The Entertainment Agency And Entertainment

Posted on January 5, 2009 by CEE Worldwide Entertainment Agency

The Good, The Bad And The Indifferent (Entertainment)

Sounds like the title of a spaghetti western, and to be honest, it probably over the years has had as many casualties. So what am I talking about? The answer is bad entertainment.

I think most of us can relate to either a personal experience or the experience of a friend, to how the focal point of an event ruined it. The entertainment at an event is probably the most crucial part, if you don’t include inviting the guests, and when it goes wrong everyone notices. Just the other day I was in a conversation and was told about how a DJ failed to turn up at an event, that event being a wedding, and how despite repeated phone calls no one could contact the party involved. This basically ruined what should have been the best day of two peoples lives, a real shame as everything else had gone so smoothly. This is something not just confined to private events, it can also effect corporate ones too. Imagine planning a corporate event, your colleagues will be there, perhaps someone high up within the company is flying in from abroad, or you are trying to make a good impression on future clients and seal a deal worth a lot of money. Everything is in place, or so you think, then out of the blue….. nothing, no entertainment. Panic sets in, but in the end there is little you can do, it is too late. Of course the entertainment can arrive, but still let you down. A band in jeans and T shirts at a black tie corporate event, the wrong music, there are so many aspects that to list them all would become boring for those of you reading this.

So what is the solution you ask? The best solution is to use an entertainment agency. Allow me to explain. At one time all UK entertainment agencies had to be licensed, which is no longer the case, however all entertainment agencies are required to comply with the employment agencies act and it’s amendments. This gives you, the client, legal recourse, which you can exercise if, need be. Some entertainment agencies are members of professional bodies such as The Agents Association or the NEAC (National Entertainment Agents Council), if they are then these should be your first point of contact if you have a problem, which you cannot resolve. Both organisations have a code of conduct for members and also have a disciplinary process available. If an agency is not a member of either, and the complaint is serious enough, then you can make a complaint to the DBERR, formally the DTI, who have powers to act against and impose severe sanctions on rogue agencies.

I am sure there are people reading this who are saying to themselves, is this just a plug to get business, the answer is no. Although I run an entertainment agency, I am not saying that everyone should use our services, people should and do have a choice. I am saying make sure you use a reputable entertainment agency, of which there are many. So what can you expect from a reputable entertainment agency, the first is a high level of service, professional people to source entertainment to your needs. The second, if something goes wrong, a reputable agency will do its best to put it right. Third, legally binding contracts between the parties involved.

Now I am sure there are some people saying, I have a contract for my DJ/Band, he/they sent me one, or I always use an agency and have a contract. My question to those people is “IS IT LEGAL”? Just because you have a contract doesn’t mean that it is legal or that in a dispute it will hold up in court. Always make sure that any contract you have complies with the law. If in doubt always ask the person issuing it, or take independent legal advice. The good news is that a legal contract is everybody’s safeguard, and it will detail all the requirements, so you can rest easy knowing that everything is covered.

So in conclusion, to make your event memorable for all the right reasons:
Always use a reputable agency, to avoid the bad or the indifferent, and just enjoy the good.

Good luck with your next event.

© Paul Sims 2008

CEE Worldwide Entertainment Agency

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Entertainment Agencies – The Best way To Find And Book Entertainment

Posted on December 15, 2008 by CEE Worldwide Entertainment Agency

Most people have had or been to an event or party at which they had entertainment. How did they find it? Was it any good? The answer to the first question is they probably used their local telephone directory, the Internet or had seen the act or service personally. The answer to the second question is sometimes yes and sometimes no.

So why use an entertainment agency to find what you are looking for? Well first it takes the hit and miss out of finding what you are looking for, a good entertainment agency has access to lots of different forms of entertainment and will save you the problem of locating it. Secondly a good entertainment agency lives on its reputation, so it is in their interest to make sure that the entertainment they supply is of good quality. As the saying goes, you are only as good as your last event. Imagine you are looking for a band, you can spend ages searching the net only to find that what you want is already booked, and searching can take hours, and do you have that time to spare? If you use the phone to contact entertainers and lets say contact 10 at an average of 3 minutes a call, that is 30 minutes of calls on your telephone bill, it may not seem much but it adds up especially if the contact number is a mobile one. And if you do manage to find what you are looking for how do you know it will be any good? Contacting a reputable entertainment agency takes away all the headaches, as they will do all the work for you.

There are things to bear in mind, a reputable agency has quality acts and services which will be in high demand, so make sure you start looking at least 3 months in advance of an event, don’t leave it until the last minute. Only contact one agency, many top quality agencies work with each other to source your needs, contacting 3 or 4 of them means they are duplicating work, time which could be spent on another client. If you were that other client ask yourself how you would feel, if the agency you were using had lost time they could have been using to help you. Running an entertainment agency we often used to get enquiries from people and start looking for their requirements only to have another agency contact us looking for the same thing for the same person. Nowadays we ask if any other agency is being used and if they are we polity refuse to waste time looking for the same thing, if we are told no other agency is involved and find out otherwise then we will drop the client. Many quality agencies act likewise, so you could find yourself back at square one or using a less than reputable entertainment agency.

