What is the role of a Talent Buyer? |
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They are concert promoters for large & small venues, national/international, fairs & festivals, colleges, casinos, clubs, performing arts centers (PAC’s), private dates. |
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What are Talent Buyers responsible for? |
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They assume liability in Performance and Rental agreements, secure licenses/permits, financially responsible if show canceled. |
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How do Talent Buyers come up with the ticket prices? |
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Basically an educated guess. Research: similar acts, venue, Pollstar pro. Discussed first between Mgr, Bus. Mgr, Agent & Act. Then, Agreement between Promoter/Act. |
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What are some of the things that affect the ticket prices? |
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Artist fee, other acts on the bill besides headliner, economic factors, scalping, market history, pricing for similar acts, online ticketing, production elaboration, type of venue and seating capacity of venue, identifying/estimating expenses, developing a sales scenario spreadsheet, determine Gross Potential. |
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Who are the primary ticket vendors? |
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Artists, venues, promoters, Ticketmaster, Tickets.com, Vertical Alliance, New Era/Paciolan |
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Who are the secondary ticket vendors? |
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ticket brokers, eBay, StubHub,TicketsNow, RazorGator, TicketExchange |
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What are the settlement items at the end of a concert? |
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sales figures, expenses reviewed, hall fees, venue rental and services fee, merchandise fees, settlement sheet, artist fees |
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Who are the professionals involved in artist tour? |
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Entertainment Attorney Artist Manager Booking Agent Business Manager Touring Manager Production Manager |
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What are the key functions of an Entertainment Attorney when involved in artist tour? |
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read, draft, and evaluate all contractual agreements between artist and manager, booking agency, record label, music publisher, and concert promoters |
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What are the key functions of an Artist Manager when involved in artist tour? |
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hires tour manager, production manager, business manager, and many other members of touring staff |
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What are the key functions of a Booking Agent when involved in artist tour? |
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loosely routes a tour based on parameters set forth by management and assumptions as to where the act can or should play. |
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What are the key functions of a Business Manager when involved in artist tour? |
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is in charge of the tour budgets |
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What are the key functions of a Touring Manager when involved in artist tour? |
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manage day to day needs of artist and entourage, coordinate transportation and lodging, represent artist at settlement. coordinate any publicity activities, including telephone interviews, radio on-air promotions, retail in-store appearances, media interviews, and all meet ‘n’ greet events. responsible for ticket requests from artists and media |
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What are the key functions of a Production Manager when involved in artist tour? |
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responsible for all technical aspects of the tour. contract with vendors for production equipment including lighting, instruments, sound systems, and staging. hire technicians to operate and maintain the gear |
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What are the production elements involved in the design of a tour? |
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Stage Set Venues Containers & Transportation Stage Set Construction Lighting Video Special Effects Sound |
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Who are the people involved in the production staff? |
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Assistants Site Coordinators Stage manager Production Technicians Carpentry, steel, and lighting crews Rigging crew Back-line techs Audio Specialists (Audio Techs) Video Crew Instrument techs. |
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What are the basic terms of Performance Agreements? |
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Venue Date Fee Structure Written Agreement Offer Form Riders Legally binding contract is an offer, consideration, and acceptance |
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What are the two main types of merchandise? |
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Tour Merchandise, and Retail Merchandise |
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Define Tour Merchandising |
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Merchandise sold at concert venues, for prices you would never pay anywhere else so, you can prove you were there. |
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Define Retail Merchandising |
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Merchandise (without tour names or dates) that is sold everywhere except at the concerts; like retail stores, internet, mail order, through fan clubs, etc… OR All the non-concert ways of selling merchandise – retail stores (poster shops, walmart, gucci, etc.), mail order, internet, fan clubs, etc… |
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Name, image and likeness is licensed to a merchandising company. |
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Who is responsible for manufacturing the tour merchandise? |
