sorry, I couldn't resist!
Chris French here from Modern Midwest Entertainment. Recently, I had the opportunity to have a phone chat with Jason Dilyard, founder of Hillsdale, Michigan's Dily Promotions. Since the beginning of 2008, "Dily", as he's known to everyone that knows of him, has been involved in over 50 different negotiation sessions with artists from comedians to rock bands to country bands. During the course of our discussion, we talked about different issues in doing negotiations.
I started off the interview by discussing the issue of people. More specifically, we talked about how he separates people from the problem, or basically, how the human factor doesn't affect his negotiations. "You have to work with people you don't know. That way, personal interest, such as working with friends, isn't there. It allows me to be more objective in what I want and how I'm going to get it."
Most of the time, a negotiation is conducted to garner a mutually beneficial result for both parties. When I asked Dily about this, he stated that his role in negotiations has been a little bit different. "Most of the deals I've done, I've been the middleman. I gotta make the clubs happy, I gotta make the acts happy. I have to make sure the venue's gonna make money by getting people into the place, and I gotta make sure the band gets a good price from the venue."
When a negotiator can show affiliation to the other party, such as an Oscar winning actor, a Golden Globe winning producer or director, it lends credibility to that person as an expert in their field. I asked Dily his thoughts on affiliation, "It goes to benefit because everyone knows that you bring more to the table. You have to keep all of your newspaper clippings and stuff so people can see what you've done. Bands that you've booked, venues you've gotten bands into. Name recognition is a lot to this business."
Getting into the heart of the negotiation, leverage and power are two key elements that each negotiator hopes to curry in their direction during the negotiation. "Try to keep it on your side," Dily commented, "It helps make it so much easier when you're able to have that leverage and power. You're able to get what you want. It helps make a profit and get things done when you get what you want from someone."
Sometimes in a negotiation, one party may try to "pull the wool" over somebody's eyes. I asked Dily how he deals with dirty tricks from a venue or a band when he's in a negotiation. "If it comes to a lost venue, you have to suck it up and take it. Sometimes you just have to deal with it and move on. That's when you have to realize that they're not the only venue or band out there and you have plenty of other opportunity."
Often times in a negotiation, the first deal is not readily accepted. That's when you have to turn to The Best Alternative To the Negotiated Agreement (BATNA*), "I try to concede to a middle ground so that each side leaves somewhat happy."
I would like to thank Jason "Dily" Dilyard for speaking with Me about negotiations. I hope you've learned a little something today!
*na-na na-na na-na na-na nah. . .BAT-NA!!! Sorry, I couldn't resist!
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