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Q: What music do you deal with?
A: "Good music" is the short answer, but in reality there are many different types of music that we deal with: americana, singer songwriters, acoustic, folk, blues, rock, indie etc. The common factor is that we think the music is good.
Q: Do you work outside of music?
A: Currently no, but you never know what will happen in the future. We may well decide to branch into comedy, circus, magic, theatre and art, but at the moment our main focus is live original music.
Q: Would you prefer us sending you a link to our MySpace site or should we send you a CD?
A: Please in any instance send us a link to your MySpace site. We do, however, prefer listening to music on CD format. We'd prefer not to receive MP3s via e-mail as it can clog up our e-mail system, especially if we are away on business. If you genuinely think we will like your CD, please send us a CD.
Q: Will you listen to a CD if we send it?
A: Yes. We can't guarantee it will be immediately, so we advise you to follow up 2-3 weeks after sending it to make sure we have got it OK.
We get lots of requests from artists and managers alike, as you can imagine. We endeavour to listen to everything presented to us, and if we like what we hear, we will be in touch.
Feel free to send printed reviews and biographical material with the CD. If we end up representing you, we will be using this material anyhow.
Q: Can I continue to book my own dates and take commission for them whilst being booked by BPA?
A. No. We have been asked this question many times. It is important that BPA retains the exclusive right to book an artist, as it can get very messy if not. A booking agent has access to a far superior range of contacts than most artists have and have built up relationships with venues, promoters and festivals, that can only benefit the artist, once accepted on to the BPA roster. If the artist is booking their own shows whilst under the BPA umbrella, it undermines all we are doing to help you, the artist. An agent needs to have the flexibility and license to book a tour that makes sense date and route wise. Also, once BPA accepts an artist onto the agency roster, all commission is to be paid to BPA from the date of the agreement. Therefore, all shows, regardless of them being booked by the artist prior to being taken on by BPA, are commissioned by BPA at a rate of 15% of the show fee.
Q: Do I need to be signed to a record company?
A: Not necessarily, but it helps especially if the record company is UK based or has UK distribution through a recognised distributor. An abundant supply of promotional CDs is always a necessity.
Q: Which territories do you book?
A: Primarily the UK and Ireland, but for certain acts we work overseas in Europe and further afield.
Q: Do you just book gigs and tours?
A: No. We book festivals, private parties and House Concerts as well. We have booked over 30 festival appearances for clients this summer alone, including Glastonbury, Cambridge Folk Festival, Truck Festival, Kilkenny Rhythm & Roots Festival, The Larmer Tree Festival, The Big Session and Summer Sundae to name just a few.
Q: Do you book support gigs?
A: No. We avoid taking on clients who only require support gigs, as it generally takes up too much time and it isn't cost effective for us to do arrange them.
Q: What are your charges?
A: Once we agree to become your agent, we may require an upfront starter fee (or bond of commitment) of £200 per tour, or per release (a release might involve more than one tour). This is non-refundable charge which part covers our expenses of booking a tour. We charge agency commission and this rate is negotiable, and the £200 starter fee is offset against agency commission. For example, if agency commission at the end of the tour is £350 then we will be owed £150. If it is £150 then we shall retain the full £200, and so on. Certain individuals have abused our good nature and put our business at serious risk in recent years forcing us to introduce this charge. Please feel free to contact us directly about this.
Q: Do you issue contracts with artists as well as with venues?
A: We do issue contracts to venues, festivals and people who are hosting private parties and House Concerts. We do issue contracts to artists, but every artist is different and we treat everybody differently. That's a matter to be discussed and negotiated between the parties involved.
Q: Do you arrange Work Permits or "Certificates of Sponsorships"?
A: For non-EU passport holders, yes. If you hold a valid EU passport, you will not need a Work Permit - or a Certificate of Sponsorship as they are now known - to work in the UK. BPA is a registered sponsor. Please contact Bob about this.
Q: Once a tour is booked do you arrange transport within the UK, book backline and hotels?
A: No we don't, but we can refer you to people whose business it is to specifically handle this. We also have a list of tour managers, who can help you with tour itineraries, driving, and general "on tour" issues. You will have to negotiate directly with them on their charges. We prefer to focus on making sure shows are promoted and that all the promotional material is out there.
Q: Do you design posters and have ability to print posters?
A: Yes we do. We source this out to other companies that are not in-house. We have a special relationship with these companies and they offer very competitive rates. The cost of print design and print does have to be paid for upfront by the artist as this is a cost of touring. The benefit of us doing it is that we know that the printing and sending out of posters and other promotional materials like flyers is done well in advance of the tour and that the quality of it is of the highest standard.
Q: Once a tour is booked do you send out promotional material directly from your office?
A: We can, but we will have to charge the cost of postage back to the tour upon completion. If you are signed to a UK based record company, we demand that they send out promotional material (CDs, posters, flyers) out as it saves time and money. If you design your own posters and flyers we do urge you to mention BPA on artwork with a mention of our website for further information as again, it helps us by helping you by dealing with general enquiries, especially once the tour starts.
Q: How do you accept payment?
A: This needs to be discussed as each tour is different and there are now many different payment methods. We don't take credit card payments but for small amounts we can accept PayPal payments.
Q: Can you recommend publicists and radio pluggers?
A: Yes, we can. We have a long standing working relationship with many radio pluggers and publicists and depending on the type of music you perform we can direct you to specific companies and agencies. We can only book tours that are backed up with publicists and radio pluggers and so we have developed our contacts in this area.
Q: Do you arrange advertising?
A: We can, but as with booking a tour and permit applications, fees will have to be paid up front. You will design your own ads, and then we can advise you which advertising agency might suit you. |
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