Arena Managers Meeting
What It Takes To Get Shows (Other Than $$$)

Moderator: Kent Meredith, United Spirit Arena
John Branigan, William Morris Agency
Doug Clouse, AEG Live
Alex Hodges, House of Blues Concerts
Carole Kinzel, CAA
Bob Roux, Clear Channel Entertainment
David Zedeck, Evolution Talent Agency

Like a classic car, this baby had it all. Those who sat in the packed room to learn how to get more shows into their venues were not disappointed. The panel was informative and well organized.

And those who attend the panels to watch the fireworks weren’t disappointed, either. There’s always at least one CIC panel where competitors kvetch or bark at each other. In this case, as the panel wound to a close, AEG Live CEO Randy Phillips told the rest of the audience how he really felt about Clear Channel Entertainment.

William Morris agent John Branigan suggested that despite the money amphitheatres can generate, arenas have some advantages in getting shows. In arenas, there’s more control of the sponsorships, no weather, open floors versus pits only, the ability to cut down or expand (“as long as it doesn’t look makeshift”), facility add-ons and parking. And, many times, artists can make more money indoors.

He added that the venue’s marketers need to communicate with the marketing departments at the major agencies. And, he used what became a catch phrase for the panel.

“Finally, full disclosure – whether it’s unmanifested seats we find out about later on, suite issues, etc. It doesn’t help an agent or a manager or an artist to find out about those things after the fact. An understanding of the issues is very, very important.”

Doug Clouse said AEG will route a tour using several factors that have nothing to do with money.

“We’re really concerned with atmosphere,” he added. “What are they saying about you on the bus? What’s getting back to the agents and managers? Do you have a good ticketing operation? Are you processing your holds? Are you going to be ready when we show up to load in? How’s your security?

“It’s a bigger issue than you might think. If you’ve got an artist that wants a quiet backstage, honor that! Don’t run 35 concession workers down those hallways.”

House of Blues VP Alex Hodges said the artist’s history in the marketplace is key, along with the service given to the agent, manager and artist. A proven venue goes a long way in making a decision for a tour stop.

Carole Kinzel said sponsorship and signage are important.

“Anybody who’s done Radiohead dates knows this is a real hot button for them. I’ve actually gone to buildings and drawn signage, then took it back to them and showed them as a decision-making factor.”

Kinzel said catering and fan comfort could be factors. Also big is a box office ticket price that doesn’t have a surprising amount of surcharges.

“If an artist wants a $30 ticket and it turns into a $44 ticket, we try to circumvent that as much as possible,” Kinzel said. “Also, size does matter. My artists really want to sell out the venues they play. They’re really willing to sacrifice dollars in order to go to the right venue and sell it out. Sometimes, the bigger venue is not the greater selling point.”

She added that Hodges taught her 20 years ago that the squeaky wheel always gets the oil.
“I’m not saying call every day but call occasionally. Let us know what you’re doing, let us know who you are ... even if it’s just an e-mail.”

Also, don’t hold back info. If the arena has a date on hold or knows it’s going to get filled, let the agency know. And compromise is always good, especially for acts that come back year after year.

Roux said he wants some control over the “traffic direction.” In other words, he may shy away from putting
a country music artist into a venue that is stacked with dates for other country artists.

Also, the “x factor” plays a big part.

“What does the building have that’s different from other buildings? Some say, ‘We’ll kick in $10,000 on marketing,’ or, ‘We’ll buy the full-page breaking print ad’ because they have a trade deal with the basketball team. Others have a very well-run club seat ticketing program or they guarantee seats. It’s the difference between, ‘What can I do for you,’ versus, ‘Why do I have to do it?’”

Agent David Zedeck focused on service.

“I can’t tell you how many times I’ve spoken to a lot of your voice mails two, three, four, five times. If you
don’t have time to call back or you’re busy, we get it. How about having an assistant call back and say, ‘Yes, it’s available,’ or ‘No, it’s not’?

“Be there when the production manager gets there in the morning. ... When the head of security asks for a
4 o’clock meeting because he knows he needs to get it done before soundcheck so doors can open, don’t say your security guys can’t get in until 5 p.m.”

Also, be honest. Don’t say something will “work in your building” when it won’t just to get a date. It was time for questions from the audience. Phillips took the mic and said he thought the panel was going off its original course. The points made were valid for markets that have competitive venues. However, he thought the panel was supposed to be about creating more shows.

“I think Bob Roux is one of the best promoters in the country but I do hate his company,” Phillips said.
“I think they’re an abomination on this industry. You can’t kid yourselves. Their business model is based on artists playing amphitheatres.”

In other words, AEG Live will bring more traffic into arenas than CCE. To Phillips, “more shows” meant 50 arena dates versus 30 in sheds.

He addressed the arena managers. “Look, guys, every one of you, if you get an extra date a year ... it’s $150,000 to $350,000 to your bottom line. I know at the end of the year that it makes a big difference.” He wanted the arena managers to band together and support AEG.

He said AEG negotiated an arena tour for Kelly Clarkson and Clay Aiken. CCE “came in on the last minute” and offered two-and-a-half times the amount to take the artists into sheds – something the two American Idols allegedly didn’t want to do. But, because his company came close to matching the offer, “there’s 45 arena dates that you would not have had.”

Roux responded that Phillips was leaving out the human factor in all of this.

“I think you need to as certain whether one or two of the parties isn’t just getting agented,” he said. “If they didn’t want to do amphitheatres, they could have just said that and stuck to their guns. If the fax came in, they could have not looked at it and thrown it away.”

Phillips took the microphone again as Roux teased, “Here comes another commercial break.” He argued that AEG offered more dates – arena dates – for the upcoming Britney Spears tour than CCE did, but Spears is going to take her show to a lot of sheds this time around.

Her agent, Zedeck, said the answer was simple: “Randy, Britney wanted to play outdoors this summer.”

Hodges ended the bickering and, ultimately, the panel, with a quip.

“It must be that Clear Channel on occasion agrees with you, Randy,” he said. “In markets where we (HoB) have amphitheatres, they chose to play (Britney) indoors.”

- back to Conference Schedule -