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The merchandise company is responsible for manufacturing the goods domestically and/or overseas. |
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What are artists’ merchandise royalties based on? |
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-Retail sales: 15%-20% of the wholesale price for top-line retailers, depending on bargaining power -Mail-order sales: 25% of the retail prices -Internet sales: Are treated just like retail sales |
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What deductions are made before royalties are paid from artists’ merchandise royalties? |
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The merchandisers percentage of the license income, usually 15%-25% |
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Value-added tax or VAT (It’s something we don’t have in the United States, but it’s common in other countries) is a tax on goods at each stage of creation, based on the “value added” at that point |
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What are typical artist royalties on tour merchandise sold in the USA and Canada? |
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The range of royalties is generally 30-40% of gross sales (though recently, Canada has been running 3% or so less than the U.S.) |
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How do the rates vary for foreign tours? |
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These royalties run somewhere around 80% of the U.S. rate, but if your U.S. royalty isn’t that high, you can try for the same foreign royalty. However, you’re probably going to end up around 80% |
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What are the different splits (between the artist and the merchandiser) for foreign tour merchandise? |
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The usual split is somewhere between 75/25 and 85/15 (Merchandiser takes the gross selling price, deducts the cost of the goods, etc., and divides up what’s left) |
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What are the royalty rates on merchandise for tours at stadiums? |
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the artist usually gets around 80-85% of profits |
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What are the royalty rates on merchandise for tours at festivals? |
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It’s about 70-75% because people want “event” t-shirts, as opposed to t-shirts of the specific performers |
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What are typical advances for merchandise? |
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Broad range is anywhere from nothing to $10,000 or $20,000 for a baby act, to several million for a superstar. Size of the royalty advance is based on a projection of your gross sales times your royalty rate |
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What kind of conditions do merchandisers want to include in artist contracts if they pay advances? |
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Perform for a minimum number of people, and at a minimum number of shows and/or cities (performance minimum) Tour should start within a reasonable period after signing. |
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Is tour merchandise returnable? |
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Yes, and sometimes bears interest |
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What are the normal terms for tour merchandise deals? |
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It is for most; one album cycle, or until the advance is recouped, whichever is longer |
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What things can trigger merchandise advance repayment? |
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– The tour doesn’t start on time. – You’re disabled or otherwise unable to perform all or part of the tour. Based on the same theory as the tour not starting on time, and protects them from the possibility that you might not tour for years, after which the public has forgotten you exist. – You don’t meet a performance minimum. This means you agreed to play before a certain number of people and fell short |
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How do merchandisers measure sales? |
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Calculated in terms of per-head sales, meaning the average money spent by every head that attends the concert |
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Do attendees with comp tickets factor into the per-head sales? |
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No – The only people who count are those who paid to see your show. The theory is that people who get freebies are lousy merchandise buyers, so they’re excluded from the count |
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What kinds of adjustments are made for stadium and festivals? |
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Lower per-head rates due to multiple acts Event items factor into the mix |
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What kinds of adjustments are made for foreign tours? |
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Negotiate fraction or pro-rata deduction per-head Negotiate specific attendance figures. |
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Are tour merchandise deals exclusive or non-exclusive? |
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exclusive – the merchandiser doesn’t want anyone else selling stuff with your name or smiling face on it. |
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What kinds of restrictions will the merchandiser ask for in the contract? |
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Usual restrictions say you can’t sell your merchandise within two miles of a concert site, within 48hrs prior to the show |
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Understand the sell-off rights of merchandise |
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At the end of the term, the merchandiser wants the right to sell off any remaining merchandise, usually for a period of six months. They should have no right to manufacture, only to sell whatever is on hand. The merchandiser will ask for the right to sell it through wholesale (meaning retail) outlets, and you get royalties for these sales.
