Music Agents (Full Version)

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musicalgrant -> Music Agents (Nov. 26 2004 18:00:15)

Hi All

Does anyone know of any music agents in the south Devon area? Its not for me but for a friend.

Any help much appreciated.

Cheers[sm=Smiley Guitar.gif]



Jon Boyes -> RE: Music Agents (Nov. 27 2004 11:25:48)

quote:

ORIGINAL: musicalgrant

Hi All

Does anyone know of any music agents in the south Devon area? Its not for me but for a friend.


Hi Grant.

Look in Yellow Pages under Entertainment.

BTW, they are a complete waste of time (see my email).

Jon



Miguel de Maria -> RE: Music Agents (Nov. 30 2004 16:29:04)

Where I live, they are not a complete waste of time...just complete parasites! To get into certain resorts and a certain part of the work here in town, you need them, but they take a large cut. And they call you when they need you, not when you need them. Most of my work is freelance and from my own promotions.



musicalgrant -> RE: Music Agents (Nov. 30 2004 22:48:55)

Thanks all for your feedback, it seems a shame that these muso agents are such parrisites!! about time for a change I think! Why can't muso's become music agents themselves and then we could look after our fellow muso's?!

Thanks all for the feedback
Grant



Miguel de Maria -> RE: Music Agents (Nov. 30 2004 23:17:42)

Grant, most of the big music agents here in Phoenix were part of a big, antidulivian wedding band. They were musicians. They got tired of musician's hours, got sick of music, or realized the money was not in the playing, and then got into the agent business. Now they hold all the cards, take a nice piece of the action, and hire us out to the big bidders. It's a natural progression, really. This season, where things have started to happen for me, I have had many double-bookings, that is, dates where I am booked but have another gig call. What do you do in this situation? I call up my colleagues or give their numbers to the client. But another option is to book it yourself, get paid by the client, and then give the money to the musician--with a bit missing. I think this is how it gets started. After all, you can only play one gig at a time, right? Unless you are managing others.



gerundino63 -> RE: Music Agents (Dec. 1 2004 9:03:48)

Hi Miguel!

Can you give some tips what is best to do for your own promotion?

I can use some!

Greetings, Peter



Miguel de Maria -> RE: Music Agents (Dec. 1 2004 15:53:49)

I posted a pretty extensive post here about that a month or two ago...maybe you can find that?

Besides that, there is an important book that any gigging musician MUST read, called The Self Promoting Musician by Peter Spellman. Practical.



Mark2 -> RE: Music Agents (Dec. 1 2004 16:47:00)

Almost all of my gigs come from an agent. In fact, I don't think I'd gig at all otherwise. I used to hustle my own gigs, but after hooking up with a good agent almost five years ago, I've stopped. The agents get the best paying work. They are percieved as business people by fellow business people in charge of buying entertainment. My main agent gets me the odd concert as well as corporates. I have a few others who call a few times a year. I'm doing about 20 gigs a year and making more than when I was doing almost a hundred that I booked. The difference? I was booking restaurants, clubs, and private parties. The agent gets huge weddings, and big corporate events. I have a small business that I run during the day, which is my main income. I've let my agent know I'm doing very well in it, and that if I'm going to gig, it has to make sense in comparison to my day wage. He seems to have gotton the message. It also helps that my band is very unusual in our market. He also calls when he wants a cuadro, or solo guitar, two guitars, etc. Sometimes I do the gig, and sometimes I call other guys. I've worked with many agents before this guy over the years, and didn't get much from any of them. I'd say keep looking, if you find the right one, it can be well worth it.



Mark2 -> RE: Music Agents (Dec. 1 2004 17:07:40)

quote:

This season, where things have started to happen for me, I have had many double-bookings, that is, dates where I am booked but have another gig call. What do you do in this situation? I call up my colleagues or give their numbers to the client. But another option is to book it yourself, get paid by the client, and then give the money to the musician--with a bit missing. I think this is how it gets started.


