Tag Archive for Standards

CEE Worldwide Entertainment Agency | August 3, 2011
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Is Entertainment Ethical?

I have to admit this is a question I often ponder. In this article I seek to put my thoughts into words, perhaps you may or may not agree with them.

There are many within the entertainment industry that will do whatever it takes to climb the heights of success or to just get bookings. It doesn’t matter if they are a global superstar or John Doe the Singing Milkman. If I am honest for most the world of the superstar is far removed from everyday and everyday is where I wish to concentrate for the most part.

There are a lot of great ethical acts in the entertainment industry who are penalised by the unethical ones. The last few years has seen a change taking place within the entertainment industry, and the rise in popularity of shows like X Factor and Britain’s Got Talent has made everyone feel they can be a star; which is far from the reality. Whilst the numbers of those within the entertainment industry has risen, the number of venues has fallen, creating a wider disparity than originally existed. The market has become flooded and many acts are not of a suitable standard to even be in the industry, yet they remain a part of it why?

Well much of this comes down to ethics. An established act with a pedigree costs a lot more to book, also an established act is more likely to be doing things correctly and ethically which also raises costs. You are probably wondering how being ethical can increase costs and that is what we will look at.

When you book an experienced and ethical act what do you actually get for the money. Well hopefully you get an act that is honest, competent, professional, flexible and experienced, which understands their craft. For that you pay a premium to start. Then there is the ethical side to the equation, which also adds to the costs. A professional act will be insured, have safe equipment, reliable well maintained transport, pay tax, pay national insurance, perhaps dues to professional bodies as well as management and/or agents fees. They will also pay for relevant licences to carry out their profession legally. Not only does the income as an entertainer pay there wages part is also reinvested in updating to newer equipment and/or other aspects of a show. A stage magician has the cost of having new stage tricks constructed.

The unethical acts often use second hand equipment which is poorly maintained, have no insurance, have transport which is unreliable, do not pay tax or national insurance and do not work professionally.

What this means is that the unethical can offer services far cheaper than those who do work ethically. The margins on costs can run into hundreds of pounds and doing things right costs money.

Hiring an unethical act is conning yourself. Why? Well lets take just the taxation issue. Superstars go abroad to avoid taxes so why should others pay them? Here is why.

In today’s economy we all need to contribute, superstars abroad don’t put a strain on services they don’t contribute to. Taxes pay for children’s education, hospitals, and the care of the elderly, roads, policing, and a whole lot more. Those who work unethically in entertainment use those services without contributing, instead those who pay taxes pay for them. Yet venues and the public will book them. Everyone will do the occasional cash in hand off the books gig and I have no problem accepting that. It is the blatant, continued non contribution that frustrates and annoys me.

Booking unethical acts can put people at risk, and if god forbid an accident occurred who will be sued? Most likely the person who made the booking!!!

Ethical acts will also give fair and unbiased advice. They know being honest is important and will always do there best not to mis-inform or mislead. Unethical acts have no problem using any tactics to get bookings.

Few other industries would allow such lax standards or for people to get away with what many do within the entertainment industry. I for one would like to see acts have to show they are tax registered, have PLI, PAT and any other licences required before they can be booked and for it to be a criminal offence to book any act that cannot show the relevant documentation, with substantial fines, not polite warnings.

If all were held to the same basic standards with bookers just paying a premium for experience the playing fields would be a lot leveller and fairer. Of course bookers and venues play their own part in this ethical debate. They think that cheap is a good thing, some venues actively encourage acts to work “off the books” as it were so as to cut costs, so fueling the disparity and encouraging the cutting of corners. You may book cheap entertainment, but as the saying goes You Get What You Pay For. Put on a few cheap rubbish acts and it will kill trade, venues get a name for putting on bad acts so people avoid them, ultimately this can lead to a venue closing due to lack of funds, When that happens the ratio of acts to venues increases again. It is a spiral that just keeps revolving.

We all have a part to play to improve the ethical side of the entertainment industry, and we can all make a concious effort today to do so.

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©2011. Paul Sims. All Rights Reserved.

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CEE Worldwide Entertainment Agency | April 18, 2009
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Advertising Standards – What Does It Mean For You

This article is a follow up one to our previous article entitled We Are The Biggest, Best, And No1?

Everyday we are all bombarded with adverts on the TV, radio and the internet. All these adverts are governed by a code in the UK issued by the Advertising Standards Authority. This body makes sure that adverts comply with the code and if they don’t then the company either has to change it or the advert is banned.

So what impact does this have on internet based businesses and websites, most companies have them, but what do the rules mean for them. Are web sites affected? The answer is YES. You didn’t know that? Now you do. Your web site could be breaking the law.

The Advertising Standards Authority states “When a business advertises it’s products or services, it is important to make sure the advertising is not misleading.” Surely, you say, this only applies to advertising  and you would be wrong. I’ll expain things as we go along. An advertisement can be deceptive in various ways including where it:

  • Contains a false statement of fact
  • Conceals or leaves out important facts
  • Includes or implies a promise, that will not be fulfilled
  • Creates a false impression, even if everything stated may be literally true

Now I am sure anyone reading this is saying what has this got to do with my web site? The answer is that a web site is classed as advertising. Under the Control Of Misleading Advertisements Regulations 1988 the Office Of Fair Trading (OFT) can take action against companies in breach of the regulations. This includes what they put on a web site. The also have powers under The Enterprise Act 2002. There is an upside in that the OFT will not normally act unless all other avenues for remedy have been tried although these avenues are different from case to case, if no intermediate avenue exists they can act immediately.

So what does this mean for web sites and the owners. Well simply put it means any claims you make about yourselves, a product or service MUST be accurate and that you must be able to prove such.

Before taking action the OFT must be satisfied that there is an advertisement as defined in the regulations. Advertisement means any form of representation which is made in connection with a business, craft or profession in order to promote the supply or transfer of goods or services, immovable property, rights or obligations. This includes representations (i.e. Statements) made orally, in printed material, web sites, e-mails, SMS text messages or pictures, and covers advertising in just about every type of commercial activity.

Any claim made on a web site must be able to be independantly verified and you must be able to supply the documentation of such on demand. What does this mean to a web site owner, well if you claim to be the biggest, the best etc you must be able to prove it if not you are breaking the law, and could end up in court.

Let us look at a simple example, a company claims to be the fastest growing in its field. If a company has one emplyee and takes on another it has grown by 100%, however if another compay that has one employee takes on two more it has grown 200%. This however is not a great indicator of a company being the fastest growing, even though it may be technically correct it is also misleading as the turnover may be minimal. A large company of five thousand employees taking on one more is not growing as fast in percentage terms, but if their turnover increases fromm £1o0,000 to £1,000,000 then the company has grown and such an increase could make it the fastest growing company in its sector of the market. However to claim such would need independant verification from an authorotive body.

When making a claim be aware that in doing so YOU have to be able to PROVE IT idependantly otherwise you risk running foul of the law. One complaint is all it takes.

I hope this gives you pause for thought and that if you do have any claims on your we site that cannot be independantly verified you consider removing them or getting the verification. It may save you a lot of headaches in the future.

©Paul Sims
CEE Worldwide Entertainment Agency

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