Other things to ask for:
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Before they can sell anything after the term, you should have the right to buy the remaining merchandise at their cost, plus some percentage (usually 5% to 15% for the cost). Never take the obligation to repurchase because if they can’t sell it, neither will you. Always take the option, if you’re successful, your next merchandiser may want it, or you may want to sell it online. If you buy your inventory, the merchandiser would have no sell-off rights. Their sell-off right must be totally non-exclusive, so that doesn’t interfere with your making a deal with a new merchandiser. The Merchandiser can’t stockpile goods. Meaning it can’t manufacture a ton of goods right before the end, so that it has a lot of leftovers to sell. The merchandiser can’t do distress sales, meaning they can’t sell your goods at low prices just to get rid of them also known as dumping. At the end of the sell-off period, they should again offer you the remaining merchandise at their cost plus 5% to 15%. If you decide not to buy it, they should have to destroy it, or else donate it to charity. |
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How are bootleggers dealt with? |
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Merchandisers will ask you to pay part of the money to chase the pirates, but if you have some clout, they’ll front it and charge it back to you, either out of any money recovered from the bootlegger and/or from your other royalties |
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Do retail merchandisers sublicense, and if so what fees do they keep? |
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Yes – They are only apparel manufacturers, and they sublicense these smaller rights (meaning they re-license the rights to someone else). Merchandisers keep a percentage of the license income, ranging generally from 15% to 25% |
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What are retail merchandise royalty rates? |
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15% to 25% of the wholesale price for top-line retailers, depending on bargaining power |
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What are retail merchandise royalty rates for mid-level stores? |
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You’ll get 75% (JCPenny, and etc). |
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What are retail merchandise royalty rates for mass market stores? |
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You’ll get 50% (Kmart, Walmart, Target) |
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What are retail merchandise royalty rates for internet stores? |
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The sells from these are treated just like retail sales. You get the normal royalty rate set out in retail sales and mail-order sales. Some sites also make deals directly with the artist, so they can present that artist’s “experience” online. In that case, they pay you an additional royalty (usually around 10% of retail) for these sales. This means you get paid twice: once by the merchandiser & again by the online retailer |
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What about foreign retail royalty rates? |
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They are roughly 80% of the U.S. rates |
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What about mail order retail royalty rates? |
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25% of the retail price. This is higher because the merchandiser, is the actual retailer selling directly to the public, and there is no distributor taking a profit in the middle |
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What kind of approval rights will artists try to ask for in retail merchandise deals? |
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-Approval of the merchandise items. -Approval of your likeness. -Approval of the designs and layout. -Approval of sublicenses. -Restrictions on sell-off rights. -Right to purchase merchandise at the end. |
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What is included in a Certificate of Insurance for a Live Event? |
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Proof that the act is being secured for a concert and the venue where the concert is to take place and that the buyer has purchased the appropriate insurance. Details the type of insurance purchased and level of coverage, as well as the amount of the premium. |
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What kinds of companies offer ‘Certificate of Insurance’? |
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an insurance broker specializing in entertainment |
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What happens if the insurance policy is not purchased and in place before the event? |
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artists will refuse to perform without the insurance, venues will refuse to admit the act into the venue without it. |
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What can happen at a live event that ‘Certificate of Insurance’ would cover for? |
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need to cover all liability claims– injuries, death, artist cancellation, weather, property damage. If someone is injured.. they will likely hire a personal injury attorney and they will “shotgun” sue. |
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Who gets sued if something happens at a live event? |
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Everyone – “The Shotgun approach” All parties involved in the event get sued if something happens because someone will ultimately pay up/settle! Venue management company security company Concert promoter the band concessions company even the soft drink manufacturer |
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What type of coverage is included in the live event insurance policy? |
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General Liability Policy also called Spectator Liability insurance. Event Cancellation Policy Artist Non Appearance Option Weather Insurance Pyrotechnic Insurance |
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What’s the difference between an insurance company, an insurance agent and an insurance broker? |
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Insurance Companies help consumer manage their risk and create value by pooling and redistribution various types of risk. Insurance Agents help provide their clients with professional advice on which types of insurance to buy, what limits to buy, obtain quotes, and provide them with their options. Insurance Brokers have several carriers to choose from, shop for the best coverage and price, work with entertainment specialized carriers, and must review agreements before they are signed to see what the insurance covers. |
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They help consumer manage their risk and create value by pooling and redistribution various types of risk. |
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They help provide their clients with professional advice on which types of insurance to buy, what limits to buy, obtain quotes, and provide them with their options. |
