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February 22, 2012
CONGRAT'S TO OUR 2012 INDIE AWARD NOMINEES!
The indies will be presented as part of Canadian Music Week Thursday, March 23rd.
Austra
Album of the Year – Feel It Break
Electronic Artist/Group/Duo of the Year
City and Colour
Album of the Year – Little Hell
Group/Duo of the Year
Feist
Album of the Year - Metals
Solo Artist of the Year
Fucked Up
Album of the Year – David Comes To Life
Punk/Hardcore Artist/Group of the Year
Raghav
Single of the Year – “Fire”
The Sheepdogs
Single of the Year – “I Don’t Know”
Group/Duo of the Year
Live Artist/Group/Duo of the Year
Rock Artist/Group/Duo of the Year
Rich Aucoin
Solo Artist of the Year
Live Artist/Group/Duo of the Year
Electronic Artist/Group/Duo of the Year
SIRIUSXM Emerging Artist of the Year
Coeur de Pirate
Solo Artist of the Year
Video of the Year – “Adieu”
Francophone Artist/Group/Duo of the Year
Dan Mangan
Solo Artist of the Year
Marianas Trench
Video of the Year – “Haven’t Had Enough”
Library Voices
Alternative Artist/Group/Duo of the Year
Harry Manx
Blues Artist/Group/Duo of the Year
Hey Rosetta!
Group/Duo of the Year
Dean Brody
Country Artist/Group/Duo of the Year
Doc Walker
Country Artist/Group/Duo of the Year
High Valley
Country Artist/Group/Duo of the Year
Jason McCoy
Country Artist/Group/Duo of the Year
Tara Oram
Country Artist/Group/Duo of the Year
Blackie & The Rodeo Kings
Folk/Roots Artist/Group/Duo of the Year
Bruce Cockburn
Folk/Roots Artist/Group/Duo of the Year
Malajube
Francophone Artist/Group/Duo of the Year
Devin Townsend
Metal Artist/Group/Duo of the Year
KEN mode
Metal Artist/Group/Duo of the Year
Protest The Hero
Metal Artist/Group/Duo of the Year
Untimely Demise
Metal Artist/Group/Duo of the Year
Abandon All Ships
Punk/Hardcore Artist/Group/Duo of the Year
Cancer Bats
Punk/Hardcore Artist/Group/Duo of the Year
Living With Lions
Punk/Hardcore Artist/Group/Duo of the Year
The Trews
Rock Artist/Group/Duo of the Year
Theory Of A Deadman
Rock Artist/Group/Duo of the Year
Swollen Members
Urban Artist/Group/Duo of the Year
Kiran Ahluwalia
World Artist/Group/Duo of the Year
Pavlo
World Artist/Group/Duo of the Year
AWOLNATION
International Single of the Year – “Sail”
International Video of the Year – “Sail”
International Breakthrough Artist/Group/Duo of the Year
Gotye
International Single of the Year – “Somebody That I Used To Know”
International Video of the Year – “Somebody That I Used To Know”
Seether
International Single of the Year – “Country Song”
The Black Keys
International Video of the Year – “Lonely Boy”
The Jezabels
International Breakthrough Artist/Group/Duo of the Year
Dinosaur Bones
SIRIUSXM Emerging Artist of the Year
Imaginary Cities
SIRIUSXM Emerging Artist of the Year
Indian Handcrafts
SIRIUSXM Emerging Artist of the Year
February 7, 2012
CONGRATULATIONS TO THE AGENCY GROUP'S 2012 JUNO NOMINEE'S!
ARKELLS
Group of the Year
Rock Album of the Year – Michigan Left
AUSTRA
Electronic Album of the Year - Austra – Feel It Break
BRUCE COCKBURN
Roots & Traditional Album of the Year: Solo
CITY AND COLOUR
Juno Fan Choice Award
Single of the Year – “Fragile Bird”
Artist of the Year
COEUR DE PIRATE
Francophone Album of the Year – Blonde
DALLAS GREEN
Songwriter of the Year - “Fragile Bird”, “We Found Each Other”, “Weightless”
Little Hell - City and Colour
DAN MANGAN
New Artist of the Year
Songwriter of the Year - “About As Helpful As You Can Be Without Being Any Help At All”, “Post-War Blues”, “Oh Fortune” Oh Fortune - Dan Mangan
Alternative Album of the Year – Oh Fortune
Video of the Year - “Rows of Houses” (Jon Busby)
DEVIN TOWNSEND PROJECT
Metal/Hard Music Album of the Year – Deconstruction
DIAMOND RINGS
New Artist of the Year
DOC WALKER
Country Album of the Year – 16 & 1
DOWN WITH WEBSTER
Group of the Year
Pop Album of the Year - Time To Win Vol. II
FEIST
Artist of the Year
Songwriter of the Year - “How Come You Never Go There”, “Graveyard”(co-songwriters Mocky & Chilly Gonzales), “The Circle Married The Line”(co-songwriters Mike Little & Chris Byrne) Metals – Feist
Adult Alternative Album of the Year - Metals
Music DVD of the Year - Look At What The Light Did Now (Anthony Seck, Jannie McInnes, Chip Sutherland)
FUCKED UP
Alternative Album of the Year – David Comes To Life
HEY ROSETTA!
New Group of the Year
HIGH VALLEY
Country Album of the Year – High Valley
JASON MCCOY
Country Album of the Year - Everything
JOHNNY REID
Single of the Year – “Let’s Go Higher”
JULLY BLACK
R&B/Soul Recording of the Year – Set if Off
KEN MODE
Metal/Hard Music Album of the Year – Venerable
KIRAN AHLUWALIA
World Music Album of the Year – Aam Zameen: Common Ground
LIGHTS
Pop Album of the Year - Siberia
LINDI ORTEGA
New Artist of the Year
Roots & Traditional Album of the Year: Solo – Little Red Boots
MALAJUBE
Francophone Album of the Year – La Caverne
MARIANAS TRENCH
Pop Album of the Year – Ever After
MATTHEW GOOD
Rock Album of the Year - Lights of Endangered Species
NICKELBACK
Juno Fan Choice Award
Single of the Year – “When We Stand Together”
Album of the Year – Here And Now
Group of the Year
THE ONCE
Roots & Traditional Album of the Year: Group - Row Upon Row Of The People We Know
THE RURAL ALBERTA ADVANTAGE
New Group of the Year
Video of the Year - “Stamp” (Jose Lourenco)
RUSH
Music DVD of the Year - Time Machine 2011: Live In Cleveland (Scot McFadyen, Sam Dunn, Pegi Cecconi)
SAM ROBERTS
Group of the Year
Rock Album of the Year - Collider
THE SHEEPDOGS
Single of the Year – “I Don’t Know”
New Group of the Year
Rock Album of the Year - Learn & Burn
SWOLLEN MEMBERS
Rap Recording of the Year – Daggermouth
TEGAN & SARA
Music DVD of the Year - Get Along (Elinor Svobodo/Salazar, Tegan Quin, Sara Quin, Piers Henwood, Nick Blasko)
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December 14, 2011
2012 JUNO AWARD PERFORMERS ANNOUNCED
CTV and The Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS) announced today the first round of artists confirmed to perform on the broadcast Sunday, April 1, 2012 from Scotiabank Place in Ottawa. TAG artists announced to take the stage are: CITY AND COLOUR & FEIST.
Check back for more performers and nominations soon!
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December 12, 2011
BOOKING AGENT NATASHA BENT SPEAKS TO STEREOBOARD ABOUT THE LIVE MUSIC INDUSTRY
In the eight or so years that The Agency Group’s Natasha Bent has been a booking agent, she has booked over 600 shows in approximately 25 countries, as well as 130 festival slots at the likes of Glastonbury, Latitude and Reading and Leeds. Natasha currently represents a roster of 25 acts, including Foals, Amy Macdonald, Noisettes, Cage the Elephant and Passion Pit. At the end of another busy year, which has seen her sign Foster the People and Darwin Deez and travel to approximately 200 shows, Natasha took some time out to chat with Stereoboard about the life of a booking agent and the future of the music industry…
How did you first find your way into the role of a booking agent?
I’ve always been interested in music. After getting a degree at uni, I went to music college for a year, wanting to be a singer. The more I learnt about the business, the less I felt that I wanted to make money out of my music. I started the same way most people in music have to start, I worked for free in every area, whether it be labels, publishing, PR. Someone said I’d make a good agent and I had no idea what that was. A manager that I’d been working with for a year introduced me to Charlie at 13 Artists. I did admin for about five months and then I became an agent. I just loved it, it felt right.
What artists were you working with at the beginning and how did you find those early experiences?
13 Artists is an incredible company to start with. They’re probably one of the top independent agencies, who’ve booked bands from Radiohead and Arctic Monkeys to Duffy and The Maccabees. When I started, I worked with Charlie on Bloc Party and Dead 60s. It was a really good place to be educated about the role of an agent. There was no better way to delve in, being given great bands from an early stage. The first band I ever signed off my own back was Noisettes. For me, being a good agent is about sustaining a live career for an artist. I think that has to be one of my top priorities for them.
With the recent decline in recorded music sales, live music has become one of the most popular forms of entertainment within the industry. What impact has that had on your job?
There’s no replacement for live music. In a way, that makes it safe, but on the flipside, it’s still tough. We don’t have the support for new bands from record labels as much because they’re not selling records. It’s very hard to break new bands at the moment.
What impact do you think that will have on the future of the music industry?
I think all of us in the music industry have to learn to adapt to change and we can’t be afraid of new ideas and new ways of working. I can only speak for the 10 years that I’ve been working in the industry, but the change has been massive. Rather than fearing change, we need to embrace it.
There have been a number of stories in the news over the past year or so about some well-known music venues closing down due to financial difficulties. How have the closures affected your role as a booking agent?
I have noticed a lot of venues closing, but at the same time, I always see a lot of new events and venues popping up. I don’t know if I can comment and say that there’s a massive decline, but I’m just wondering whether it’s a constant shift. When I started, I used to book 30-date tours for my bands. But now, because we don’t have as much tour support, we have to make the tour as tight as possible without them spending too much money. I’m sure that will have an effect on the smaller cities. I still believe that for a great touring band, the more they tour, the bigger the chances of them having a long-term career. The kids that don’t get to go to London or Manchester get so excited when you book a gig in their town that it’s sometimes one of the best gigs for bands to play.
How important, would you say, is the role of a booking agent in the early stages of a new band or artist’s career?
A lot of new bands make the mistake of thinking that, when they have an agent, everything is going to be great. Sadly, we’re not magicians. I’m only as good as my bands. The appeal for me with new bands is, not only do they write great songs that I love, but that they get out there and do it themselves. Before I pitched for Foals, they’d done a year of touring off their own back. For me, there’s nothing more attractive in a band than to see the drive they have and that they’re not waiting around. When you have a full team onboard – a manger, an agent, a label – I think that’s when the work begins. A lot of bands have the misconception that that’s when they’ve made it, but it’s not at all the case.
To most gig-goers, it isn’t very clear exactly what goes on behind the scenes when bands go on tour. What factors go into where and when to tour when these things are being planned?
It depends on the stage that the band are at. Say I take on a band that have just signed a deal and have a manager and a team onboard. I’ll speak to their manager and maybe we’ll have a team meeting. In the past, you would put a tour together to support a new record. Whereas now, you’re often putting a record out to support a tour. You’d sit down and find out from the label and the manager what the priorities are for them. Then I’d go away and put together ideas and a routing to accommodate those plans. Say that you can only do four of five shows. You just make sure that you cover all sides of the UK and, if you can afford to add more things in, then great. For new bands, what we try and do as agents is, rather than putting a lot of pressure on them to try and sell hard tickets, we’ll try and find events and small festivals to put them on so that there’s an audience there. But it depends on the agent – we all work in different ways. Personally, I’m not a fan of my bands supporting other bands, because I think that it’s very difficult to be aware of who your audience are. It’s quite disheartening for a band to play in front of an audience that aren’t there to see you. It’s about starting small and making sure that you build a loyal fanbase.
We’ve all heard stories about bands walking offstage or cancelling gigs at the last minute. What other kinds of things can go wrong on tour, from your point of view?
Anything can go wrong on tour. For me, it’s the challenge I enjoy. When it’s live, no matter how much planning you do, things will always go wrong. It’s about having a good team that can deal with it. The van might break down, the flights might get cancelled or someone might be genuinely sick. Being a good live band is about how they cope with it. There’s one band I had that recently went on tour, and everything that could have gone wrong did go wrong. The van broke down, their luggage got lost… The list was endless. But what I was most proud of was that they made every show, they didn’t complain and the whole audience had no idea about what was going on. That, to me, is a great live band.
Moving away from the more difficult experiences, what do you think has been your favourite experience so far?
There are loads. I’m pretty blessed that I have a roster of bands that I absolutely love, so I’m passionate about every band I take on. There are so many things, like Foals selling-out Brixton Academy, signing Noisettes and booking my first Glastonbury slot. Going up against great agents that I aspire to and then beating them in getting an act, that can be a fun feeling too. I go to all my bands’ gigs as well, I love it. There are so many great things about being an agent, but I can also tell you about the tough side. It’s 24/7 – you’re working with managers and acts all around the world, so sometimes it feels like the work doesn’t stop. You sacrifice a lot of your time to do this job. It’s the same as being in a band – you have to have a passion for music and you have to have a passion for what you do. There are no contracts between agents and bands, so a band could leave you at any time. You should always be very close to your manager and your band and have a good relationship with them. It’s a high-stress job, but lots of fun.