I think your right. I've done it both ways-simply given the gig away and also acted as a sub-agent and made money on the deal. I've decided that I don't want to be an agent. Once I got offered a nice gig out of town by an agent. I didn't want to do it. It was very short notice, so I called a few different flamencos. I gave it to the first one who called back and commited, and while I'm on the phone with the lady, another flamenco calls to accept the gig. Says he already hired the singer..............both are friends-big mess. I ended up giving the second guy some money for his trouble, and decided I figured out why musicians hate agents. I related this to the agent, and he said "happens all the time"



Miguel de Maria -> RE: Music Agents (Dec. 1 2004 19:22:05)

Mark,
the agents get most of the high-profile gigs in this town. Our five star resort, the Phoenician, exclusively deals with them, as do most of the other big ones. When the Google guy got married, a huge event, it was through an agency. I played for a $600,000 event the other day with a quartet. Because of my youth, I get very little work through the agencies, but through hustling I am getting my own gigs. And I get more for them than the agencies pay me, although I am sure they are charging more than I do. If the musician can learn to be a professional and a businessman and speak the lingo, then he can do fine. I played 18 gigs this month and none of them were cheesy... Hopefully I can keep it up.

Esteban is probably the highest paid musician in Phoenix (although he has relocated to NY, he still returns). An art gallery owner friend tried to contract him for a short charity gig and his fee would have been $5000. And that was for a charity event! He does have an agency, but I don't think the fees he charges have anything to do with that. He has built up his reputation and fame and that's why he can charge that much for a gig.



Miguel de Maria -> RE: Music Agents (Dec. 1 2004 19:24:50)

Mark,
I sometimes play in fairly loud environments such as cocktail hour or lounges, and struggle to keep a sufficient energy level. We talked earlier about the feasibility of recording GK tracks and just playing leads, but I'm not crazy about that idea either. What I am interested in is building my vocal skeelz to get a vocal set in their, for rowdy environments. Have you experimented with this, and what kind of reaction have you seen or would you forsee? Thanks,



Miguel de Maria -> Between a rock and a soft place (Dec. 2 2004 15:08:49)

I just got called from one of those dastardly music agents... he used me for a gig last February, I did a great job, and then he never called me back. What's more, he didn't even say "hola" when we ran into each other at gigs! He was calling to basically offer me a 4 night a week "steady" at the beautiful Four Seasons resort in North Scottsdale. Four nights a week... steady income... more money than I made at my last "real job"!

Now coincidentally, on the same day that the prodigal agent called, I was going to the aforementioned Ritz Carlton, king of all hotels, to play an audition. I don't like to play for free, but I can manage a one hour audition at the nicest joint in town, which has the bonus of only being 15 minutes from my doorstep. I played there and my guitar sounded great in this quiet, classy room. I started off with Romanza, and the notes sprung beautifully from my blanca. Later was Recuerdos, and eventually, when the energy level increased, I was doing some flamenco!

So I am now in a funny situation, of having conflicting gigs about to collide at me, hoping to play one off of the other. The Four Seasons is decent money, but is a long (45 min) commute, and a 4 hour monster gig in a lounge. The Ritz is in its bistro, only 15 min. away, and as it was my contact, I can set whatever price and length I can negotiate. The last fellow who played at the Four Seasons stayed on for a year. The Ritz has no history of guitar players. Sure thing or go for the gold...?

Tonight I play for a (paid) audition at the Four Seasons. Chances are I'll be offered the gig (commitment!) the next day. I am hoping the Ritz calls soon, to give me a chance to chew on the other option. I could hardly sleep last night!



Escribano -> RE: Between a rock and a soft place (Dec. 2 2004 15:23:12)

Good luck, give 'em what they want.

quote:

Sure thing or go for the gold...?


Personally, I would go for the Ritz-Carlton, more chance of word-of-mouth recommendations from the swanky clientele. All those weddings!



Mark2 -> RE: Music Agents (Dec. 2 2004 16:43:31)

I think vocals will make a huge difference in your appeal. People relate to singing more than playing. In my group we have a few songs where we sing a bit. I think people appreciate it. I have always wished I could sing a bulerias or even a tango or alegrias well enough to perform and accompany myself on a solo gig. Next life perhaps..............



Mark2 -> RE: Between a rock and a soft place (Dec. 2 2004 16:54:58)

If you get the offer from the four seasons, stall them for a day or so. Find out how long the contract they are offering is for. Find out about things like drinks, food, parking, break times, equiptment, etc. Then call the Ritz and tell them you are considering another offer and see if they bite. Four sets is a long gig, but your chops will develop in short order. Four nights a week, four sets a night may not leave much energy for other gigs. But if your a fiend, you could always try to get the ritz on the other three nights. Might also want to find out how they feel about you sending a sub once in a while. Sounds like your going to be playing a boatload of guitar. Congrats and enjoy!



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