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They have several carriers to choose from, shop for the best coverage and price, work with entertainment specialized carriers, and must review agreements before they are signed to see what the insurance. |
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What are the agreements included in live events that have an effect on the insurance coverage? |
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performance agreements and venue rental agreements. |
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What factors affect the cost of live event insurance policies? |
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History of insurance claims Total number of attendees Location of the show Genre of music Actuarial Tables |
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Why can classical musicians make records faster than pop acts? |
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Because they don’t generally compose the material they record, and because their recordings are in essence “live performances,” they can make records much faster than others. Also, since the compositions already exist, the recordings can be planned very far in advance |
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How much does it cost to record an orchestra? |
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What are the classical royalty rates for each participant? |
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A typical deal is in the range of 7.5% to 10% |
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Are classical deals all-in? |
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No – which means you aren’t responsible for a producer,and thus you keep all the royalties (though you often have to share them) |
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What kinds of advances are paid on classical deals? |
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Advances are typically in the range of $5,000 to $10,000 per album. If an artists has “marquee value,” the advance is generally from $15,000 to $50,000 |
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What is different about mechanical royalties on classical albums? |
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No mechanical royalties are paid for the music because much of classical music is in the public domain. However, some of the compositions may be more recent, or even contemporary, and the record company has to pay mechanicals to the publishers of these works. When a company has to pay mechanical royalties, there is often a reduction of your royalty |
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What are some types of marketing tie-ins for classical tours? |
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Due to the limited market for classical recordings, the companies look for alternative ways to market their albums. Ex: public television special, perform a concert tour, pbs special, etc. |
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Know the role of a Personal Manager as it relates to an artist’s tour |
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(Waddell p.g. 12) The personal manager hires the tour manager, production manager, business manager, and many more of your touring staff. Helps with the creative decisions and handles much of the day-to-day decisions. The manager also decides when it is best for the artist to tour. (Passman p.g. 365/366) They are Chief executive officer of your professional team, the personal manager is in charge of the tour. He or she is the one who gets you onto the right tour in the first place; ensures that your agent is making the best possible deals for you, and once the tour is set up, mechanically makes it happen. Coordinates and supervises. Transportation of people and equipment. Overseeing rehearsals, hiring band members, watching the finances Hiring and ensuring smooth functioning of crews Booking hotels Collecting money on the road. Dealing with the promoters. Coordinating advertising, marketing, and radio and internet promotions, both in advance and while you are in each city. Handling day of show activities, such as interviews, meet and greets, etc. Putting out whatever fires crop up (such as missing equipment, improper advertising, dates that aren’t selling well, lapses in security, etc.). The bigger artists delegate these duties to tour managers/accountants but the personal manager is ultimately responsible for the tour. |
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What are production riders? |
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It is a comprehensive DOCUMENT – An attachment to the basic agreement that describes additional requirements the talent buyer or local concert promoter must provide in addition to payment of money; to assist the act with their technical, hospitality, security and merchandising needs. |
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What is a Technical rider? |
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Provides information regarding the physical areas, the local personnel, the electrical power, and the equipment that the act requires when they arrive at the venue. When the act is touring without sound and lights, their technical rider provides a detailed description of the sound and lighting system that the local talent buyer must provide |
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What is a Hospitality rider? |
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a lists of requests for backstage comforts which includes nourishing food |
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What is a Security rider? |
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It explains to the talent buyer, venue security director, the local security company for the show, and the local police the needs and conditions requested to protect the act, their crew, and their equipment |
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What is a Merchandising rider? |
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defines the terms and conditions that the local venue must follow in exchange for a percentage of merchandise sales |
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It is an Artist Rider Fun Fact – “On its face, a tour rider is a pretty boring document. It sets the terms of the night of the performance for the star and the venue. Things like speaker and lighting details, what security is required, how many dressing rooms and what should be in them, and meal details are the usual type of things covered in an artist’s rider. But somewhere along the way, artists began using the rider to make requests beyond these mundane details. Whether it’s socks and underwear, wanting everything in your dressing room to be the same color, or demanding a specific brand of bottled water served at a specific temperature out of specific drink ware, the tour rider is the last great hope for stars to get themselves treated like royalty.” |
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What Hall Fee commissions are paid for a hall to handle sales of merchandise? |
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The standard is 30% to 35% of the gross monies collected for the merchandise, and superstars can knock it down to about 25% or lower. |