Travelling to so many shows each year can’t always be easy either. What keeps you motivated at some of the more difficult times?
Summertime is tough, because I’m always at festivals. What I’ve started to do, because I miss my family and friends a lot, is to take a different friend with me to each festival. So rather than just seeing it as work, I’m also spending time with the people that I miss. I think it also comes down to genuinely loving the bands that I book because, otherwise, I wouldn’t handle this job. I’m good at giving advice, but you need to learn when it’s OK to go out and have a bit of you time. I’m no good at that, which is why I can’t wait for Christmas. It’s the one time that it all stops and everybody has a break. It’s brilliant.
For anyone considering becoming a booking agent, how would you suggest that they go about working towards such a career?
It’s a hard one to advise because I didn’t start off wanting to be an agent, I just fell into it. You need to be willing to start from the bottom and work your way up. You need to be very open-minded and come in with no expectations, even if you have a degree. Don’t expect things to fall on your plate. Don’t sit at home expecting it to come to you, just go out and grab it. There are probably certain qualities that you need like learning to be good at multi-tasking, dealing with all sorts of people, being diplomatic and extremely organised. Maybe if you feel that these are qualities that you have, then maybe it’s worth pursuing. Maybe start off doing an internship at an agency. Get in touch with agents to find out what they do. A lot of agents were promoters before, so that’s an angle to get in. Start meeting local bands and booking gigs for them. Experience it and see it it’s something that you like.
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December 1, 2011
CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR TAG GRAMMY NOM'S!
THE BLACK KEYS - Best Pop Duo/Group Performance
FOSTER THE PEOPLE - Best Pop Duo/Group Performance & Best Alternative Music Album
BOOKER T. JONES - Best Pop Instrumental Album
DREAM THEATER - Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance
SUM 41 - Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance
LEDISI - Best R&B Performance & Best R&B Album
WIZ KHALIFA - Best Rap Performance & Best Rap Song
TINARIWEN - Best World Music Album
A TRIBE CALLED QUEST - Best Long Form Music Video
STEVEN WILSON - Best Surround Sound Album
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October 14, 2011
METAL INJECTION - SPOTLIGHT ON TIM BORROR
Check out Tim Borror's interview in Metal Injection.
spotlight-on-booking-agent-tim-borror
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September 22, 2011
CASBY AWARD WINNER
Congratulations to CITY AND COLOUR for winning Best Single for "Fraglie Bird" at this year's Casby Awards in Toronto!
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August 15, 2011
CHECK OUT FREDDIE GIBBS IN SPIN MAGAZINE!
breaking-out-freddie-gibbs
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June 27, 2011
MICHELLE WRIGHT HONOURED WITH 2011 CANADIAN COUNTRY MUSIC HALL OF FAME!
Inductions to take place during Country Music Week - September 9-12, 2011
(Toronto, ON) June 21, 2011 - The Canadian Country Music Association® is pleased to announce the 2011 Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame inductees. Recognized for her outstanding contributions to Canada's country music landscape, Michelle Wright has been announced as this year's Artist inductee.
Canadian born Michelle Wright has drawn rave reviews for her powerful voice for the last two decades. Selling nearly two million albums in North America and enjoying an international career she is the first Canadian artist in the modern era of country to have a Top Ten hit in America (Take It Like A Man, 1992) and a Number One video on CMT-USA.
"What a tremendous honour. I deeply appreciate this recognition and am so very proud to have had the opportunity to represent Canada across the globe through my music," said Michelle Wright of her upcoming induction. "I have been blessed, and continue to be blessed, with a wonderful career. My thanks go out to the CCMA along with my fans, industry friends and outstanding team - a team that includes my manager Brian Ferriman and my husband Marco. For more than 25 years I have felt their support and without it this recognition would not be possible. "
The Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame inductions will take place during a private industry event to be held during Country Music Week. After their induction, Michelle and Bill will have their official plaques displayed at the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame located in Merritt, BC. They will also be acknowledged within the collections of the National Music Centre, which is to be opened in Calgary, AB in 2014.
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June 27, 2011
WIZ WINS AT BET AWARDS!
Congratulations to WIZ KHALIFA for winning the Best New Artist award at the 2011 BET Awards held Sunday, June 26 in Los Angeles.
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June 19, 2011
2011 MUCHMUSIC VIDEO AWARD WINNERS!
The MuchMusic Awards took place tonight with performances by CITY AND COLOUR, DOWN WITH WEBSTER and guest presenters MARIANAS TRENCH and MIDWAY STATE.
Congratulations to winners:
Pop Video of the Year
DOWN WITH WEBSTER - "Who Is Me" Directed by Aaron A.
MuchLOUD Rock Video of the Year
ABANDON ALL SHIPS - "Greeving" directed by Davin Black
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June 2, 2011
THE AGENCY GROUP SIGNS IN CONVERSATION: OUTSIDE THE RING WITH HULK HOGAN FOR WORLDWIDE REPRESENTATION
The Brand New Live Theatrical Production Will Officially Launch in 2012
Toronto, ON – June x, 2011 – The Agency Group, one of the world's leading entertainment booking agencies, is pleased to announce the signing of In Conversation: Outside the Ring with Hulk Hogan for Worldwide representation. In Conversation: Outside the Ring with Hulk Hogan is a new 90-minute live staged production with a celebrity interviewer featuring an up close and personal appearance by Hulk Hogan, a world renowned American professional wrestler. Nick Meinema with The Agency Group’s Toronto office is responsible for booking the worldwide shows in conjunction with Seth Shomes, CEO of Day After Day Productions, who will be assisting with the booking of shows at casinos in North America.
“In Conversation: Outside the Ring with Hulk Hogan is a brand new no holds barred live theatrical production with the ‘Hulkster’,” said Meinema. “Fans will get to hear Hulk Hogan talk about his life and wrestling career, tell behind-the-scenes stories, watch rare video, and participate in a question and answer period at the end of the show. We will be booking a few shows this fall but will launch with worldwide exclusive dates in 2012.” Terry Gene Bollea, better known by his ring name Hulk Hogan, is an American professional wrestler, actor, television personality, and musician currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA). He is widely regarded as the most successful, famous, and biggest draw in the history of professional wrestling. Hogan had mainstream popularity in the mid 1980s through the early 1990s as the all-American character Hulk Hogan in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF—now the WWE), and was notable in the mid-to-late 1990s as "Hollywood" Hogan, the villainous nWo leader, in World Championship Wrestling (WCW). Hogan was later inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2005.
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June 9, 2011
THE KERRANG! AWARDS
Congralutations to TAG artists who won Kerrang Awards!
Best Video
MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE with "Na Na Na"
Best Album
BRING ME THE HORIZON
Best British Newcomer
ASKING ALEXANDRIA
Kerrang Icon Award
ALICE COOPER
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April 28, 2011
EAST COAST MUSIC AWARDS
Congratulations to our artists that won at the ECMA's in Charlottetown, PEI.
DVD of the Year
THE TREWS - The Trews Acoustic - Friends & Total Strangers
Bell Aliant Fan's Choice Video of the Year
THE TREWS - "Highway of Heroes"
Factor Recording of the Year
WINTERSLEEP - New Inheritors
Rising Star Recording of the Year
THE STANFIELDS - Vanguard of the Young and Reckless
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April 28, 2011
AARON LEWIS NOMINATED FOR CMT AWARDS
Congratulations to AARON LEWIS who was nominated for 2 CMT Awards this week! The show will take place in Nashville
June 8.
USA Weekend Breakthrough Video of the Year
AARON LEWIS for "Country Boy"
Collaborative Video of the Year
AARON LEWIS for "Country Boy"
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April 18, 2011
THE IVORS
Two TAG artists have been nominated for prestigious Ivor Novello Awards.
Best Song Musically and Lyrically
FOALS
Best Album
BOMBAY BICYCLE CLUB
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April 14, 2011
AMERICAN IDOL
Legendary guitarist ZAKK WYLDE performed the Sammy Hagar song "Heavy Metal" with contestant James Durbin last night. The performance was one of the most electriflying performances in the show's history!
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April 11, 2011
DANCING WITH THE STARS
On Monday night the Dancing with the Stars celebrity cast was joined by some extraordinary talent for Classical week. KATHERINE JENKINS was in the house and sang several times. In addition, DAVID GARRETT also playing the violin for the crowd.
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March 25, 2011
ECHO AWARDS
Congratulations to TAG Artists that won Echo Awards this week! The awards took place March 24 at the Berlin Fairground.
Best DVD Production National
DAVID GARRETT - ROCK SYMPHONIES, LIVE ON STAGE
Best Male Artist (National)
DAVID GARRETT
Best Female Artist (International)
AMY MACDONALD
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March 12, 2011
ILMC Arthur Awards
The Arthur Awards 2011 took place during the ILMC Gala Dinner at Jumeirah Carlton Tower on Saturday 12 March.
Congrat's to our TAG winners!
Tomorrow's New Boss
TOM TAAFFE
Bottle Award
NEIL WARNOCK
Least Painful Tour
MUSE
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February 23, 2011
NME Award Winners!
Tonight's NME Awards winners have been announced. Congratulations to The Agency Group winners.
MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE
Best Video for Na Na Na (Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na)
Best International Act
FOALS
Best Track for Spanish Sahara
MUSE
Best British Band
MATT BELLAMY
Sexiest Male
HAYLEY WILLIAMS
Best Band Blog or Twitter
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February 14, 2011
Congratulations to TAG Grammy Winners!
BEST ROCK ALBUM
Muse – The Resistance
BEST ALTERNATIVE MUSIC ALBUM
The Black Keys – Brothers
BEST POP COLLABORATION WITH VOCALS
Herbie Hancock, Pink, India.Arie, Seal, Konono No 1, Jeff Beck & Oumou Sangare
Track from: The Imagine Project
BEST ROCK PERFORMANCE BY A DUO OR GROUP WITH VOCALS
“Tighten Up” – The Black Keys
Track from: Brothers
BEST REGGAE ALBUM
Before The Dawn – Buju Banton
BEST RECORDING PACKAGE
Brothers – Michael Carney, art director (The Black Keys)
PRODUCER OF THE YEAR, NON-CLASSICAL
Danger Mouse
“Tighten Up” (The Black Keys)
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February 7, 2011
Celebrity Access Industry Profile: Ralph James
This week In the Hot Seat with Larry LeBlanc: Ralph James, President, The Agency Group in Toronto.
The Agency Group opened an office in Toronto in 1996, and immediately began fiercely competing for a good hunk of Canada’s booking pie.
The Agency Group's accelerated expansion in recent years, as well as other agencies’ reactions to mounting competition for new acts and keeping existing ones--notably Canada’s largest full-service talent agency, S.L. Feldman & Associates--has led to Canada becoming a significant international source of music.
The Agency Group is one of the world’s leading booking agencies, with a roster of over 1,000 artists and offices also in London, New York, Los Angeles, and Malmo, Sweden.
London-based Neil Warnock, chairman of The Agency Group, was somewhat intrigued when Ralph James and Jack Ross first called him about opening an office in Toronto. However, he told them, in no uncertain terms, that he had no intention of opening in Canada at the time.
James and Ross, who knew Warnock, had an affinity with Canadian music, having represented Max Webster, Lee Aaron, Triumph and Rush over the years, persisted until Warnock agreed to the idea.
It turned out that the timing for a new agency in Canada was perfect.
The successes of Barenaked Ladies, Sloan, Moxy Fruvous and others earlier in the decade had galvanized Canada's growing indie grass-roots community. They had opened the door for acceptance of a wave of alternative-styled acts in the mainstream.
The changeover was underscored by the lessening Canadian chart visibility of many veteran artist highfliers—most of which were handled by S.L. Feldman & Associates-- and the growing popularity of newer acts, many of which were now being booked by The Agency Group, including Nickelback, Three Days Grace, and Billy Talent.
James and Ross launched The Agency Group in Canada with a small core of critically-acclaimed Canadian acts. Their staff of 22 people today now oversees a sizable roster that also boasts such strong booking draws as Sam Roberts, Metric, Bedouin Soundclash, Alexisonfire, Marianas Trench, Hawksley Workman, Stereos, and the Arkells.
In 2005, The Agency Group unveiled a new North American management structure under which James and Ross were named co-heads of the Canadian office, with James also taking on a role as part of the senior management team.
In 2008, James was named president of the Canadian office. Ross is now Sr. VP / partner.
Ralph James, as anyone in Canada’s music world can tell you, began his career as bassist for Harlequin in 1975. He toured and recorded with the celebrated Winnipeg rock band until 1987.
The capital of the province of Manitoba, Winnipeg has traditionally had a diverse music scene, and an abundance of local music venues, the best-known being the Zoo, the city’s premier rock club for three decades.
While young punks bands were swarming the barricades of complacency in the U.K., the ‘70s brought a hard rock vibe to Winnipeg’s music scene with Bachman-Turner Overdrive, Harlequin, and the Pumps leading the way.
The era was also a great one for Canadian rock.
Bachman-Turner Overdrive, Rush, April Wine, Saga, Max Webster, Harlequin, Chilliwack, the Stampeders Trooper, and Prism all sold well in the era, and played throughout the country and abroad. Meanwhile, newcomers like Bryan Adams and Loverboy were beginning to make their presence felt.