The next question many people ask is how much will it cost, the answer is nothing unless you cancel, then you may have to pay a cancellation fee. An entertainment agency makes its money in the form of commission from the acts it represents, in other words they pay us for finding them the work. If you cancel the agency makes no commission, which pays for its time and effort on your behalf, therefore most agencies will make a cancellation charge, after all they have staff to pay just like any business. Similarly you might also have to pay a cancellation charge to an act or service in addition to the agency charge, if you have booked them then they are unable to take on other work for the date in question.

The other question is how long will it take? This can vary, many acts and services are registered with numerous agencies and don’t always keep them informed of availability, secondly each act will charge a fee depending on the factors of the event such as getting to it, possible overnight accommodation etc, so a reputable agency will make contact with them to find if they are available and at what cost. If an act or service is on holiday or working away it may take a while for them to get back to the agency, so allow for this. If you haven’t heard anything from an agency within 3 days then give them a call and ask for an update. A good agency will always tell you if they cannot find what you are looking for or if they have been unsuccessful. If that is the case then you can try another. Remember that with an agency you will get a contract, which will state all the relevant details, and you will have a legal document to give you peace of mind.

Remember entertainment agencies live to provide clients with a service, make use of it and save your time and a possible headache.

© Paul Sims 2008

CEE Worldwide Entertainment Agency

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Information For Acts Seeking Entertainment Agency Representation

Posted on December 12, 2008 by CEE Worldwide Entertainment Agency

Welcome to the first of our guides which we hope will prove useful.

If you are reading this then you are hopefully an act seeking representation with an entertainment agency. This article is designed to offer advice and explain the Do’s and Don’ts of how to get representation.

Do’s
1. Contact the agency with whom you wish to gain representaion either by phone or e-mail.
2. Ask if the agency is interested in the type of act you are offering, some agencies deal with multiple categories of acts, some specialise.
3. Ask if they would mind if you send them your promotional details, which should include depending on the act, your biography, your date sheet with your available dates, any photographs, demo cd and or video. If you have a website make sure you supply its URL.
4. Ask if the agency would like for you to audition or invite them to watch you perform.
5. Make sure the act you are proposing has a pedegree, top agencies will rarely, if ever, take on an inexperienced act.
6. Be curtious at all times.

Don’ts.
1. Do not send an agent unsolicited promotional material, agents recieve this all the time and many will just file it in the rubbish bin. Agents receive a lot of unsolicited mail and some will treat it just like a spam e-mail. All this achieves is to waste your time and the cost of the promotional material is wasted, only send to those who actually want it.
2. Do not send an agent links to your information on facebook or similar sites, send it directly to them so that it is always available and on file.
3. Don’t pester an agent into taking you on, if they want to they will, otherwise look for an alternative.

If an agency is interested ask how you can register with them, an agent cannot promote you legally unless you are registered with them.

When you register with an agent make sure that you ask if the representation is to be exclusive, if it is you cannot go on another agents books, so be careful.

Make sure you read any documents that you fill in, in regard to an agency representing you and check whether you can cancell the representaion agreement and what notice you need to give. The average notice period is 30 days.

Make sure that the registration document gives the agent permission to market you to clients, and that you understand everything before signing it. If you do not understand something ask. If you are completing an online application read everything carefully before you submit it.

You should also make sure that you read any Terms and Conditions an agent may have as well as their Commission Policy, if it is a sperate document, before you submit anything. Again if you do not understand something ask them.

I would like to wish you every success.

© Paul Sims 2008

CEE Worldwide Entertainment Agency

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I Am Going To Be Famous – Or Perhaps Not!

Posted on December 8, 2008 by CEE Worldwide Entertainment Agency

The other day I was at a Karaoke and heard someone say that they were going to apply for one of the music reality shows, that we see too much of on TV. I don’t intend to mention the show, but instead make some truthful observations on the realities of making it big as a singer.

The comment above is one I have heard often in various places from numerous people, but the truth is most of them just don’t have the talent, and those that do rarely make it to the big time. So you sing on Karaoke and at home, your mates think you are great so do your family, so you must have something, right? .. Wrong! Just because your friends and family say you are great does not mean that you are. Too often they don’t tell you the truth. I have heard countless bad singers who think they are great because someone told them so, normally a friend or family member, when the reality is they sound like a moose gargling broken glass. Sometimes it pays to listen to your enemies.

I run an entertainment agency based in the UK and often people will ask my opinion on how they sound, and I am honest with them. I try to be diplomatic, but if they are bad then I tell them the nicest way I can. I have to admit that being honest hasn’t always gone down well with people, but if you ask a question don’t be surprised by the results. I know it seems harsh to shatter someone’s elusion but sometimes it’s for the best. If they were told the truth many would not apply for these reality shows and have to suffer the humiliation of being told how bad they are with it broadcast to millions (although it would make the auditions very boring).