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What about the right to repay the advance and terminate the deal? |
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You have to include this when you are negotiating during the extensions for non recoupment, so that you don’t find yourself with a perpetual merchandiser |
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What is a General Liability Policy? |
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provides coverage for losses that come as a result of personal injury and property damage. Also called Spectator Liability insurance. |
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What is an Event Cancellation Policy? |
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reimburses the promoter for the net loss caused by the event being cancelled, postponed, or rescheduled. |
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What is an Artist NonAppearance Option? |
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an addendum to the insurance policy that provides reimbursement to the promoter in the event that the act does not appear. |
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What is a Weather Insurance? |
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an insurance which has customarily been included in policies for outdoor concerts and festivals, promoters of indoor events may also purchase this policy because high winds, rain, snow, and lightning can affect the revenues of indoor shows as well. |
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What is a Pyrotechnic Insurance? |
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insurance to protect the promoter from lawsuits due to pyro related injuries or deaths. The promoter must get proof of insurance from the pyrotechnics company naming the promoter as an additional insured. |
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What are the functions of a Tour Manager? |
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manage day-to-day needs for artist and their entourage coordinates the transportation and lodging represents artist at settlement coordinates any publicity activities, including telephone interviews, radio on-air promotions, retail in-store appearances, media interviews, and all meet ‘n’ greet events responsible for ticket requests from artists and media |
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What are the functions of a Venue Operations Manager? |
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arranging the parking plan meets with production manager of tour preparation and distribution of the event resume security presence for the event from load-in to load-out, both inside and outside the building meets with security spokesperson and receives security briefing reviews event credentials scheme prepare bill for event security |
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What are the functions of a Tour Producer? |
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assists production manager fills out the show schedule has daily conference calls, meetings and podcasts each day and spends some time with various aspects of the touring crew |
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What are the functions of a Tour Caterer? |
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set-up kitchen with the equipment that they bring shop daily and locally with a local runner who takes them to organic market usually provides breakfast, lunch, and dinner base meals around dietary needs, likes/dislikes of the band provide separate meals for local crew |
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What are the functions of a Security Staff? |
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ensure safety of act/staff 24/7 instruments and equipment free from theft or vandalism provide security rider advance the show with venue security director inform t-shirt security, venue security, and local uniformed police their assignments prevent unauthorized personnel from backstage report any security incidents/detained patrons to security director |
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What are the functions of a Production Manager? |
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Responsible for each production department |
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What are the functions of a Stage Manager? |
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assist with the hands-on work for coordinating technical departments and directing local stage crew employees. The stage manager’s job is more traffic management, setting the pieces up in the correct order, and coordinating local crew with touring crew. |
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What are the functions of a Stage Carpenter? |
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assembles and maintains all stage set components that travel with the act’s show |
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What are the functions of a Rigger? |
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Tour riggers and the local riggers write symbols on the venue floor indicating the rigging points, locations on the overhead beams where equipment will be suspended. The up-riggers climb to the beams that will support the rigging points; Down-riggers remain on the venue floor and send rigging gear on the ropes to the up riggers |
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What are the functions of an Audio Team? |
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mixing – operate the mixing consoles during the tour FOH engineer – mixes the front-of-house system Monitor engineer – mixes the monitor system (sometimes referred to as mix engineers or mixers) Systems engineer – makes sure that the system is operating so that the FOH and monitor engineers can mix the show Sound techs – help set up/troubleshoot system |
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What are the functions of a Lighting Director? |
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Two “styles” of LD “white glove & Hands-on’ oversees all lighting equipment and lighting techs; some design the show and, in consultation with the production manager and act’s team, hire someone to be lighting director for the tour |
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What are the functions of the local Stage Crew? |
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local stagehands to mount the show. Can be non-union contractor specializing in live entertainment or IATSE; the stagehand Union. The local crews are the first people in the venue, starting with rolling up the simi doors to unload them. They are the last to leave, ending with shut in the last truck door and sending it off to the next city. A typical day for the crew chief and show call hands can easily be a 16 to 20 hour day. |
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Know the important factors that were a part of the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) |
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The momentous economic upheaval took a heavy toll on music products sales. Consumers facing uncertain employment and soaring college debt levels.