“The Canadian music industry started—the rubber started hitting the pavement in the mid ‘70s,” claims Canadian singer Gino Vanelli in the recently-released book “Music From Far And Wide: Celebrating 40 Years Of The Juno Awards.” “I could feel the tires screeching a bit. But, I don’t think that the Canadian music industry really took off until the ‘80s. (Canadians) had a very provincial attitude to recording. The attitude was “It’s good enough for our territory. They never had a thought of getting their records released worldwide. Only by the late ‘70s, and the early ‘80s did that start to change.”
The story goes that Harlequin was discovered in a small Toronto bar by representatives of Jack Douglas, the New York producer of Aerosmith, Artful Dodger, Cheap Trick, and Patti Smith. Douglas eventually got Harlequin a deal with CBS/Epic Records in 1979.
A year later, the band released its first album, “Victim of a Song” and began receiving heavy radio play, particularly in Western Canada. The follow-up “Love Crimes (1980) produced two national hits, "Thinking Of You," and "Innocence.
By its third album “One False Move” (1982), Harlequin was a staple on Canadian radio. However, the band’s self-titled fourth album (1985) sold disappointingly.
James eventually left the band to work as an independent manager and booking agent. As an agent, he became a significant national force after stints at the Hungry I Agency in Winnipeg; The Agency in Toronto as well as at S.L. Feldman & Associates, working in its Toronto and Vancouver offices.
What are the most significant differences between the Canadian and American markets?
The proximities of the cities in America make touring there a hell of a lot easier for the most part. I get slapped from saying this from time to time, but generally, you need to have a job to buy a house and a car in Canada. We’re a resource-based economy. So chances are we have a little more resilience (against market downturns), and the economy (here) seems to be plowing along at a pretty good pace. The main thing in Canada is that there is less apprehension about the economy. The banks here are pretty stable and are well run and controlled.
The main difference right now is the economy. And, there are only 32 million people in this country. So we have to pick our spots (to book). There are more people in California than there are in Canada
The geography alone in Canada is…..
When you take a look at the geography, and the climate here--it is minus 28 (Celsius) in Toronto in late January--you know that you are in Canada, for sure.
What did you learn about Canada being a member of a touring Winnipeg band?
I have a PhD in Canadian geography that has come to serve me well in this line of work (as an agent). Having done it (toured), it is so much easier to understand this aspect of the job.
For a Western Canadian band, the travel is outrageous. The closest cities are 8 or 10 hours apart, and there is not a lot in between. We managed to find places in between (to play) as do most of the Canadian bands. We developed those secondary and tertiary markets—and lower than tertiary. I’m not sure what the word is, but we managed to find some of those too.
Did you tour rural northern Manitoba with Harlequin?
Oh boy, you name it. Yeah, we played all of those places. Thompson, Flin Flon, The Pas, all of those places. We played everywhere.
The booking and touring business today seems to be in flux. Concert and club goers want good packages at a good value.
I think that people are just going to look at what value they get, and make their decisions. If it is (a show) that they absolutely have to see, then the caution, maybe, gets thrown to the wind. For the most part, people are looking for value. You look at the Ticketmaster page or the weekly reports, and check what shows are out there, and people are making decisions in five seconds. They look and think, “Here this package; here’s the price. Done. I’m going.” They make their decision that quickly. If they hesitate, you may have lost that opportunity. So presenting the right packages, with the right ticket prices out of the chute, is critical at this point.
Are you putting tour packages together today with acts that might have been able to go out on their own five years ago?
The chance to do real numbers in a package, as opposed to being on their own, is so obvious to most people at this point. Most artists and their managers are smart enough to realize that strength in numbers is quite often the best solution (to touring). That there is nothing wrong with being on a four band bill. That being first on is not such a terrible thing. You are going to be playing in front of a lot more people than you would on your own. There are certain artists that (still) want to headline, but, for the most part, especially in the rock field, packaging is becoming more common. A lot of the bands have toured together before. They get along. They know that they are going to be treated well.
Is there more push-back from buyers these days about things?
They are being pretty aggressive. The competition is fierce. Everybody wants to be involved with the hit packages, or what is perceived to be the next artist coming up. There is definitely competition out there. Certainly, Live Nation and AEG are incredible companies doing huge business (in Canada), but there are also a lot of independents that are taking a very aggressive stance, and going after markets and artists that they feel are available. There are some really great young promoters trying really hard, and doing great jobs.
Who are some of the bigger indies you are working with?
The Union, Harvey Cohen and Nhaelan McMillan, teamed up (in March, 2010) with Jonathan Ramos here. So they are doing a lot of shows. There are a lot of different options now. Embrace, and Against the Grain Collective Concerts are both doing all kinds of concerts. There is definitely competition out there.
[In March, 2010, Calgary-based promoter The Union Ltd expanded its operations nationally in Canada by acquiring the concert promotion assets of REMG Entertainment Corporation in Toronto. REMG founder Jonathan Ramos now runs The Union operation in Toronto. ]
What makes you and Jack Ross work so well together?
We both love music. We both have an understanding of exactly how hard we have to work to have success. Neither of us is afraid of rolling up our sleeves, and getting our hands dirty. That, in itself, separates us from a lot of other people in our line of work. Some of them only work as hard as they have to. Generally, we work day and night, every day.
When you and Jack have disagreements, can you put them aside the next day?
It is like any other kind of partnership situation. It’s a high pressure business, and there have been a couple of times that we have had disagreements, but for the most part, it has been incredible for 15 years.
You were promoted to president in 2008; Jack is now Sr. VP / partner. Is there still equality between the two of you at the company?
We are still a team. It’s optics more than anything. We make our decisions together. I don’t tell him what to do; he doesn’t tell me what to do. We absolutely do have a tremendous opportunity to get advice from (our) people like Neil Warnock, Ken Fermaglich, Andy Somers, and Bruce Solar. There are some great agents in our system that have a ton of experience so, generally speaking, there are not a lot of disagreements.
In recent years, you have strategically added staff, and expanded into such areas as country.
Nick Meinema has been a tremendous addition here (in country and other genres). Darcy Gregoire is doing the PACs (Performing Arts Centers). It has been a matter of finding the right people. We didn’t want to disrupt the chemistry here. We have a great core of people here that have been with us for a long time. We have very little turnover. It’s nice to grow, and there are opportunities out there to do that, but we won’t do anything that is going to disrupt what we consider to be a phenomenal working relationship, and good vibe here. It’s still fun to come to work . I don’t want to change that.
How many on staff?
Its 22 people. Darcy is another Manitoba boy, and so is Ziff (Rob Zifarelli). We have known these people for a long time. Nick was a bit of a wild card. We had kinda heard about him (from his working at LiveTourArtists in Toronto). He’s a tremendous agent; he really has a great understanding of a style of music that I don’t know a hell of a lot about.
Your agents have a reputation for being aggressive.
I don’t think you have much choice in this line of work. I think that “honest” and “aggressive” would be the way to put it. Sometimes, being aggressive means being blunt. Generally speaking, there’s a way to save everybody a lot of grief, upfront.
A very un-Canadian trait, some people would say.
Well, I think that people appreciate quick answers. Reponses as opposed to no responses. “Yes” or “no” instead of “maybe.” Most people in the business, at this point, appreciate that. How you deliver it is up to you.
Why did you and Jack approach Neil Warnock about setting up a Toronto office?
We were looking for expertise, and certainly the opportunity to get our artists on an international playing field. That was the objective. Neil’s experience, absolute wealth of knowledge, connections and all of the rest of it were invaluable, and continue to be invaluable to us.
You and Jack already had relationships with many of The Agency Group’s agents in America.
At that point, I think (the late) Dave Kirby, Steve Martin and Steve Schenck were in New York. Jack had worked with Steve Martin on a bunch of projects. (Being a Canadian) Kirby obviously understood Canada, and Neil had been booking bands in Canada for decades. He appreciated that there was a market here. Steve Martin had always done a lot of work here as well. They both could see that there was an opportunity here.
Certainly, the talent pool in this country—I’m a flag-waving Canadian, for sure—but if you take a look at the size of this country, the amount of hits and artists who have come out of here is impressive. Certainly, Neil Warnock and Steve Martin recognized that, and they felt that Jack and I could do the job here.
Also, if you were going to go head-to-head in Canada with S.L. Feldman & Associates, you needed that amount of international support as well.
Well, certainly we wanted to do things different and…..
C’mon you are dancing here. Either you could end up being a secondary agency or be a serious player.
Yeah. It was our intention to go international, and having Neil, his expertise and his connections absolutely gave us a leg up on a bunch of different fronts. But, I think that our A&R sense was, as much as anything, important too. We found some great young talent and developed it.
In the mid-‘90s, the Canadian music scene was in transition.
There was an established Canadian hierarchy, and it was ready for a whole bunch of fresh new blood. There were some great young artists out there that we were fortunate to come across, and that we worked to help develop. The timing was great. There’s a lot of talent out there right now; there’s another wave of incredible young artists that are coming along that will fill in the gaps for the ones that fall to the wayside.
You may have needed the link with Neil in 1996, given what happened with the live music consolidations that came soon afterwards.
The timing definitely was good for us to get this company going in Canada. But it was a battle. There’s no question about it. Certainly, we did lose a number of key artists along the way in the first few years. The grass being greener in the other pasture. But we understood that, and just kept marching forward.
Why would you lose clients in those early years? Was it because S.L. Feldman & Associates was so dominant at that time?
Having been an artist, I know that it is hard (for musicians) to decipher between reality and hype. Certainly, you can present the facts a bunch of different ways. People were promised things, and whatever. Artists come and go. Artists feel that there’s a better opportunity somewhere, and off they go. That happens, and will continue to happen.
For several years, there was considerable animosity between your agency, and S.L. Feldman. The rhetoric has quieted down in recent years. How competitive are the two agencies?
I think we are doing our thing; and they are doing their thing. There are other companies. Paquin (Entertainment) is doing a good job in Canada right now; and a lot of the American companies have smaller operations here as well. So, there is a lot of competition. Bruce (Allen) and Sam (Feldman) have top notch management companies, and they have a good agency that has been around for a long time. We go about things a bit differently. I think we are pretty focused on the job at hand, and I don’t really feel like that I am spending all day looking over my shoulder like I did 15 years ago.
As agents, your company books the artist rather than by territory?
I think that really works better for us. There are certain aspects of the territorial system that has its advantages, but I think that our system is the best system and it is certainly working for us.
You hadn’t worked that way before?
No.
Was it hard to adapt to?
Not at all. No waiting around for our Vancouver office to do something because we didn’t have a Vancouver office. The disadvantages of territorial is that people, who don’t really understand what’s important to the artist, are out there trying to put tours together. There are certain finesse points, especially with certain artists, where you just need to get on the phone, and do it yourself.
Back in the mid-90s, many Canadian bands still toured across the country rather than north to south across the border into the U.S.
Well, when we started The Agency Group here 15 years ago with Neil, Jack Ross and I, one of the main objectives—and it had been one of the objectives of mine, dating back to my band days—was to eliminate the border. That was one of the first things that we did. That the border no longer existed. If you got to Winnipeg, the next place that you would play would be Minneapolis and Chicago, or whatever.
Steve Herman played a pivotal role in the agency, as president of the Canadian operations, and later as the CEO of North America.
Steve came into the company at a critical time in (2003). To find someone with his background was incredible. He had promoted Harlequin at Carleton University. He brought us in four times, I think. I had worked with him at Feldman, and at The Agency (not to be confused with The Agency Group). He promoted a ton of our shows. He and Michael Rapino (as Core Audience Entertainment) were actually the first guys to give Nickelback a shot in Toronto. We got them on with Creed and Oleander (at The Docks in Oct. 1999). I begged, and begged and they got it. Steve came in and did a terrific job here. The Agency Group had grown like a weed.
Steve was here six-and a half years (from 2003 to 2009). He was based in Toronto, but he worked out of the L.A., New York and London offices on a regular basis. He really helped make the company grow and become more solid.
[Currently, Steve Herman is president of artist services at Live Nation in Los Angeles. He oversees the company’s artist services group. Previously, Herman had co-founded Core Audience Entertainment and also held senior positions at Universal Concerts, SFX Canada, and S.L. Feldman and Associates.]
Steve also had considerable international connections.
Steve made a point of getting to know everybody. He has such a unique combination of skills. From being a college promoter, to being an agent, to being a promoter at the highest level. He had been involved in a lot of different aspects of the business. He is an absolutely tireless worker and he really helped to structure the company. which was growing at a phenomenal rate. He made a major contribution.
Working with such acts as Nickelback, Three Day Grace, and Billy Talent has led to you working more and more internationally.
That’s for sure. We do some territorial things by continent. I certainly book a lot of the artists on my roster in South America, Australia, Japan, wherever, and utilize some great agents in our U.K., New York and L.A. offices to help with some of the stuff.
Specifically in America, we have some outstanding agents that have done a great job for some of my artists. It has worked out really well. We like to take a look at the whole world when we are planning a tour. It’s a lot more interesting than just plowing back and forth across one country.
Steve Kaul in our New York office has worked with me on Nickelback and Three Days Grace. He’s a fantastic agent, and just an amazing guy. And Geoff Meall in the U.K. has been on Billy Talent with me from the beginning.
At what stage do you introduce agents in other offices to new Canadian acts?
With Nickelback, I sent their independent CD (“Hesher” in 1996), out and said, “I think I’m onto something here.” I sent it to the guys that I thought would get it. Steve Kaul came back to me, and said, “You know what? I think you are onto something too.” With Billy Talent, I think that Geoff Meall had worked with (manager) Pierre Tremblay on Barenaked Ladies. When Geoff heard Billy Talent, he got it right away.
