6 TOOLS FOR BETTER CASINO TALENT BUYING
“What Tools Does Your Casino Talent Buyer Provide?
Everyone knows that being organized has its benefits. Strong organizational skills are especially useful when dealing with production partners, booking agents, vendors, and other external partners. While working with production partners like Agility AVL, we have discovered that the secret to receiving the best service as a client and partner is being organized. Getting your backline rental first is important when there are multiple shows within a competitive radius. Being organized ensures that your requests are being serviced first because they are being received first.
Something as simple as answering quickly or taking the time to respond on the spot and acknowledge an email the same day you receive it can help you be more organized. Sometimes the delayed response can cause a chain reaction, and decisions that affect yours and the artist’s position are made without you knowing it. Nothing is worse than walking into a chaotic situation that could have been prevented. All it takes is 24 hours (sometimes less) for a frantic individual to lose their composure due to your delay. That doesn’t mean you have to hover over your phone or computer. It means you have to be mindful of other people’s time, not just your own.
Whether you are a talent buying agency for a casino(s), a vendor, a limo driver, or an entertainment manager, these are some of the core organizational tools you will ever need to execute a smooth concert or event. If your casino talent buyer doesn’t offer these kinds of tools, run and contact us.
Tip 1. The Day Of Show Sheet
With the right day of show sheet and proper pre-planning life on show day is simple, trust me. The day of the show is the easiest part. No, seriously it is unless you are working with a horrible event planner or talent buyer (no offense) if you are either. Planning a concert is simple, and if you have strong communication skills and the right experience then the day of the show should be easier than the days leading up to it. A streamlined day of show sheet like the one SEG provides will make it easy to advance any show while keeping track of all the important details such as; date, load in time, showtime, lunch breaks, usher positions, production requirements, and all other important details. If you aren’t advancing the show, then ask a professional or contact our team for a consultation.
Tip 3. An Annual Entertainment Calendar
In shared spaces, the scheduling struggle is real.
The most important tool in your casino talent buyer’s toolbox should be your calendar worksheet. This is especially true if your talent buyer is providing entertainment in a shared space. Meeting corporate client demands and understanding the best use of a diverse space can be tricky. At SEG we use something similar to a Gant chart to track our entertainment calendars. This worksheet will help you work internally and externally with production companies to maintain and organize any shared ballroom, or event space. The calendar provides an overview of the entire year, is easy to read adjust and revise. Essentially it is the only entertainment calendar you will ever need. Of course, you might want to add it to your company’s outlook calendar for your team.
Tip 4. A Strong Offer Sheet
When submitting your offer to the agency it is important to cross your t’s and dot your I’s. If you are buying talent for a casino, it is usually less complicated because most venues are flat deals. If you are buying talent for a theatre, or smaller venue it can be more complicated. A lot of times, the talent agencies want to know all of the details, especially what your profit margin is. If your offer sheet isn’t complete, or completely dialed in the booking agent may leave your request at the bottom of the pile. Additionally, If you are looking at a zero guarantee vs percentage of gross deal, a percentage of net or guarantee plus bonus deal, or a guarantee vs percentage of gross deal you will need more than just an offer sheet from the agency. The tools SEG provides are two tools that are great examples of what will help your casino entertainment buyer lock the deal in.
Pro Tip:
If you are not a professional, do not contact a talent agency. You can ruin your reputation before you’ve started your talent buying career, or risk not making a deal. It’s not rocket science, but there are some specific guiding principles that will help prevent you from looking foolish.
Tip 5. The Only Merch Sheet You Will Ever Need
Nowadays you are seeing VIP packages sold at the box office and at the merch table, so it pays to be prepared when it comes time to settle the merch split. If you think selling buttons and t-shirts is easy, try settling 100 shows on tour with a pen and paper. Our favorite merch sheet is all you’ll ever need to settle and get the job done quickly. You can find out more about what a high-quality merch sheet will do for your entire entertainment program on our process page.
Tip 6. The Transportation Manifest
Transporting an A list celebrity is the most important part of hiring a celebrity or band to perform at your venue or private event. A good example of this was when the Jacksons came to town and their entourage was 24 people deep. Did I mention they came in over the course of three days and had a specific vehicle and hotel needs? Transporting the artists doesn’t have to be that difficult, it can be complicated though. The transportation manifest we provide our clients is an all-time favorite and has the perfect outline for handling even the most demanding entertainers’ request. This worksheet will help you transport the entertainers flawlessly.
The Final Outcome
In the end, we know that experience shuffling contracts is a lot different than onsite experience planning festivals, pushing cases, or actually executing concerts and events with boots on the ground. After you've planned your first couple hundred events, you start to develop a built-in sense of urgency that cannot be trained. You cannot successfully create an entire entertainment program. If your casino entertainment buyer only shows up (sometimes) to settle with the tour, contact us. There is a lot more we can help you with.”
