Talent Agents

[RJFait]

Hey all, this is some weird stuff. I got an email from an 'agent' asking me to play a couple bands that he 'represents' on my radio show. First off, a minimal amount of research would have turned up that my station is pretty new and my audience is about 7 listeners - me, 4 people in Germany, one in Japan and my niece who thinks I'm cool for some reason. Second, 10 minutes of listening (probably 5) and it would be clear that I do not run a "prog metal" station. I very politely (yes, very politely) told him I didn't play that style of music. He wrote me back asking if I knew who did. Yes, I'm serious. I thought, maybe I should look at this guy's website. An agent who has no clue what genre his clients play and does zero research for marketing them has got to be good for shits and giggles, right? You've really got to read this blog on his site: http://monolithmanagement.com/pre-sale-tickets/ then come back to this. I've been playing music a long time, and believe me when I tell you, musically, I'm the worst. I truly suck! But, there has never been a time when I couldn't get a gig opening for a friends band until my band got a bit of notice and and I could start getting my own shows. If your band (not yours, the people who pay this 'agent') is so bad that you can't piggyback a gig on a friend's bill, you have no business owning an instrument. Seriously, I've never been anywhere where musicians don't have friends who are musicians in other bands playing the same general genre and getting gigs. If any of you have fallen for this 'pre-sale ticket' scam, I apologize if I've offended you, but I really don't get it. I had to double check to see that I hadn't made a horrible mistake and this guy's actually a real estate or insurance agent and I hadn't gotten it all wrong. No, he claims to be a talent agent.

[kopper]

The "pre-sale ticket" scam is pay-to-play. This totally ties in with the whole Gorilla Productions vs. Girl Trouble lawsuit. Have you read over that? You should. Links with all the details are in the thread (I just updated the topic last night, in fact):

http://garagepunk.ning.com/forum/topics/gorilla-productions-vs-girl...

Bottom line is bands should NEVER fall for this pre-selling tickets bullshit or ANY kind of pay-to-play scam that creeps like this "talent agent" or Gorilla Productions try to pull.

[IDON MINE]

Sounds like bullshit, what he's got on his site.

[whatwave dave]

Talent agent sounds like an oxymoron to me.....only agents i dig are the secret variety...ie Maxwell Smart and Agent 86.

But seriously, Kopper hit the nail on the head.

[Don]

Its been a long time since I had to deal with these slugs, but if anything it seems that over time they have simply refined their dastardly game.

Con artists always work by reading the weaknesses of their intended target.  A rich widow yearning for love has nothing on a bunch of young and inexperienced musicians yearning for an audience -- and their big break for the 'big time.' 

None of this is new. The hard thing is avoiding becoming cynical. There are good guys out there. Just keep your eyes and ears open and always remember to say your prayers at night. :)

-don

[Mardy Pune]

Man, that is some serious bullshit. Scary to think that some bands will buy into it so they can play. Whatever happened to self-respect?

[Mike Humsgreen]

Men are generally short on that when they have a goal in sight. Check out what men will do for women and it becomes understandable. I'm sure women too, but all the best examples of loss of self respect I can think of are testosterone ones.

Mardy Pune said:

Man, that is some serious bullshit. Scary to think that some bands will buy into it so they can play. Whatever happened to self-respect?

[kopper]

Actually, I think money (read: GREED) trumps testosterone.

Mike Humsgreen said:

Men are generally short on that when they have a goal in sight. Check out what men will do for women and it becomes understandable. I'm sure women too, but all the best examples of loss of self respect I can think of are testosterone ones.

Mardy Pune said:

Man, that is some serious bullshit. Scary to think that some bands will buy into it so they can play. Whatever happened to self-respect?

[Mardy Pune]

Yep, greed, the number one problem with the world today.

kopper said:

Actually, I think money (read: GREED) trumps testosterone.

Mike Humsgreen said:

Men are generally short on that when they have a goal in sight. Check out what men will do for women and it becomes understandable. I'm sure women too, but all the best examples of loss of self respect I can think of are testosterone ones.

Mardy Pune said:

Man, that is some serious bullshit. Scary to think that some bands will buy into it so they can play. Whatever happened to self-respect?

[Psychiatric Consultations]

there are sharks in the sea of tranquility!

good agents /bad agents they exist, find your own path!