Can we credit former CFOX-FM music director Rob Robson in Vancouver with introducing you to Nickelback?
You can definitely give Rob the credit. The brothers (Chad and Mike Kroeger) were very persistent as well.
At what stage in their development was Nickelback then?
It was definitely the early days. Chad, Mike and I sat down and figured out how we were going to approach trying to move the bar up a little bit (for the group), by working some radio that Chad was really, really good at, already. There were some people that I was able to get on the phone.
Did the band have the Roadrunner Records’ deal yet?
No. They were free agents in every sense. They didn’t have a manager, and were looking to change agents. It just worked out so perfectly. It’s an understatement to say that it worked out well.
You then booked Nickelback on some odd bills including with blues rockers Big Sugar, and Wide Mouth Mason, as well as with alternative rockers 54:40.
If Big Sugar could sell tickets, we were there. It was about getting Nickelback in front of more people, and on the right shows---whether they were musical matches made in heaven or not. They certainly learned a lot from playing with those bands. It also gave them the chance to work with the presenting radio stations. Every night, we would get calls saying, “This band was far better than we thought they were going to be. I think you are onto something here.” We knew that we were.
What was it about Nickelback that you found appealing?
They had songs, and they had incredible drive. Incredible drive. They were focused, really hard-working, and had an uncanny sense of writing hooky songs. They are also really good people. It was as much about the work ethic, and them being good people. I would have to say that’s true for the majority of the people that I’m the agent for. Why work with people that you don’t like? It sure is a lot easier to work with people that you trust and who are super hard working.
What’s common to Nickelback, Billy Talent and Three Days Grace?
They all started with really strong tunes, and an incredible work ethic. This sounds like a broken record, but what a concept! It’s a formula. Work really hard on your music. Work really hard, and then you are in the game.
The common ingredients for the success of Nickelback, Three Days Grace, and Billy Talent were songwriting and (their) work ethic. All three also have exceptional managers in Bryan Coleman (Nickelback), Q-Prime (Three Days Grace), and Pierre Tremblay (Billy Talent).
At what stage were you introduced to Billy Talent?
They were playing as Pezz, and had been together for a few years. I had seen them a couple of times at the Horseshoe (Tavern), and they were incredible. It was so intense; it was way off the meter. One night, (announcer) Dave Bookman, who works at The Edge (CFNY-FM in Toronto), gave me a demo of theirs with “Try Honestly,” “River Below” and other stuff, and it was incredible. They had turned the corner from (just) being intense—and just great players. All of a sudden, there were some really memorable tunes there. It was a couple of years after that they even made a dime still.
Three Days Grace, the same thing. We went out to see them play 30 minute sets at The Rivoli. They had some really solid tunes, and were good guys too that impressed me as people, and as musicians.
With two albums, Vancouver’s Marianas Trench seem to be the next big band to come out of Canada. When did you first come across them?
Marianas Trench was then with S.L. Feldman and on 604 Records at the time. I thought that they were the most amazing vocal band I had heard in years. How many young bands idolize Brian Wilson? When the opportunity came to work with them, we brought them down to Ontario, and they slugged it out on the (Highway) 401 (corridor) for about three months.
The first show they played to 10 people at The Cameron House (in Toronto) in the back room. Six months later, they sold out The Opera House. They built (their base) one fan at a time.
This band is doing serious business everywhere in Canada at this point. They are just going out on their first big American run. It starts in a couple of week. They are an incredibly talented band. One of the only bands in the modern era that has harmonies like that. (Frontman) Josh Ramsay definitely has got the goods. He’s incredible.
What other Canadian bands have you seen that you really like?
There’s a great band from the East Coast called Gloryhound (from Halifax, Nova Scotia) that nobody knows about yet. It is a very inspiring young band.
You represent the Arkells, who won the Juno Award for top new group last year.
The Arkells are the most improved young band out there, right now. I saw them recently. They are absolutely incredible.
Your roster seems to be fresher than ever.
We have a whole crop of “the next ones” I would say that we take our time, and try to pick the ones that have the most ability, obviously. It’s a matter of sticking with them through the first real lean years. You have to decide how much time you want to invest in something. When you see the work ethic coming back, and the improvement, it gives you the inspiration to keep slugging it out (for them).
Some of your original clients are back touring this year.
In our 15th year, we’re going to have some fun with some of the original clients, who are all out working again. Big Sugar is back together. The Watchmen are out doing gigs; and the Headstones put out four shows, and sold them without running an ad. And, 54:40 is in its 30th year.
I’m also working with some chefs, which is something that I have always been interested in. I’m doing a tour now with Bob Blumer and Kevin Brauch called “Live & Uncorked.” As well, Ted Reader and Rob Rainford are out there. Chefs are the new rock stars. Check out the Food Network. Everybody watches that channel.
[Canadian food author Bob Blumer is the creator and host of Food Network's “The Surreal Gourmet” and “Glutton for Punishment.” From 1984 to 1993, he was business manager for Canadian artist Jane Siberry.]
How does it feel knowing that Harlequin is still active?
Pretty funny, actually. Looking at the spins that the band still gets on Canadian radio, and a little bit outside the country, it is kind of gratifying to think that some of those tunes have an enduring quality that still warrants radio playing them. We’re still buddies. I haven’t played with the band since ‘87, other than a couple of miniscule reunions when the Junos were in Winnipeg (in 2005), and the Hall of Fame performance we did (in 2006) for Western Canadian Music Week. A couple of tunes here and there. But (singer) George Belanger still has the band going. They get out, and do things from time to time.
With acts like Saga, Triumph, Streetheart, and Trooper happening, the late ‘70s was a great time for Canadian rock. There was Rock Express magazine (later renamed Music Express) in Calgary, writing about Canadian bands nationally.
They were big supporters of ours in the beginning, which was pretty cool. All the bands you mentioned, we played with at one point or other. We opened for Saga in Puerto Rico at a stadium there. Our band was massive down there (the track “Innocence” had been a hit single Puerto Rico). With that introduction, playing for those promoters there, we ended up going to South America. We sold out two nights at El Poliedro (in Caracas, Venezuela), which is pretty unbelievable for a bunch of Canadians from Winnipeg.
Triumph took us out for two different Canadian tours, and two American tours. We played tons of dates with Kenny Shields and Streetheart over the years. Then there was the “Nature of the Beast” tour (of North America in 1981) with April Wine. They were in a Lear jet, and we were in a van. It was pretty interesting keeping up with them.
Winnipeg was a great place to grow up for a musician.
The music was hugely important to everybody there. Huge. And, it still is. It’s just the type of city that it is. There’s a great competitive radio market there. And, there’s an unbelievable amount of talent still there.
It was a meat and potatoes rock and roll town back in your day.
For the most part, that’s the way it was. The Guess Who was certainly an inspiration in that it was a band that was playing community clubs one day; all a sudden has hits big; and gets out of Canada. They certainly showed the way that it could be done.
As well as Bachman-Turner Overdrive.
BTO, absolutely, and Neil Young. A lot of Winnipeggers have left Winnipeg, and went on to do other things.
Certainly, there was rivalry and competition there, as there is in any part of the music business, but there was a tremendous scene there. Great radio people from (the late programmer) Steve Young and the guys who started CITI-FM, Magic Christian, Brother Jake, and Andy Frost. There was a tremendous core of people in Winnipeg that were very, very supportive of the local scene. And the scene sustained, and supported itself.
Winnipeg still has its own independent vibe.
There’s still a fantastic scene there. Jokingly, it’s because there’s nothing to do and it’s so cold that (as a musician) you stay inside and practice. There’s a tremendous number of good talent in that market; remarkable for the size of the market. There’s a tremendous scene there too, of support between the artists.
Is it true that producer Jack Douglas spotted Harlequin at a Toronto club?
There’s a little bit of truth in that. Jack had a couple of different guys that he used to play with (in the band, the Liverpool Set), Lachlan McFayden and Kent Daubney (the trio formed Waterfront Productions in 1970). They were on the hunt for bands. Jack took us down to The Record Plant in New York. We had been passed on by everybody (in Canada) twice. Waterfront Productions saw something in us that other people seemed to have overlooked. They still didn’t get us a deal at first but, eventually, we ended up on Epic in Canada, and Columbia in America. We got a chance to work with Jack, a guy who really taught us a tremendous amount about focusing on songs, and arrangements, keeping it simple and the importance of just having well-crafted material. Jack is a very patient guy and he showed us a lot of things, including about making good songs.
Jack was a hot producer at the time. He had been working as an engineer with Canadian producer Bob Ezrin and had produced Montrose, Starz, and Artful Dodger.
He had Cheap Trick too. “Live at Budokan” (1979) was a big record for him. Obviously, there was Aerosmith. He started working on the John Lennon record (“Double Fantasy” in 1980) while we were recording. He’d say, “Guys, we have to take a few days off. I’m going over to Long Island to work with John Lennon.” Okay, that’s a good excuse. You can have a few days off for that.
Why did you hang up the bass in 1987?
It was 15 years with the same band. (At first) we said that we were going to work at (a career) for six months, even if it was that long it took to make it. We were going to give it a full six months, and then 15 years later, I just felt that I had accomplished what I wanted to accomplish. I didn’t see it getting past that. I was very interested in the business aspect of (booking) and, quite frankly, I didn’t think that I wanted to be driving around in a van—although at that point we had progressed and were traveling in style and playing real gigs and making good money and all of the rest of it. I just thought, “I’ve got what I wanted out of this, and it’s time to move on.”
Were you married at that point?
Not quite, but getting there. But that wasn’t a factor in (my decision). It was just that I loved (playing in a band). It was all that I wanted to do. One day, I just didn’t love it, anymore. It’s a pretty hard job to do, if you aren’t completely 110% into it. It wasn’t fair to the others guys. I gave a year’s notice, and became Harlequin’s agent and manager, and we are all still pals.
Harlequin was booked by a number of agencies in Canada.
When I was still in the band, there was a whole network (of agents across the country). There was no national (booking) company at that point. We worked with Music Shoppe, and then Platinum Artists (in Toronto); and Rob Hoskin, who was in Vancouver at Feldman --he did a lot of stuff. He was one of the first guys who figured out that, in secondary and tertiary markets, you could put recording acts in night clubs that traditionally didn’t use them, to help route tours. He was an innovator in that sense.
Was Harlequin your first client at The Hungry I?
That’s a good question. Around that time, when I started getting serious about (booking), I also signed Monuments Galore, and then the Watchmen. I was looking after some things out west for The Tragically Hip and (their manager), Jake Gold. So I had some interesting bands.
What did you learn from working with Frank Weiner at The Hungry I?
Get the money. Real simple. Get the money. “Where is the money?” Frank was really good. He had just sold the company to Rob Hoskin (who passed away Feb. 28 2009). Frank stuck around for the first six months or year in the transition. Certainly, he was a living legend and a real character.
Frank had The Hungry I; the record company, Franklin Records; and he also managed bands.
360 before anybody ever knew what it was. At the end of it, he took a lot of heat from everybody because not everybody quite understood what he was doing. But, I think he helped the (Manitoba music) scene. He was a huge part in getting the scene going, and growing.
In 1991, you went to Toronto to work at The Agency, which was owned by Michael Cohl and Bill Ballard’s Concerts Production International.
Then Steve Herman left Feldman in Vancouver, and opened up an office (for the company) in Toronto. So (in 1993) I went to Vancouver to work for Feldman. I moved back to Toronto for a short time, and left Feldman. Jack (Ross) and I decided that we were going to put an agency together. Jack had a management company (J.A.M., with such clients as Moxy Fruvous, hHead, and Furnaceface) that was doing really well; but he was also a great agent and has such great ears. We knew that we could work together. It was actually Jake Gold’s idea. We had worked together briefly at The Agency.
What was it like working in Vancouver?
I had trouble with it. I found the scene there to be weak. I had a number of clients there, but a lot of my roster was then based elsewhere. In the early ‘90s, there weren’t a lot of places in Vancouver to play. There still aren’t. (The city) was a little too laid back for my liking. I was there for a year and a half ,and I think it rained every day. A great city, though.
What business have you able to do in Quebec, which is primarily French-speaking? It’s a virtual “black hole” for many Canadian bookers.
Well, we have found ways to do business there. It’s on an artist-by-artist basis. Certainly, Billy Talent is a big band there. Three Days Grace does great there. We have some bands like the Lost Fingers from Quebec that have a following there.
Quebec is not for everybody. There have certainly been record companies that used to be focused on “We have to get the band to break Quebec” because a couple of bands had success there. But, it’s just not for everybody. Certainly artists of international status -- once they have international status, the language become less of a barrier there.
You have only a few Quebec-based bands on your roster, Patrick Watson and Malajube being the main ones.
We have some. We could probably do more there.
Would you not concede that your agency isn’t on the ground in Quebec?
Certainly not at the development level. That would be fairly accurate. I’m not sure about the scene there. With radio, it seems that the English rock acts there get played in overnight rotation. Still, there are a number of artists, like Patrick Watson, that we have had some success with that, we picked up at the ground level.
How successful have you been in booking The Agency Group’s international clients in Canada?