Global Music Products industry is $17.2 billion $7.0 billion in the USA (40.60%). $22.05 per capita. Two emerging issues affecting the industry are: Growth in the sales of used product, and Economic woes of the under-30 demographic (the most important customers to this industry) < 30 greatly affected by the GFC, Only 47% of the 18-29 group holds jobs, 13% unemployment vs. 6.8% national rate, and College debt up 275% since 2003 |
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Is the Music Products industry discretionary or non-discretionary income? |
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Discretionary Income – People are less inclined to spend money on music products, meaning, deferrable products since the music products industry has always been susceptible to economic downdrafts |
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What is the impact technology has had on the Music Products industry? |
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In much the same way digital advances transformed the camera market and the iPod upended the way we consume recorded music, new technology is dramatically altering the music products landscape. |
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What parts of the Music Products industry has technology influenced the most? |
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The tonal quality and expressiveness of a high-end keyboard synthesizer are now available in software versions for a fraction of the price It provides new and more cost-effective ways to achieve the same result A growing number of guitarists are foregoing an amplifier in favor of an interface that connects their instrument directly to a computer or tablet The portability and headphone access of electronic drumsets are unquestionably attracting customers who would previously have bought a traditional drum kit Unfortunately, this wrenching technological change has created winners and losers Among the bigger losers have been the specialized network of MI retailers. Technology has depressed selling prices and reduced sales volumes. However, it has benefited the buying public, delivering better product value. Consider that for well under $2,000 an aspiring musician can assemble a high-powered recording studio in his/her bedroom History shows that these types of changes, while momentarily disrupting, eventually lead to robust growth by getting more people involved in the music making process. |
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What are many guitarists today using instead of an amplifier? |
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an interface that connects their instrument directly to a computer or tablet |
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How much does it cost to have a powerful home studio? |
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What is the size of the USA Music Products retail market? |
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$7.03 billion in retail sales |
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Were sales of USA Music Products up or down in 2014? |
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Up 3.3% from 2013 to 2014 |
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How many USA retailers are there? |
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6,000 music product retailers |
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How many publicly held music products companies are there in the USA? |
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Only 15 publicly held companies |
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Who are the top ten global manufacturers? |
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Yamaha Corp. – $3.7 billion (19.7K) Sennheiser Electronic – $792 million (2.3K) Roland Corporation – $735 million (2.8K) Fender Musical Inst. – $707 million (2.9K) Harman Professional – $631 million (1.9K) Kawai Musical Inst. – $554 million (2.8K) Gibson Brands Corp.- $477 million (2.5K) Shure Inc. – $452 million (2.3K) Steinway Musical Inst. – $382 million (1.7K) KHS Ltd. – $310 million (3.8K) |
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What is the USA population? |
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319 million people in 2014 (+0.77% from 2013) Ages 0-14: 62MM-19% of the total pop. (51% male, 49% female) Ages 15-64: 211MM-66% of the total pop. (105.2MM males and 105.71MM females) Ages 65 & Over: 46MM-14% of the total pop. (44% male, 56% female) Median Age: 37.6 |
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What is the USA GDP value? |
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Which part of the GDP is larger in the USA? Agriculture, service or industry? |
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Service: 79.4% Industry: 19.5% Agriculture: 1.1% |
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What is the value of the USA import? |
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$2.4 trillion (14.13% of GDP) |
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What is the value of the USA export? |
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$1.6 trillion (9.78% of GDP) |
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Who are the leading export partners for the USA? |
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Canada, Japan, Mexico, Germany, Netherlands, Hong Kong, U.K., South Korea. |
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Who are the leading import partners for the USA? |
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China, Mexico, Indonesia, Japan, Germany, Taiwan, Thailand, Malaysia. |
