You won’t believe what happened within ONE WEEK of opening my business. A PRIME EXAMPLE of why I started Moving Day Consulting!!!
I offered my assistance to a global retailer who needed multiple artists to do a social post for a new product release. They wanted one reputable artist from three major cities. They asked me to provide a list of my artist contacts and so for something like this, I went to my MANAGEMENT*(see below) contacts for individuals who manage artists that fit the description. I sent them (keeping it vague so I can openly tell this story) Artist L, for market L … and Artist C, for Market C. The retailer liked my options and told me “we only have $30k for both artists”. Knowing Artist L would not do it for $15k (splitting budget 50/50) and Artist L was the brand’s top priority, I said, “let me get Artist C to come in at $10k and I will close Artist L for $20k”.
After everyone was happy, we moved forward. The brand also reached out to a big three letter acronym agency (who shall be nameless, let’s call them XYZ) during the pitch process. Upset XYZ didn’t get their pitch selected, they asked the brand “who did you go with?”. When the brand told them Artist L and Artist C, they began to throw a fit. Artist L was “one of their clients” (I put that in quotes because while the artist uses that agency for touring, he/she has no exclusivity with that agency for brand partnerships). The manager of Artist L was happy to work with Moving Day Consulting because he, and i quote, said, “I rather work with you because XYZ doesn’t give a **** about Artist L”. AND I got Artist L $20k, when agency XYZ would have not had the authority to manipulate the budget (considering I handled Artist C).
But, the brand fell for XYZ’s unethical lies. Every day XYZ barraged the brand, suggesting “you can’t do this”, “this is not allowed”, “loop us in now”. They felt the pressure from XYZ who they do deals with multiple times a year. Mind you… everything is already moving along – shoot dates, product delivery, approval with artist on creative, etc. When I flagged this behavior to the manager of Artist L, he replied “Why is the brand not telling agency XYZ we have it handled? They’ve (XYZ) been trying to get to me to loop them in and I’ve said no. I have to be respectful cuz we work with them, but I’m not looping them in. I told them (XYZ) if they are dealing with the brand, then why aren’t they not already “looped in”. They had no answer” Unfortunately, the brand folded, worried that this agency would hold it against them going forward. Did the partnership get better? smoother? Of course not, and overall, the artist got LESS MONEY! XYZ did NOT do ANYTHING.
This rude, unethical behavior is common. And something Moving Day Consulting will advise brands into completely avoiding.
Key Takeaways:
- My understanding of the situation, market rates, and brand preferences were able to secure both talent in the required budget, something the major talent agency could not do
- Management doesn’t need the agency, so avoiding to work with them was ideal for the artist and manager
- The brand HAS THE POWER. You think if the brand has a massive product launch this summer and they ask XYZ to pitch their talent, they are going to say “you know what, because of what you did to us earlier this year, we don’t want our artists to be involved.” HA! YEAH RIGHT! XYZ lied and manipulated the brand, something that would never happen with my clients.
- The artist received less than he originally was told he would receive, making his frustration directed TO THE BRAND! What we don’t want!!!
*The reason I go to management here is because it is a simple social post. Management is more than capable of working with me one on one for something like this. There is no need to loop in anyone else (agency, label, etc).
Being in the industry for nearly a decade, I’m very excited to share my expertise and knowledge to future clients who want to have a smooth talent/influencer/athlete partnership! Let me handle the headaches for you!