We have had a lot of luck in the last couple of years booking our international clients, certainly the Scorpions came in, and did real business. We have Deep Purple coming this year. They are going to do good business. Some of the heritage acts that only tour from time to time, we are having a lot of luck with. Jack has done Billy Bragg for years in Canada. Certain artists continue to do real business here year in and year out. They don’t always tour all of the time to,.so when they do come here it makes a big difference.
Canada has always had an attraction to Brit bands.
So many of those British acts got their foot in the door in Canada before they got into America. To my point earlier about Neil Warnock really understanding the Canadian market, it’s because bands like Pink Floyd, Deep Purple, and Nazareth, all of those bands that he brought here in the beginning, certainly had a chance here early in their careers.
After all these years, you seem to retain your enthusiasm for music and the music business.
I can go down to Queen Street (in Toronto), and walk into The Horseshoe and grab a beer with some buddies, and watch a great young band. How can you beat that? I’m a sucker for that. I still try to get out and check out as many new bands as I can.
The thing about our line of work is that we spend every waking moment thinking about (seeing bands) Most people don’t. It’s, “I think that I’m going to The Horseshoe tonight.” They grab a couple of their buddies, and go out and drink some beer, and watch some bands. When they leave, they stop thinking about it. They may later pick up the newspaper, and say, “I want to see Bon Jovi.” They go and buy their tickets; wait six months until the show happens; and they plan around that. That’s their night out.
Whereas people like us, we think (about the experience). We over think it. And, we think it again.
Larry LeBlanc is widely recognized as one of the leading music industry journalists in the world. Before joining CelebrityAccess in 2008 as senior editor, he was the Canadian bureau chief of Billboard from 1991-2007 and Canadian editor of Record World from 1970-89. He was also a co-founder of the late Canadian music trade, The Record. He has been quoted on music industry issues in hundreds of publications including Time, Forbes, and the London Times. He is co-author of the book “Music From Far And Wide: Celebrating 40 Years Of The Juno Awards.”
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| February 1, 2011
JUNO AWARD nominees announced! The Juno Awards will take place March 27th broadcast from the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Canada.
Congratulations to The Agency Group nom’s:
GROUP OF THE YEAR
Broken Social Scene Arts & Crafts*EMI
Down With Webster Universal Motown*Universal
Great Big Sea WEA*Warner
Three Days Grace Jive*Sony
COUNTRY ALBUM OF THE YEAR (SPONSORED BY COUNTRY STYLE)
Trail in Life Dean Brody Open Road*Universal
Sunshine Deric Ruttan Black T*EM
A Place Called Love Johnny Reid Johnny Mac*EMI
JUNO FAN CHOICE AWARD (SPONSORED BY LIVE NATION)
Johnny Reid Johnny Mac*EMI
ALBUM OF THE YEAR (SPONSORED BY CANADIAN RECORDING INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION)
A Place Called Love Johnny Reid Johnny Mac*EMI
ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Johnny Reid Johnny Mac*EMI
NEW GROUP OF THE YEAR (SPONSORED BY FACTOR AND RADIO STARMAKER FUND)
Die Mannequin WEA*Warner
My Darkest Days 604*Universal
ADULT ALTERNATIVE ALBUM OF THE YEAR (SPONSORED BY GALAXIE, YOUR MUSICAL UNIVERSE)
You I Wind Land and Sea Justin Nozuka Coalition*Warner
Steel City Trawler Luke Doucet And The White Falcon Six Shooter*Warner
Oh Little Fire Sarah Harmer Cold Snap*Universal
ALTERNATIVE ALBUM OF THE YEAR (SPONSORED BY LONG & MCQUADE)
Forgiveness Rock Record Broken Social Scene Arts & Crafts*EMI
POP ALBUM OF THE YEAR (SPONSORED BY RECORDING ARTISTS' COLLECTING SOCIETY – A DIVISION OF ACTRA)
Time to Win Vol. 1 Down With Webster Universal Motown*Universal
Can'T keEp A SecrEt Faber Drive 604*Universal
ROCK ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Bears, Mayors, Scraps & Bones Cancer Bats Distort*Universal
Fino + Bleed Die Mannequin WEA*Warner
Life Turns Electric Finger Eleven Wax/Wind-Up*Warner
Population: Declining Hail the Villain WEA*Warner
Vancouver Matthew Good Universal
VOCAL JAZZ ALBUM OF THE YEAR (SPONSORED BY CRYSTAL SENSATIONS)
The Beat Goes On Emilie-Claire Barlow Empress*eOne Music
Tracing Light Laila Biali Independent
INSTRUMENTAL ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Rising Sun The Souljazz Orchestra Strut*RED
Spirit Dance David Braid & Canadian Brass Opening Day*Universal
DANCE RECORDING OF THE YEAR
Fixin' To Thrill Dragonette Universal
Table Dancer Keshia Chanté Tanjola*Univeral
R&B/SOUL RECORDING OF THE YEAR
Test Drive Keshia Chanté Tanjola*Universal
So Much Raghav *Cordova Bay
ROOTS & TRADITIONAL ALBUM OF THE YEAR: SOLO
The Early Widows Justin Rutledge Six Shooter*Warner
ROOTS & TRADITIONAL ALBUM OF THE YEAR: GROUP
City City Chic Gamine Independent*Select
BLUES ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Bread And Buddha Harry Manx Dog My Cat*SRI
JACK RICHARDSON PRODUCER OF THE YEAR (SPONSORED BY SLAIGHT MUSIC)
David Foster "Bring Me To Life" Believe – Katherine Jenkins Warner Bros. UK*Warner|
Gavin Brown & Sarah Harmer "Captive" | "New Loneliness" Oh Little Fire – Sarah Harmer Cold Snap*Universal
RECORDING ENGINEER OF THE YEAR
Jeff Wolpert "Midnight Train to Georgia" Soul Ballads – David Clayton-Thomas Antoinette*Universal
Lenny De Rose "Captive" | "Late Bloomers" Oh Little Fire – Sarah Harmer Cold Snap*Universal
Mike Plotnikoff "Break" Life Starts Now – Three Days Grace Jive*Sony
RECORDING PACKAGE OF THE YEAR
Graeme Patterson (Art Director) New Inheritors Wintersleep EMI
Justin Peroff, Robyn Kotyk & Joe McKay (Art Directors/Designers); Jimmy Collins & Elisabeth Chicoine (Photographers)
Forgiveness Rock Record Vinyl Box Set Broken Social Scene Arts & Crafts*EMI
VIDEO OF THE YEAR (SPONSORED BY VEVO)
“Saint Veronika” Michael Maxxis – Billy Talent WEA*Warner
“Collect Call” Christopher Mills – Metric Last Gang*Universal
“Forced to Love” Adam Makarenko & Alan Poon (Makapoon) – Broken Social Scene Arts & Crafts*EMI
MUSIC DVD OF THE YEAR
Rush: Beyond The Lighted Stage – Scot McFadyen, Sam Dunn, Pegi Cecconi, Noah Segal, Shelley Nott, John Virant Rush Alliance
This Movie is Broken – Bruce McDonald – Dany M. Chiasson, Niv Fichman, Noah Segal, Amy Paquette Broken Social Scene – Shadow Shows/Rhombus Media/Arts & Crafts*Alliance
The Lost Tapes – Christopher Mills – Nick Blasko, Geoff McLean, Christopher Mills Buck 65 WEA*Warner
ELECTRONIC ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Ivory Towers Chilly Gonzales Arts & Crafts*EMI
Latin Holy Fuck Lights Music*Universal
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January 14, 2011
Vincent Moon & Efterklang unveil plans for Private-Public Screenings of AN ISLAND
Late last year the Nordic Music Prize nominated Danish band Efterklang and renowned French filmmaker Vincent Moon announced their film project AN ISLAND, a unique musical collaboration. The film will be aired before the majority of the Efterklang live shows on their forthcoming European tour (February 17th - March 18th).
However Efterklang and Vincent Moon are also inviting people to host their own screenings of AN ISLAND throughout February and March. Dubbed Private-Public Screenings, the rules are very simple. In order to host a screening, each event must adhere to the following:
•The screenings need to have free entrance • The screenings need to be public • The screenings need to have a minimum capacity of 5 people
•The screenings need to be verified by Efterklang & Vincent Moon and only screenings that are featured on www.anisland.cc are official Private-Public Screenings . In other words as long as entrance is free and it is an open event (as capacity permits) the Private-Public Screenings can take place at a home, at a café, in a school auditorium - basically, anywhere. Those planning to host screenings in their own homes will be able to have full control over who can attend.
From today Efterklang and Vincent Moon will be acceptingPrivate-Public Screening applications of AN ISLAND. For more information and details on how to apply visit www.anisland.cc/home
We hope that a lot of people will host and attend screenings of AN ISLAND. The Private-Public Screenings are our attempt at creating a free and inspiring distribution method for our film. It is also our attempt to give something back to our many supporters around the world. We have financed this film ourselves and we hope that we can recoup some of that money through donations. However, the memory of the 4 days we spent on the island of Als in August 2010 and our joy and pride of the finished film is a huge reward in itself. - Vincent Moon & Efterklang The third teaser trailer for AN ISLAND also just aired. It can now be seen at www.anisland.cc. For an updated list of the current and future Official Screenings and Private-Public Screenings of AN ISLAND go to: www.anisland.cc/home/attend-a-screening
AN ISLAND is an unconventional music performance film and an abstract documentary about a band and an island.
In August 2010, French filmmaker Vincent Moon and Efterklang's 8 piece-live band met up on an island off the Danish coast. The objective was to shoot a film that was the same length as an album, and full of performances, experiments and collaborations.
Over an intense period of four days Efterklang collaborated with more than 200 local musicians, kids and parents, creating new performances and interpretations of songs from their album Magic Chairs (4AD, 2010). It was documented by Vincent Moon who also conducted several filmic and musical experiments with Efterklang as his dedicated playmates.
Efterklang: We value An Island as much as we value our albums. We are so proud to be part of this and can't wait for it to premier
Vincent Moon: An Island is not similar to any other film I have done with bands or artists. This is a collaboration on a deeper level. I’m hoping this film can push the boundaries between images and sounds, resulting in a hybrid, a film in between genres.
AN ISLAND is financed by Efterklang, Vincent Moon and donations. Except where otherwise noted, all content relating to An Island is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-Share Alike 3.0 License.
The running time is 50 minutes.
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December 8, 2010
Vans Warped Tour 2011 Announcement
Vans made the first lineup announcement of bands, revealing that they were going to announce five a week until March 26, when the biggest names would be revealed. TAG bands confirmed so far are…
Dance Gavin Dance
Every Avenue
We Came As Romans
The Word Alive
http://www.vanswarpedtour.com/
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December 6, 2010
Road Survival Tools of a Pro Agent: Touring Tips from The Agency Group’s David Galea
November 28, 2010 by David Weiss
MIDTOWN, MANHATTAN: You’re not ready until you’re ready to take it on the road. With all bets officially off on all other forms of music revenue, touring is one of the most tangible avenues available for promoting a band.
Book it, Batman! David Galea of the Agency Group keeps bands on the move.
David Galea, an agent at the NYC office of the elite booking specialists The Agency Group, knows that as well as anyone. Currently, he represents the traveling interests of approximately 35 indie/major label acts including Paramore, Relient K, Dredg, and Brooke Waggoner, and it’s his job to make the most out of his artists’ time up on the stage – show by show.
Before the energetic Galea was on the payroll of The Agency Group, he was a client. As the trumpet player for ska act Edna’s Goldfish, Galea toured with the group from 1998-2000, at first booking their tours himself before their manager signed them with an agent at – you guessed it – The Agency Group named Jeremy Holgersen. Even after Galea had had enough of the road himself, however, he found that the lure of the tour was still there – it’s just that he wanted to book jaunts, instead of being on them.
Galea nabbed an internship at The Agency Group, a multinational agency with 50 agents and a combined roster of 1,000+ artists. Combining patience with natural aptitude, Galea moved up the ladder to assistant, and then on to full agent. Today, he’s got a clear passion for his field and sharp experience to share with all the bands, managers, live sound engineers, FOH mixers and labels who need to make the most of touring.
You said that part of what you do is “Plan people’s lives.” What did you mean by that?
With retail making a lot less money, and merch (merchandising) more, touring is an increasingly strategic part of a bands career. Touring used to be an accessory. You use to tour to promote the record. Now you tour to exist.
It’s important to have a vision for your live component. When you’re building a band, you need eyeballs. You need people to see you, and you can’t be too precious about the bands you tour with.
Paramore hits the road with Galea's help.
When should a band book their own tours, and when should they look for an agent?
It’s an interesting question – there’s not an exact science to it. In the indie hipster world, things tend to blow up quickly because of blog activity. Couple that with really good press: If Picthfork gives your record an extremely good review, you’re off to the races.
That said, touring is becoming more and more valuable to a band’s career, and when they come out of festivals like CMJ and SXSW a lot of those bands are being gobbled up by bookings agents as if they were real estate. I try to keep my roster manageable – with a small stable of bands I can also develop real relationships in each market with each buyer.
I think a lot of bands just want to go out there and tour, and see the country. You can go to Seattle, and 100 people might be into your band because of MySpace/Facebook. I’m very traditional: conquer your home town, conquer your region. If you’re from Milwaukee play Chicago, Des Moines, Grand Rapids, Detroit – build up followings in those places, before you leave the Midwest.
If you’re from Seattle, there’s not as many options – Portland, Eugene, but then it’s out to Boise. It’s not like the Midwest or Northeast, where a lot of cities are aggregated closely.
So that’s important. That way you build your following and your buzz, and then you get a booking agent.
