Working With An Agent

Developing and maintaining a good professional relationship with entertainment agents in your area can provide a boost to your bookings.  As in any business relationship, there are ethics, expectations, and etiquette that are necessary for success.  I asked Bonnie Piedmont with Incredible Productions (www.incredibleproductions.com ) to share some of her wisdom on this topic.   Bonnie sent some great advice:

 As an entertainment production company / talent agency, we would...


1.  Expect the musician or act to provide proper materials with which we can sell  them...photo, song list, bio, few clients and/or references, cd, mp3 files, etc...  Also, talent would need to provide a W-9 form for tax purposes.


2.  Expect that the musician will act professionally when on a job and serve as

a positive representative of the agency...don't eat or drink unless specifically invited at the event, deal courteously with client or  representatives’ on-site requests (if reasonable, of course), and if asked for contact information, provide that of the booking agency....not 

their personal information or that of another agency.

Musician should consider the following when dealing with an agency / production company...


1.  Expect that the agency will charge a reasonable commission (above  talent's "net" fee) and will provide all necessary paperwork (contracts  / agreements) with musician as well as with the client.   

Terms should be stated as to when payment can be expected as well as 

providing all necessary event details (on-site contact, cell number, 

exact location, directions to the venue, and what is expected of the performer.)

2.   Expect that the agency will pay in a prompt manner and for tax purposes  provide the performer with the necessary tax forms for reporting income.

3.   Expect that agency will indicate to the performer whether they consider   

them to be exclusive (“non-compete”) to their agency or if it  

is possible that talent may be represented by other agencies as well.  

The Large "Legit" Ensemble Part Two

As your quest for orchestra, band, and other large ensemble gigs continues, taking a lesson or two from the principal player of your instrument can be smart move.   There are the obvious benefits of getting some pointers on your tone, technique, and interpretation but there is also the networking aspect.  The principal player in a section may have some influence on who gets called for the sub / extra work (or he can put in a good word for you with the personnel manager). 

Networking with personnel managers and principal players can be beneficial outside of that particular ensemble.  These people sometimes get requests from other musical groups looking to hire for events (community theatre companies, churches, etc...).   The first orchestra gig that I played after moving to the Dallas area paved the way for the personnel manager to set me up for a run of a musical theatre production.

If you do not play a "standard orchestral instrument," (but you have good reading skills and chops) consider contacting orchestras and bands to get on their list of "specialty instruments."  
Examples include:
Keyboardists playing electronic keys, synth, organ, or celeste
Guitarists (perhaps doubling on banjo and / or mandolin)
Electric Bassists

I can think of one pit orchestra job in my career that included a harmonica player and another one with an accordionist.

The Large "Legit" Ensemble Part One

With a background in classical music and experience as an "extra percussionist" in The North Carolina Symphony and The Shreveport Symphony, it seemed like a good idea to search for large "legit" ensemble gigs after my move to the Dallas area in the mid-eighties.  This was before the Internet--- but I somehow tracked down names and numbers and began my campaign. Over the years,  I played sub / extra work with a number of groups (including America's premier windband, The Dallas Wind Symphony).  Eventually, the path of phone calls led to a gig as a regular percussionist with a regional orchestra.  I played with that group for eight seasons.

The lesson:                      I called.

What if the orchestra already has their core roster set and is not holding auditions?  Ask about getting on the substitute / extra list.  There is frequently a need for subs.  Extras?  Although an orchestra usually has a core group, often pieces are programmed that require more players.   For example, a group might have three regular percussion spots but many works in the repertoire require more players.  (Six hands can only do so much.)  So...the orchestra calls people from the extra list.  You want to be on that list.

The people to contact...
the orchestra personnel manager and / or the principal player of the section in which you would fit.

More in Part Two