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What are the top five music products industry segments? |
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1. Fretted Instruments (Includes: acoustic and electric guitars, basses, ukuleles, amplifiers, and strings and guitar related effects) 2. Sound Reinforcement (speaker enclosures, mixers, power amps, microphones, and cables) 3. Wind Instruments 4. General Accessories (Includes: cases, stands, tuners, metronomes, straps, reeds, mouthpieces, care kits, harmonicas, replacement parts, and various other small goods) 5. Microphones |
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Which music product industry segments are up, and which are down? |
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1. Fretted Instruments – Up, 2. Sound Reinforcements – Up, 3. Wind instruments – Up, 4. General Accessories – Up, 5. Microphones – Up, 6. Print Music – Down, 7. Percussion – Down, 8. Computer Music – Down, 9. Acoustic Pianos – Up, 10. Effects – Up |
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Who are the top five USA music products retailers? |
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1. Guitar Center – $2.2 billion 2. Sam Ash Music – $415 million 3. Sweetwater Sound – $300 million 4. American Music Supply – $197 million 5. Full Compass – $133 million |
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Big retailers (and small) music products retailers |
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Variety of available products -New and used instruments -Lessons -Repairs -Countless accessories and other products Challenged by “big box” operations |
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Combo Store music products retailers |
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Narrower in scope Stock: -Drums, guitars, audio and lighting equipment -All accessories -Recording equipment (especially home studio gear) Drop in prices |
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School Music music products retailers. |
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Band and orchestra instruments and equipment Instruments acquired by -Schools -Families Purchase or rent-to-own Three levels of quality and price -Student, step-up, and professional School’s own background and percussion instruments Servicing schools |
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Specialty Shops music products retailers. |
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High-end professional instruments Often run by single entrepreneur-musician Mini “meccas” In-person tactile experience may outweigh the convenience of online buying |
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Consumer Audio Equipment music products retailers. |
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Three levels of audio equipment -Professional -Semi-professional -Home use Electronic retailing giants compete with specialists At high end, specialized sound companies offer “industrial strength” gear used in professional setting |
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Keyboards music products retailers. |
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Offer full line of vertical and grand acoustic pianos Rent-to-own Standardization of MIDI -Interface easy + inexpensive -Multi-track layers of sound Electric organs |
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Print Music products retailers. |
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Full line stores Institutional print dealers -J.W. Pepper -Stanton’s Sheet Music -SheetMusicPlus.com Profit margins Challenge -Promoting titles |
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How are music products promoted? |
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Investment by stores along with manufacturers Cooperative ad POS items Displays at professional educators’ meetings Manufacturers + retailers = instrument loaner programs Direct contact with customers valuable to retailer Seek the business of professionals, where feasible |
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What are some of the music trade magazines? |
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Music Inc. (Maher Publications, who also publishes Downbeat magazine) Music Trades MMR (Timeless Communications who also publish JAZZed, Choral Director, and SB magazines) Music & Sound Retailer Drum Business |
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What are some of the major music products trade shows? |
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Winter NAMM (Anaheim) – 3rd week of January Summer NAMM (Nashville) – 3rd week of July Musikmesse (Frankfurt, Germany) – March or April Midem (Cannes, France) – early February Music China (Shanghai) – middle of October Expomusic (Sao Paulo, Brazil) – 3rd week of August Music Russia (Moscow) – September |
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What are some of the major music products associations? |
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NAMM (International Music Products Assn.) NASMD (National Association of School Music Dealers) NPM (National Piano Manufacturers) GAMA (Guitar and Accessories Marketing Association) PMC (Percussion Marketing Council) RPMDA (Retail Print Music Dealers Assn) |
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What is going on in the Canada music products markets. |
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Part of NAFTA with the USA and Mexico GDP grew 2.3% in 2014 Primary exporter of raw materials and resources Canada affected greatly by the USA (75% of exports) & global markets Labor force of 19.2 million people Revenue $738 million (#5 globally) Outlook is “cautious” |