That’s great advice. What else?
The other thing is perfect your show. Master your craft. If you’re a baker, you might not want to open your first bakery until you’ve perfected your confections. Why not wait until you’ve perfected your show to be out with professionals? I would stress that point more than anything else – be good. And there are a ton of bands with agents that are successful, that aren’t that good live.
What do you want to let artists, managers and/or labels know about booking shows or a tour – what are the mistakes young bands make booking themselves?
Well, I was in a young band booking myself — with Edna’s Goldfish — at one point. Obviously, you need to be smart about the geography, and don’t overextend yourself. What you’re doing is arduous: You’re not eating well or sleeping well, and you’re doing a lot of traveling. So get the most bang for your buck, and see the most in a small amount of time.
Agency Group client Dredg is all the rage on stage.
Also be smart about your health. When I was on tour I ate Taco Bell three meals a day, and my stomach is still suffering for it. If you were living at your home, you wouldn’t spend three weeks in a row partying every day, not eating well and sleeping poorly. Don’t do those things on the road either. And insure your vehicle!
Because otherwise when the alternator blows, you can’t play the show.
This all sounds like a sensible approach to indie touring.
Early on it’s your health, well-being and your vehicle. Make what you’re doing, doable! Don’t say when you’re booking a tour, “This drive from Philly to Atlanta will be really shitty, but it will be a good show.” Unless the gig is just undeniable, don’t go from Philly straight to Atlanta! You may have a bad show because you slept in the van all night.
Play the places you should be playing. If you have fans in Cleveland, Chicago, Milwaukee, play those places, and don’t hit Muncie, Indiana, just because it’s on the way.
Geography is important, in terms of building careers. Don’t just focus on major cities, play around in the suburbs, and then when you do play NYC or Los Angeles later on, they’ll come and see you. Go to where the people are.
How do you also make sure you’re doing all that as economically as possible?
Again, by touring regionally. It’s a big country. In terms of economics, once you cross that Mississippi River, the drives get loooonger. Texas is a big state, and it takes a long time to drive through it.
If you’re in school, you may only have the summer to tour. Divide a six-week tour up so it’s a bit easier to get from place to place.
Dave sez: Use the map to your advantage.
We’re both here in New York City. Why — or why isn’t — NYC a particularly good place to be involved in live music as an agent, artist, venue owner or whatever?
It’s the biggest city in the country, thus it will have the most people going to concerts, and in turns a wide range of people with a wide amount of interests. Conversely, that’s what makes it tough: the competition. There are lots of opportunities to play live and put on shows, but in a recession economy it can make things difficult.
But, hey, this is NYC! It’s greatest city in the world. If you look at what happened in Brooklyn in the last 10 years – just like how scenes emerged over the decades in Montreal, Toronto, Seattle, Indianapolis – NYC is a marquee city.
There’s always a lot of marquee value for being an NYC band — not to disparage LA — but a lot more so than being an LA band. You don’t hear about a lot of huge acts coming from there right now. It’s a different world. And people are looking for entertainment more here in NYC. In a place like San Diego, people are less interested in shows.
Thanks for a terrific introduction to the basics of booking bands. Anything else?
This sounds cheesy, but go after what you believe in. I was in a band because that’s just what I wanted to do for a couple of years. And now I’m continuing to grow. – I’ve just scratched the surface in terms of my professional goals.
– David Weiss
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December 1, 2010
The 53rd Grammy Award Nominations Announced!
Congratulations to our TAG nominees:
ALEX*CUBA
Best Latin Album – Alex*Cuba
BIG BOI
Best Urban/Alternative Performance – “Tightrope” with Janelle Monae & Big Boi
Best Rap Performance By A Duo or Group – “Shutterbug” Big Boi & Cutty
BLACK KEYS
Best Alternative Music Album – Brothers
Best Rock Song – “Tighten Up” from Brothers
Best Rock Performance By A Duo or Group with Vocals – “Tighten Up” from Brothers
Best Rock Instrumental Performance – “Black Mud” from Brothers
Best Recording Package – Brothers
HAYLEY WILLIAMS
Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals – “Airplanes, Part II” B.o.B. Eminem, Hayley Williams
LAMB OF GOD
Best Metal Performance – “In Your Words” from Wrath
LALAH HATHAWAY
Best Gospel Performance – “He’s Been Just That Good” from Gospel According to Jazz Chapter III
Best Gospel Song – “It’s What I Do” The Gospel According to Jazz Chapter III
LEON RUSSELL
Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals – “If It Wasn’t For Bad” Elton John & Leon Russell
NORTEC COLLECTIVE
Best Latin Rock, Alternative or Urban Album – Bulevar 2000
PARAMORE
Best Pop Performance By A Duo Or Group with Vocals – “The Only Exception” from Brand New Eyes
PORCUPINE TREE
Best Surround Sound Album – The Incident
INDIA.ARIE
Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals – “Imagine”
MUSE
Best Rock Performance By A Duo or Group with Vocals – “Resistance”
Best Rock Song – “Resistance”
Best Rock Album – The Resistance
JEWEL
Best Female Country Vocal Performance – “Satisfied”
BUJU BANTON
Best Raggae Album – Before The Dawn
RUSH
Best Long Form Music Video – Rush: Beyond The Lighted Stage
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December 1, 2010
GERSH AND THE AGENCY GROUP FORGE GROUNDBREAKING ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY ALLIANCE
Strategic Partnership Expands Resources and Creates a Full-Scope of Revenue Generating Opportunities for Agencies’ Clientele
Los Angeles — Talent and literary agency the Gersh agency and worldwide entertainment booking agency The Agency Group are announcing a strategic alliance that significantly expands both agencies’ scope and capabilities to offer a full spectrum of entertainment opportunities to their respective clients. The partnership allows each to leverage the other’s strengths and expertise to create cross-platform synergies for multi-hyphenate music and entertainment clients to generate additional revenues in the areas of television, motion picture, literary, theatre, and personal appearances.
Through this new relationship with The Agency Group, Gersh has signed on to represent Ray Davies, lead singer and songwriter of the legendary British rock band, The Kinks. Gersh and Davies will collaborate on developing a Broadway show based on Davies’ extensive music catalogue. Gersh’s long-time client, Bobcat Goldthwait, has adapted and will direct a movie based on The Kinks’ classic album, “Schoolboys in Disgrace.”
Hot indie band 3OH!3, the best selling alternative-pop duo whose new album “Streets of Gold” had three hit singles on the iTunes charts, will now be working with Gersh to seek out film and television opportunities, while The Agency Group will continue to book the artist’s live tours.
“With the continuing expansion of The Agency Group and the services that we provide to our clients, it is particularly satisfying to be working with Rick Greenstein, his excellent partners and agents at Gersh, to expand and explore opportunities for our clients in the film and TV worlds,” said Neil Warnock, CEO, The Agency Group. “Further, it is a great pleasure for The Agency Group to bring our services to Gersh clients in the personal appearance and live world in general.”
Under the agreement The Agency Group will secure additional international tour bookings in select markets for Gersh’s comedy clients and offer access to their extensive roster of music artists for possible collaborations. Theatre collaborations will also be an integral part of the partnership, including pairing each other’s clients to create and package new shows and musicals.
“The diverse resources each agency embodies allows us to structure a unique strategic alliance that will be creatively implemented across the industry including but not limited to theatre, TV, film, literary and personal appearances,” said Rick Greenstein, Senior Partner, Gersh. “We are pleased to be partnering with a global powerhouse such as The Agency Group and have an enormous amount of respect for Neil Warnock and the impressive company and clients he has built. We have no question that this will be a hugely successful partnership.”
The Gersh/The Agency Group partnership is spearheaded by Rick Greenstein, Senior Partner and Senior Executive Vice President at Gersh; Neil Warnock, CEO, The Agency Group Worldwide; Steve Martin, President, North America, The Agency Group-New York; and Bruce Solar, Senior Vice President, The Agency Group-Los Angeles. Greenstein brings a wealth of experience in the personal appearances and live tour booking industry after leading the Gersh Comedy division for fifteen years and representing household names including Dave Chappelle, Jamie Foxx and Drew Carey. Warnock, who represents a “who’s who” in the music world including Pink Floyd, Nickelback, and Dolly Parton, has expanded The Agency Group worldwide with five international offices and more than 1,500 clients in all genres of the music business.
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About The Agency Group
The Agency Group is a worldwide music agency. Their diverse roster includes a wide variety of international talent. The company also has a literary division, a speakers division, and a performing arts division. They offer global representation for their artists, with offices in London, New York, Los Angeles, Toronto, and Malmo.
About The Gersh Agency
Gersh is a full-service entertainment agency with offices in Beverly Hills and New York. The agency has success stories across all genres of the entertainment industry. In addition, Gersh, has a particularly strong theatre division with clients working on many of the leading Broadway musicals and shows including the Tony winning sensation “Memphis” as well as “American Idiot” and “Hair.”
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November 22, 2010
Steve Martin Honored at The Long Island Music Hall of Fame
Congratulations to Steve Martin on his induction into the Long Island Music Hall Of Fame 2010! The third induction award ceremony took place November 16, 2010 at the famed Oheka Castle in Huntington, NY. |
October 7, 2010
Congratulations to Geoff Meall!
The Agency Group London's very own Geoff Meall was awarded 'Agent of The Year' at Live UK The Summit Awards ceremony last night in London.
http://www.liveuksummit.com/ |
August 18, 2010
Billboard 2010 Thirty Under Thirty Announced
Billboard has announced the names of this year’s 30 Under Thirty industry players, which recognizes rising young executives who are driving our business forward with their artists and business vision. Nominated by readers and selected by the editors for each person’s achievements in the industry over the last 12 months. TAG’s very own, Dave Shapiro, made the top thirty!
Dave Shapiro, 26, booked Rob Halford of Judas Priest on Ozzfest this summer but also nurtures his younger acts. Chiodos sold out 2,000-capacity rooms, then supported Linkin Park, while its album, "Bone Palace Ballet," debuted at No. 5 on the Billboard 200. Shapiro also reps A Day to Remember, the Devil Wears Prada and Attack Attack! He booked 10 clients on the Vans Warped tours this year and last, and also launched, with Outer Loop Management, Scream It Like You Mean It, a festival tour in 1,000- to 2,000-capacity rooms. "Working creatively with other agents and managers allows me to always be thinking about the next step for each artist," he says. "The Agency Group is a place that really embraces this mind-set."
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Fri. July 30/10
The 17th annual Kerrang! Awards 2010 were held in London July 28th .
Congratulations to The Agency Group winners:
Best British Newcomer : Rise to Remain
Best International Newcomer : Trash Talk
Best Single : Youmeatsix('Liquid Conference')
Best Album : Paramore ('Brand New Eyes')
Best Live Band : Bullet For My Valentine
Best British Band : Bullet For My Valentine
The Kerrang Icon Award : Ronnie James Dio
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Tues. May. 18/10
The Agency Group Canada has 24 nominations at this year's MuchMusic Video Awards!
The show takes place June 20 in Toronto at MuchMusic headquarters on Queen Street. Congratulations to all our nominees, including:
VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Billy Talent - Devil On My Shoulder
Nickelback - I'd Come For You
Stereos - Summer Girl
POST -PRODUCTION OF THE YEAR
illScarlett f. Kardinal Offishall - Mikshakes and Razorblades
Lights - Saviour
Three Days Grace - Break
CINEMATOGRAPHY OF THE YEAR
Alexisonfire - The Northern
DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR
Billy Talent - Saint Veronika
K-OS f. Saukrates - I Wish I Knew Natalie Portman
POP VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Down With Webster - Your Man
Marianas Trench - Celebrity Status
Stereos - Summer Girl
MUCHLOUD ROCK VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Alexisonfire - Young Cardinals
Billy Talent - Devil On My Shoulder
Nickelback - I'd Come For You
Three Days Grace - Break
MUCHVIBE HIP-HOP VIDEO OF THE YEAR
K-OS f. Saukrates - I Wish I Knew Natalie Portman
MUCHFACT INDIE VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Alexisonfire - Young Cardinals
Arkells - Pullin' Punches
Metric - Gold Guns Girls
INTERNATIONAL VIDEO OF THE YEAR
3OH!3 f. Katy Perry - Starstrukk
UR FAVE VIDEO
Marianas Trench - Celebrity Status
UR FAVE NEW ARTIST
Carly Rae Jepsen
Down With Webster
Stereos
www.muchmusic.com
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Mon. May. 03/10
The Agency Group artist's earned 5 awards at the 2010 Juno Awards in St. John's, Newfoundland!
The winners are:
Group of the year
METRIC
Rock Album of the year
BILLY TALENT
New Group of the year
ARKELLS
Alternative Album of the year
METRIC
Contemporary Jazz Album of the year
CHARLES SPEARIN, The Happiness Project
http://junoawards.ca/
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Mon. Mar. 15/10
ILMC Arthur Awards
The Arthur Awards 2010 took place during the ILMC Gala Dinner in London Saturday, March 13th.
Congratulations to TAG's Natasha Bent for deservedly winning the ILMC Arthur Award of Tomorrow's New Boss!