I have been to show calls, these are events where agents showcase acts they represent, where some of the acts have received the following comment from me Karaoke. What do I mean by this? The truth is that they would be great Karaoke singers but certainly not good enough to entertain an audience for an evening, this remark tells me not to book them. At the end of the day it is my reputation on the line. Now it could be that they just had an off day, but would I want to risk it, the answer is no. I also get to hear lots of quality acts that I would book so it is not all bad. Many of these quality acts will never make the jump to stardom, but they can make a good living as entertainers. Some of these people are very gifted individuals who deserve the big break, but the reality is that it will never come. It is those outside the industry that think it is easy.

So what would I suggest to those reading who do have some ability? The answer is find a good agent, and if they are interested in hearing you go for an audition, and wait to see what happens. Management companies are also a good way to go as they are often looking for new talent, and if they are interested in you they will help develop you. Perhaps one day you will be the next big thing to hit music, but in the meantime you can make money doing something you are good at. The breaks may come or like many pass you by, but you will be entertaining people, they will be watching you, and there is a lot to be said for the buzz a performer feels from the audience.

As an aside to what I have already written and to make my point, I would like to share the following with you. A young lady of my acquaintance recently had an audition for one of the aforementioned reality music shows; she has a trained singing voice, and has sung with a choir at The Royal Albert Hall. She is young (21) and pretty and most importantly has talent, yet they turned her down. With some nurturing she has the ability to be a great entertainer. Stardom used to be something that was earned, nowadays it is something that is fickle and managed, it is manufactured for the mass market, and has little regard for anything except the next pay check. Cynical perhaps, but when you look at the wealth of talent out there, sometimes it makes you wonder. They are not so much like the talent shows of yesteryear that launched many careers; they are more like cattle markets herding the masses to the slaughter in the name of ratings.

© Paul Sims 2008

CEE Worldwide Entertainment Agency

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Entertainment Agencies – A License To Print Money? – Definately Not!

Posted on November 28, 2008 by CEE Worldwide Entertainment Agency

I was quite amazed when browsing the web the other day to find someone advertising an entertainment agency for sale and asking for bids on it, curious I decided to take a closer look. I also found some sites also selling entertainment agencies, this time with asking prices, and what the supposed turnover for those companies was.

I have been in the entertainment industry for over 31 years, and acting as CEO of an entertainment agency since the year 2000, and what I read astonished even myself. My aim in this article to deal primarily with the first site I mentioned although I will not reveal its name.

The person advertising the site made it appear that anyone can run a successful agency, and that you really don’t need any skill, and that you can use it to make lots of money. These are the main points of the sales pitch that I wish to comment on.

Firstly not everyone can run a successful entertainment agency, it is more than just finding a few acts to add to your books and then selling their services. To be successful requires building relationships with acts, clients and venues; it requires building trust and that can only happen with time. A successful agency needs a good variety of acts to offer, as each clients needs are different, and each event is bespoke, no two are the same. Experience is the key; knowledge of the industry a must, being able to offer advice that is competent to clients and acts is paramount. You cannot sell something about which you have little or no knowledge.

A good entertainment agent is a skilled individual, the same as an electrician or builder. The main skill is how to tell a good act or service from a bad one, how to get them to want you to represent them. An agent also needs to understand the best way to market a particular act, what events they are suitable for, which clients would be interested in them, you don’t try and market a rock band to the cabaret club on a cruise ship full of pensioners and you wouldn’t suggest a blue comedian to supply family entertainment at a holiday centre. Agents have to be skilled in separating the wheat from the chaff, they have to be good at promotion, and they have to be sales people. Trust me it is harder to sell a service than it is a product.

The third point was that it is easy money, which is a big no. Most people looking for entertainment will try many sources and often more than one agent, so you are competing with others in the industry, others with experience. Lets say that in a week a new agency gets 25 enquiries, which is an over estimate, but makes the figures easier (I am allowing an approximate 10% conversion rate from enquiry to sale). Perhaps 3 of those enquiries translate into bookings at lets say £200 per act per booking that makes a total of £600 the acts will earn, that is not the agencies money the agencies money comes via commission. Now lets say the agency charges a commission of the average 15% that equals a commission made of £90.00. Now subtract from that overheads, telephone, postage, printing, software, advertising and also time spent working on winning those 3 out of 25 enquiries, also take into account the cost spent on the enquiries that did not convert, you will probably find that after everything those 3 acts have made you a total of £50.00 after expenses. Now comes the next bit of bad news, you cannot claim any commission until after the act has done the job and been paid by the client, if one of those bookings is 6 months away then you have to wait. There is also the matter of taxation and in the UK national insurance contributions, which takes a little more from the profits.

An agent also needs to know the law in the country in which they operate, and to comply with it. But that could make god knows how many more articles in it’s own right. The other thing to bear in mind if you operate in the UK is that it is illegal to charge an act a fee for registering with you, I cannot comment on if this is the case in other countries.

To clarify what I have written, entertainment agencies are not a get rich quick scheme, the good ones are managed and run by dedicated individuals who put in long hours, people who have worked hard within the industry to build themselves up to where they are now, it did not happen overnight. There is no such thing as easy money we all work for what we get nothing comes for free. It is drive and determination and a unique skill set that separates the top agencies from the rest and to get the quality acts on your books means knowing your industry.

© Paul Sims 2008

CEE Worldwide Entertainment Agency

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