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What is going on in the China music products markets. |
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World’s 2nd largest economy Industry sales – $2.03 billion (+7.58%) Export sales – $1.71 billion (+3.05%) Import sales – $318MM (+8.84%) Chinese Economy – Half that of the USA with comparable land mass 171 cities with population over 1 million China GDP grew 7.7% in 2014 By 2020, middle class to be 45% or 700 million |
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What is going on in the Japan music products markets. |
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World’s 3rd largest economy 2014 Music Product sales were $2.2 billion (+9%). Domestic was +12% and exports +5%. Electronic organs +200%, upright pianos +8%, grand pianos +11%, digital pianos +16% Japan is very open for business 4th largest buyer of American products |
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What is going on in the Germany music products markets. |
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World’s 4th largest economy $1 billion music products industry 1/5 of the European Union (EU) GDP The largest European trading partner for the US Free market, but with significant social programs GDP grew 0.1% in 2014, Exports up 5.2% Wind instruments down, pianos up |
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What is going on in the Brazil music products markets. |
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World’s 7th largest economy Latin America’s biggest economy 5th largest country in the world in terms of landmass and population (200 million) One of the BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) Improvement in infrastructure due to the World Cup in 2014 and the Olympics in 2016 GDP flat |
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What is going on in the Mexico music products markets. |
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2014 GDP +2.4% Becoming a manufacturing alternative to China Presidential election of 2012 back to the PRI party, which had held power for 70 years, but out for the last 12 years USA’s 3rd largest trading partner and 2nd largest export market for USA products Most populous Spanish speaking country in the world |
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Who is the person who submits an offer or deal sheet to a promoter? |
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Agent (booking agent) – books the tour, makes the deal with the promoters, and makes the decisions with personal manager on following: Itinerary, Image, Radio promotion, Tickets sale, Pricing of tickets, and Deposits. |
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How do concert promoters promote events |
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They promote by any means necessary; primarily paid advertising. Media buying is when promoters pay for exposure time across media platforms. determined by budget, timing, and other players/partners. |
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How do concert promoters promote events according to the venue sizes? |
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-Clubs – promoter knows what works in his/her venue & market better than any outside entity, so will know how to promote appropriately (unless engaged in a “net deal” where budget is determined by an outside entity) -Theaters, ballrooms, & performing arts centers – initial marketing should be targeted toward the primary consumer, then the “information trickles down from there to more casual fans (may have heard a couple of tunes, don’t own a record)” Arenas & stadiums – target ‘super fans’ (going to come to any show no matter what) & ‘enthusiastic fans’ (knowledgeable about the music, own a record, and want to see the band live) via emails, web pages, micro Web sites, print, radio, & street campaigns. -Amphitheatres – sell tickets to 2 different audiences: a) fans more inclined to purchase reserved seats b) fans more predisposed to purchasing lawn tickets. Can use “warm weather window” as a marketing tool. -Festivals – rely heavily on web-based marketing and leverage local & national coverage; time b/t on-sale and show date for festival can be as long as 5-6 months so marketing dollars must be stretched. |
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Examples of technical riders |
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When the act is touring without sound and lights, their technical rider provides a detailed description of the sound and lighting system that the local talent buyer must provide: -location of house and monitor console in the venue. -dimensions of the stage risers (height, length, and width). -the stage plot – the diagram of instrument locations on the stage. -the input list – description of the microphone or direct input signal feeding each channel of the sound console. -the lighting plot – detailed diagram indicating the types of lighting instruments, locations, and color are needed. -the rigging plot – the diagram of all the rigging points and the maximum weight each must hold. -the request of a forklift. -the crew call – the number of local stagehands for load-in, running crew, and load-out of the show. -the runners – the local employees to run errands for the production crew. -the production office assistants -the electrical power requirements. -the list of offices needed for the production staff and etc. -the description of the parking and electricity power needed for the tour’s trucks and buses. -the requirement for washing machine and dryers backstage. -the request for a local physician to be available. |
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