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Mon. Mar. 15/10
TAG named Booking Agency of the Year during Canadian Music Week
The Agency Group's Toronto office was honoured with Agency of the Year Award at the 2010 Industry Awards! The Canadian Radio Music Awards took place Friday afternoon and Saturday evening was the Indie Awards. TAG had multiple wins during both awards including:
2010 Canadian Radio Music Awards
TAG award winners are:
Metric "Help I'm Alive" - Best Rock Group
Stereos "Summer Girl" - Contemporary Hit Radio
Carly Rae Jepsen "Tug of War" - Songwriter of the Year
Nickelback - Chart Topper
Arkells - Factor Emerging Artist Award
2010 Indie Awards
TAG award winners are:
Arkells - Favorite Live Group
Rural Alberta Advantage - Galaxie Rising Stars
Alex*Cuba - Favorite World Artist
Peaches - Favorite Electronic Group
Constantines - Favourite Group
Marianas Trench "Cross My Heart" - Favorite Single
Marianas Trench "Cross My Heart" - Favorite Video
Metric Fantasies - Favourite Album
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Mon. Mar. 1/10
Rob Halford - Revolver Golden God
Judas Priest front-man Rob Halford is to receive the Revolver Golden God Award at the second annual Revolver Golden Gods Awards on Thursday, April 8, at Club Nokia in downtown Los Angeles. The show will later be televised on VH1 Classic on Saturday, May 22. The Revolver Golden God Award is given to one special honoree a year who embodies all that is metal.
Also, this years recipient of the Revolver Golden Gods Lifetime Achievement Award is none other than hard rock icon and Motorhead front-man, Lemmy Kilmister.
The Agency Group nominees are:
Zakk Wylde (Black Label Society) - Best Guitarist
Chris Adler (Lamb Of God), Gene Hoglan (Dethlok, Fear Factory) - Best Drummer
Neil Fallon (Clutch) - Best Vocalist
The Devil Wears Prada, Lamb Of God, Motorhead - Best Live Band
Cristina Scabbia (Lacuna Coil) - Hottest Chick In Metal
Fear Factory - Comeback Of The Year |
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Fri. Feb. 5/10
2010 Bandit Rock Awards
Sweden's annual Bandit Rock Awards took place January 29 this year and TAG Malmo had a number of winners. Congrats to the following clients:
Dead By April: Best Swedish Album
Killswitch Engage: Best International Album
In Flames: Best Swedish Live Act
Mustasch: Bandit Most Played Group 2009 |
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Mon. Feb. 1/10
India.Arie takes home a Grammy
Congratulations to India.Arie! She received the award for "Best Urban/Alternative Performance" for her track "Pearls" at the 2010 Grammy Awards Sunday night. |
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Thurs. Jan. 7/10
Guy Richard joins The Agency Group, Los Angeles
Neil Warnock, Chairman of The Agency Group, and Steve Martin, President of North America, are pleased to announce that Guy Richard, formerly of the William Morris Agency, is joining the company on Monday, January 11 as a Vice President in the Los Angeles office.
Neil Warnock says, "I'm absolutely delighted that Guy has chosen to join The Agency Group. What he will bring with his depth of knowledge and many years experience will expand the quality of the services that we provide to our clients in the LA office."
"I'm thrilled to have my old friend, and the best booking agent I have ever seen, join us. Guy's reputation as an agent with great integrity and ambition in the business is widely respected. He will be a huge asset for us, worldwide," said Steve Martin.
Guy Richard says, "I am very excited to be joining The Agency Group. I am thrilled to be reunited with my long-time friend Steve Martin, and I look forward to helping Neil Warnock and his terrific staff of agents grow into the future. This is going to be a wonderful, satisfying professional experience for myself and my family. Special thanks to my friend Larry Shields."
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Thurs. Jan. 7/10
2010 People's Choice Awards
Paramore was named Favorite Rock Band at last night's award show, beating out Green Day, Daughtry, Muse, and Kings of Leon for the title. |
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Fri. Dec. 11/09
2010 ILMC Arthur Awards
TAG UK has two nominations in the 2010 ILMC Arthur Awards. Congratulations to Geoff Meall, who's up for the illustrious title of "Second Least Offensive Agent" and Natasha Bent who is up for the much-coveted "Tomorrow's New Boss". |
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Tues. Dec. 9/09
2010 East Coast Music Awards Nominees
The ECMA awards will be presented on Sunday March 7, 2010 at Centre 200 in Sydney, Nova Scotia.
The Agency Group's nominees are:
Entertainer of the Year
In-Flight Safety
Group Recording of the Year
The Novaks - Things Fall Apart
Two Hours Traffic – Territory
In-Flight Safety – We are an Empire, My Dear
Vibe Creative Group Single of the Year
In-Flight Safety – “Model Homes”
SOCAN Songwriter of the Year
Mullane, Goodsell, Nicholson, Ledwell – “Model Homes” (In-Flight Safety)
Video of the Year
In-Flight Safety – “Model Homes” (Directed by: Drew Lightfoot)
Alternative Recording of the Year
In-Flight Safety – We are an Empire, My Dear
Pop Recording of the Year
Two Hours Traffic – Territory
Sirius Satellite Radio Rock Recording of the Year
The Novaks – Things Fall Apart |
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Fri. Dec. 4/09
Grammy Awards Nominations
The 52nd Annual Grammy Awards will be broadcast live from the Staples Center in Los Angeles on Sunday, January 31, 2010, at 8 p.m. (EST)
Congratulations to our TAG nominees!
Nickelback – “Burn It To The Ground” Best Hard Rock Performance
Lamb Of God – “Set To Fail” Best Metal Performance
Death Cab For Cutie – The Open Door Best Alternative Music Album
Lalah Hathaway – “That Was Then” Best Female R&B Vocal Performance
India.Arie & Musiq Soulchild – “Chocolate High” Best R&B Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals
India.Arie & Dobet Gnahore – “Pearls” Best Urban/Alternative Performance
India.Arie – Testimony: Vol. 2, Love & Politics Best R&B Album
RED – Innocence & Instinct Best Rock Or Rap Gospel Album
Buju Banton – Rasta Got Soul Best Reggae Album
Gregory Isaacs – Brand New Me Best Reggae Album
Dolly Parton – 9 To 5 The Musical Best Musical Show Album
Paramore – “Decode” (From Twilight) Best Song Written For Motion Picture, Television Or Other Visual Media |
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Fri. Dec. 4/09
2010 Pollstar Awards Nominations
The Agency Group is nominated for Agency Of the Year at the 2010 Pollstar Awards. Chairman Neil Warnock is also nominated for UK Agent of the Year.
The 21st Pollstar Concert Industry Awards will be held live, February 17 at the Nokia Theater in L.A. |
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Mon. Nov. 23/09
20th annual SOCAN Awards
The 20th annual SOCAN Awards winners include the following TAG Toronto clients:
54.40 took home two Classic Awards for "I Go Blind" (originally recorded by Hootie & The Blowfish) and "Ocean Pearl".
Glass Tiger also received a Classic Award for "My Town".
Feist's "1234" was recognized in the Pop/Rock Music Awards.
Doc Walker's "Beautiful Life" and Deric Ruttan's "First Time In A Long Time" were recognized in the Country Music Awards.
Alex*Cuba received the Hagood Hardy Music Award. |
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Oct. 23/09
2009 Casby Awards
This year's CASBY Awards, presented by Toronto's Rock Radio station The Edge, consisted of exclusively TAG winners! Congratulations to The Arkells, City And Colour, and Metric on their extremely well-received music this year.
Favourite New Artist: The Arkells
Favourite New Single: City And Colour "Sleeping Sickness"
Favourite New Album: Metric "Fantasies"
NXNE Favourite New Indie Release: Metric "Fantasies
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Thurs. August 6/09
3OH!3 up for MTV Award
3OH!3 has been nominated for the Best New Artist Award at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards for the video "Don't Trust Me". Their competition includes Lady Gaga, Asher Roth, Drake, and Kid Cudi. The award is based on the votes of the public, so take a minute to vote for them here! |
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Wed. July 22 /09
Doc Walker nominated for 2009 CCMA Fans' Choice Award
The Canadian Country Music Association announced that Doc Walker has been nominated for the 2009 CCMA Fans’ Choice Award.
Beginning Friday, July 24 until Sunday, September 6 at 11:59pm EST, the public can vote online at www.CMT.ca for their favorite Canadian Country Star. The winner will be announced during the CCMA Awards at GM Place in Vancouver, British Columbia on Sunday, September 13, 2009. The show will be broadcast nationally on CBC Television at 8pm with encore broadcasts on CMT in Canada. |
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Mon. June 22 /09
MuchMusic Video Awards 2009: Winners!
The 2009 MuchMusic Video Awards took place Sunday night - one of the biggest events in music and television in Canada of the year - and The Agency Group took over! Out of the 11 awards being presented, our bands walked away with 7 awards this year, including:
VIDEO OF THE YEAR : Nickelback "Gotta Be Somebody
POST PRODUCTION OF THE YEAR: Nickelback "Gotta Be Somebody"
CINEMATOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR: Bedouin Soundclash "Until We Burn (The Kids Just Want A Love Song)"
DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR: Marianas Trench "Cross My Heart"
MUCHLOUD ROCK VIDEO OF THE YEAR: Nickelback "Gotta Be Somebody"
VIDEOFACT INDIE VIDEO OF THE YEAR: The Midway State "Never Again"
INTERNATIONAL VIDEO OF THE YEAR BY A CANADIAN (ARTIST/GROUP): Billy Talent "Rusted From The Rain" |
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Wed. May 27/09
MuchMusic Video Awards 2009
The Agency Group Canada has 27 nominations at this year's MuchMusic Video Awards! The show takes place June 21 in Toronto at MuchMusic headquarters on Queen Street. Congratulations to all our nominees, including:
VIDEO OF THE YEAR : K-OS "4,3,2,1", Marianas Trench "Cross My Heart", Nickelback "Gotta Be Somebody", The Stills "Being Here"
DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR: Bedouin Soundclash "Until We Burn In The Sun (The Kids Just Want A Love Song)", Marianas Trench "Cross My Heart"
POP VIDEO OF THE YEAR: Lights "Drive My Soul"
MUCHLOUD ROCK VIDEO OF THE YEAR: Inward Eye "Shame", Marianas Trench "Cross My Heart", Nickelback "Gotta Be Somebody"
MUCHVIBE HIP HOP VIDEO OF THE YEAR: K-OS "4,3,2,1"
VIDEOFACT INDIE VIDEO OF THE YEAR: Bedouin Soundclash "Until We Burn In The Sun (The Kids Just Want A Love Song)", Metric "Gimme Sympathy", Sebastien Grainger & The Mountains "Who Do We Care For?", The Midway State "Never Again"
POST PRODUCTION OF THE YEAR: Mobile "The Killer", Nickelback "Gotta Be Somebody", The Stills "Being Here"
CINEMATOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR: K-OS "4,3,2,1", The Midway State "Change For You"
INTERNATIONAL VIDEO OF THE YEAR BY A CANADIAN (ARTIST/GROUP): Billy Talent "Rusted From The Rain", Nickelback "If Today Was Your Last Day"
UR FAVE VIDEO OF THE YEAR: Marianas Trench "Cross My Heart", Nickelback "Gotta Be Somebody"
UR FAVE NEW ARTIST OF THE YEAR: Lights "Drive My Soul", The Midway State "Never Again" |
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Fri. May 15/09
Classical Brit Awards
Hans Zimmer won the award for Soundtrack of the Year for his work on the "Dark Knight" and Jose Carreras was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2009 Classical Brit Awards. |
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Tues. May 5/09
TAG and the Tony Awards
Congratulations to Constantine Maroulis on his nomination for Best Actor in a Musical for Rock of Ages. The play has also been nominated for Best Musical.
An additional congrats to Dolly Parton for her Original Score nomination for 9 to 5: The Musical. |
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Tues. May 5/09
Neil Warnock speaks with Celebrity Access/Larry LeBlanc
Industry Profile: Neil Warnock
— By Larry LeBlanc
This week In The Hot Seat with Larry LeBlanc: Neil Warnock
Following several consecutive tough years, the global touring industry is now taking a hard look at its basic business model.
However, London-based Neil Warnock, chairman of The Agency Group, began a major shift at his company in 2005.
In the face of the touring business contracting and consolidating, as well as seeing a lessened influence of the major record labels, and seeking to offer his clients additional services, the wily London booker recognized that a change was needed.
Not only was a new North American management structure put in place but Warnock expanded the agency significantly last year with the buy-out of the Kork Agency (Atmosphere, Peaches, the Gossip), and the launch of a Speakers Department following the acquisition of Roth Talent Associates.
The restructuring was also a reaction to The Agency Group's accelerated expansion in recent years as well as a reaction to facing mounting competition for new acts, and to keep existing ones within a fiercely-contested new global booking world.
During the past decade, with the rise in popularity of such groups as Arcade Fire and Death Cab for Cutie, booking competitors like Creative Artists Agency (CAA) and the William Morris Agency became increasingly interested in pursuing independent bands.
While a handful of smaller booking firms still maintain their independence, many boutique agencies have lately merged with larger agencies.
In 2008. Paradigm Talent Agency brought Little Big Man and Monterey Peninsula Artists into its fold. Last month, it continued its expansion into music by purchasing the Nashville-based Christian music booking firm Third Coast Artists Agency. Last week, The William Morris Agency and Endeavor Talent announced a merger creating William Morris Endeavor Entertainment.
Warnock launched The Agency Group in 1981 after his purchase of the Bron Agency, where he had been managing director for 8 years. Previously, Warnock had been a director at NEMS Enterprises. In his teens, he had operated South Bank Artists, which handled college and univeristy bookings for Pink Floyd, Donovan, and Tyrannosaurus Rex in and around London.
The Agency Group is now one of the world’s leading booking agencies, with a roster of over 1,000 artists and offices in London, New York, Los Angeles, Toronto, and Malmo, Sweden.
Where are the future headliners coming from?
We have Muse coming through in the UK and France now. They are a stadium attraction and are growing quickly. There will be artists of their generation that will come through. The interesting phenomenon that we are now seeing is that kids will now download a single track, not an album. The difficulty that we’ve got (as a touring industry) is how do we build a career? How do we get recorded music into a fan base so that it stays a fan base. If people are a fan of three minutes of music, how do you make them a fan of the overall body of the artist’s work?
We are seeing artists in the UK having one big album, and then becoming an obscure artist. They didn’t build a fan base.
We have to get artists out there working. We’ve got to establish a fan base. We’ve got to insure that their website is very active. We’ve got to get them to react well with the customers that they’ve got, and then spread that (enthusiasm).
Where are our next live music customers coming from?
We have to approach our customers from a variety of ways, whether they are a young customer brought into a show by their parents or whatever. Okay, that’s the first level. Exposing them to live music. You want them to be excited by going to a live show, wherever they come in. The next thing is how do we get an experience that is affordable? We’ve got to look (at pricing) because now days there are so many other ways that people can be entertained. And music is competing with all of that.
If we continue (as we have been) or if we in any way rob our customers and they feel ripped off, or if they feel abused, then they will take their share option and money and go somewhere else. We have got to be aware of that. The customers has the ability to say, “No.” if we keep loading them up with extra charges, they will say “No,” particularly in the (economic) circumstances we are in now.
Forty years ago, when we were punters ourselves and just going out, it was all about music. That is what we wanted to hear and see. And we would generally be able to get into a show unless you wanted to see the Beatles or someone like that. Generally, you could get access. Now, it is more difficult. But, I think, this is where we have to be smart. We’ve got to be ticket smart. We have to look at all-ages shows. We have to look at how we identify our customers and don’t abuse (the relationship). Otherwise, we will go the way of the labels.
Should managers and agents, as well as promoters, be more realistic about what can be pulled out of a market?
Every one of us has to look at every single circumstance. We have to look at artists, their capabilities and at the venues we are going into. We have to look at how we are constructing deals for the artist and for our customers. In the end, if we can’t put those two things together as industry professionals, we are failing our artists and our customer.
How do you see the proposed Live Nation/Ticketmaster merger affecting the industry, if it goes through.?
Whew, that’s a difficult question. It is an interesting time seeing if this merger goes through. Everybody has an opinion about it. Whether that is an opinion forged by sheer knowledge or speculation. It is taking place in a difficult time. Whatever happens, we as an industry have to look at that, in the end, if we don’t bring value for money to our customers, we won’t survive.
Can a boutique booking agency still work in North America? Or does it need to be bigger?
Some managers and artists will want to be with a small company where they feel they will be better looked after. They feel that if they’ve got the talent, and they are getting personal service, then they will be heard and they will get through (to the market).
So there’s an argument for the boutique (agency) set-up. But it doesn’t have to get crushed in the current climate.
Ever since I’ve been in it, the (booking) industry has ebbed and flowed with companies developing, growing, disintegrating, and amalgamating. It is a human being business we’re in; that represents other human beings who represent their products. And it is always going to have an ebb and flow. Every time, there’s an amalgamation that throws talented people, those people don’t necessarily go away. They regroup and come back in a different way.
Still, it must be intimidating for a young band or manager to look at The Agency Group. You must have to operate like a boutique agency for some clients..
Well, we do. We operate like a boutique because we don’t territorially book. That makes us very different from most of the other (agencies). When we take an artist on, it is taken on by an agent dedicated to that artist’s music, and who has a real desire to book the artist .
We hope we are being seen to give a very dedicated personal service to artists and that they are not being lost in the system. At the same time, artists have the backup of a bigger organization that gives them the clout to be seen where they should be seen, and gives them the services that they would want from a big company.
Certainly, agency business is more cut-throat today with the recent mergers and with mainstream agencies like the William Morris Agency and CAA working more with alternative music acts.
The business has grown. Last year, we had over 17,000 contracts on issue. In 2000, we had 2,000 issued. The volume, and where the agencies and the business have grown, has created the situations we’ve got now.
When we were smaller, when all of us were smaller, we were fighting in a much smaller pub. Now we are fighting in a big ocean. And we still all want to have the ability to take on that young new artist. What the bigger guys are doing now, along with us, is developing unsigned independent talent. We are supplanting the labels in being A&R sources.
In 2005, you took a hard look at the company’s basic business model and introduced sweeping changes. Why?
The way we look at the agency is that we have to provide services to people. I honestly believe that the music labels, prior to that, had been running from behind. They were not in the contemporary world to market their product. We were gathering more and more information for our artists in every part of the world to help managers make decisions about how they were going to tour; where they were going to put their emphasis on releases; and gauging the promotional time that they would give.
We were becoming more than just a booking agency by being a supplementary information service. At the same time, promoters around the world had started to beef up the information services that they had within themselves, in the end, record companies are now distribution sources and the rest of us are A&Ring, and developing the talent. Not necessarily totally A&Ring, but certainly developing the live platform of the artist as well as (providing services) for soundtracks and publishing or any other element that our artists want to get involved in.
Many managers have beefed up their own companies as well to include ancillary services.
You are 100% right. Different managers now have different areas that they are engaged in. Some are surrounding themselves with marketing tools and marketing people or seeking out different information pieces for the information highway.
Fifteen years ago, it was the labels dictating to us, particularly to us in the agency world, when they wanted artists to appear on the road. And they would arbitrarily move release dates without telling us. They didn’t consider that it was important enough to inform us about that, “We’ve decided to move the album release date by two weeks.” “What about the tour?” “We don’t really care that much about the tour.”
We are now telling the label where the artist will tour now. We know what the artist’s strengths are. We have situations now where record company doesn’t want to release (an album) in some territories and yet we will still take the artist there. We will almost say to the label, without being totally rude, “By the way the artist is going to appear in Paris. If you care to put the album out in France, we would be very obliged. But in your own good time.”
Twenty years ago, bands from North America didn’t tour extensively outside North America, except touring England, Germany or Japan.
I suppose you are probably right. But the talent I represented went a little further afield. A lot of Americans still suffer from a cultural shock of there not being a McDonald’s or a Starbucks on every other corner.
You encouraged Rush's management to book dates outside of North America in 1977. Also, their first South American shows in 2002 proved to them that they had fans there, and encouraged them to play other new venues. How did the South American dates happen?
It was a conclusion of a long, long campaign to get the band to go there. It wasn’t as much they didn’t want to go there. It was that they didn’t believe they could do the business there. They didn’t believe how big they were. I was saying to them that, “There’s Pink Floyd, the Rolling Stones and then there’s Rush in South America.” They went,” Don’t be silly.”
But the record sales for Rush didn’t reflect that popularity.
No but the groundswell of fan fever and the information I was getting from a variety of promoters always told me that. And, by the way, (low record sales) will be the same for Pink Floyd or the Rolling Stones in South America with how much piracy there is there.
It must drive you crazy that Rush doesn’t often tour?
Every other year that they don’t tour has driven me nuts. They don’t have a big desire, even in North America, to do a huge amount of work. So I’m always grateful when a few crumbs fall of the table, and they decide to do Europe or South America. Hopefully, some time they will go back to Japan. [The only time Rush played shows in Japan was in 1984.]
Will markets in Asia open more for Western music acts?
We have to look at China as the market that will establish itself in the future. But music will be only one of the many things that the Chinese market will look at, including sports.
It is a bit of a myth to (talk about) the integration of Western music into the Chinese culture. It will happen. But it’s going to be a lot slower than anyone imagines. And it will take a lot of work.
On the live side, I think China is a market that will grow. The information highway is driven through the mobile phone there. As marketing is done more through that medium, we will see the newer (Western) artists benefit from that form of marketing, far more than any of the historic artists.
Korean music is very big in China. Indigenous Chinese music--rock and pop music--is also big there. Just imposing Western music doesn’t impress them. There is no God-given right that we have that our artists will be big in their marketplace.
It is fair to say that the artists that I’ve had to tour there, including the Rolling Stones and with Deep Purple, the majority of people those acts play to are Western, not Chinese.
There’s also a lack of venues in China.
That’s absolutely right. In their culture there’s been no culture of a club or a pub circuit. There have been no growing grounds for artists in the same way there has been in the Western world. So the multi-purpose facilities are the ones being used. It is hard to find the right venues that suit the right artists.
The tragic events in November in Mumbai, India in which gunmen killed 171 people during a three-day siege has had a huge impact on Western artists not touring there as much.
I think that India went through a “night-of-the-long-knives’ as it were when all of that happened which has made them re-appraise how they secure their country, primarily for their own people.
Live music in India has always been based on sponsorship. If you haven’t got a sponsor, you don’t have a tour. What is happening now is that because of the resurgence of cricket and with it being the major attraction, a lot of sponsorship money is being deflected away from music and into cricket. It is becoming increasing difficult to tour there, not withstanding the security aspects, because you can’t always find the sponsorship. I think that’s why there have been a decrease--along with everything else--for the number of (Western) artists playing there.
You have been touring acts in the Russian market since the ‘70s.
I had Pink Floyd there while the Iron Curtain was still in place. They did a week in Moscow (in 1989). Status Quo, Deep Purple and a-ha have played there early on I’ve had a lot of our artists there since. Obviously, Deep Purple and a-ha still tour very comprehensively across Russia
Russia is in upheaval right now. Predictions are that it will take 3-5 years for stabilization there. How does that affect touring?
Economically, Russia, along with a lot of the other emerging markets, is certainly in upheaval. I don’t know if upheaval is too strong a word. I think that while we are going through what we are going through, touring markets that had become stable have now become unstable again. They are more difficult to tour in now.
How did you come to land at NEMS Enterprises in 1967 and become senior director of its contemporary music department? You were only 21 when you were hired.
I left school when I was 15, and I was an apprentice printer. I had a couple of semi-professional bands that I was booking into colleges. I got to know the social secretaries, the buyers. Nobody was then catering to these customers. So gradually, they turned to me, and asked if I could this or that act for them. So I opened South Bank Artists which came to control the bookings of all of the major colleges and universities in and around London.
I gradually built up this huge client list of colleges so that all of the major (booking) agencies then would go through me to get their acts into the colleges. I was booking Donovan, the Doors, and Pink Floyd. I booked Tyrannosaurus Rex in a package with (BBC Radio 1) DJ John Peel for 75 pounds.
So your small company was a pretty powerful business card. What happened next?
I got a call from someone at NEMS I had been booking talent with, asking if I’d be interested in a job there. I thought, “Working for the Beatles’ company? ‘Scuse me. How much do I have to think about that?” So I went for a succession of interviews and ended up going there as a very junior agent.
NEMS was very cash rich because of the Beatles and everything else going on in the company. In 1969, the company bought the Bryan Morrison Agency which (booked) Pink Floyd, Tyrannosaurus Rex, Ansley Dunbar, the Soft Machine, the Incredible String Band, and Fairport Convention…the whole lot of the contemporary music scene and it was brought into NEMS.
These were the same artists you had been booking with South Bank.
Yeah, so I came to the (contemporary music department) much to the annoyance of the agents from the Bryan Morrison Agency who didn’t want to be in NEMS anyway. They taught me my job. They taught me that I had moved over from being a venue buyer to being an agency artist agent, to where I had to be looking at an artist’s career. That is what these guys from the Bryan Morrison Agency were doing. They were developing Pink Floyd for Pink Floyd and Tyrannosaurus Rex for Tyrannosaurus Rex. They were not doing this as part of the old regime where the promoter is king, and here is a bit of talent that is going to fill up the ballroom.
[The Bryan Morrison Agency had booked such then underground acts as Tyrannosaurus Rex, Tomorrow and Pink Floyd. Morrison's accountant Steve O'Rourke began to manage Pink Floyd in 1968, and did so until his death in 2003],
When you joined NEMS, band leader Vic Lewis was then the managing director. He wasn’t up on rock music.
Vic did all of the showbiz and jazz (bookings), and he looked after Cilla Black. He took on Donovan, but he didn’t know anything about Donovan. He thought he was some guy in a kilt. He phoned me and said, “A friend of mine has this act, Donovan. Would you help me?” So I did work on Donovan.
Another friend of Vic’s took on David Bowie, and I did some work with David Bowie. But those artists wouldn’t stay with Vic because he didn’t know who they were. And I was the junior at that time. I didn’t have that sort of position before the Bryan Morris office came in. Then we expanded with Humble Pie, Beck, Bogart & Appice, Deep Purple, although Deep Purple had been a NEMS’ client. I’ve been working with Deep Purple since 1967.
[In 1965 Brian Epstein bought the Vic Lewis Agency and appointed Lewis to the board of NEMS. After Epstein's death in 1967 Lewis's power increased and by 1969, he had signed Elton John to the agency. The company changed hands a couple of times, and when Lewis found himself unable to get along with new owners in 1977, he left.]
How did you come to head NEM’s contemporary music department?
At NEMS nobody was looking at the business side and (at first) I didn’t know about business. The accountant started asking me about things like projections. I’d ask what that was and how to do it. Slowly, the contemporary music department came under me. I became a director of the company by the time I was 25.
How did you come to be managing director of the Bron Agency from 1973 to 1980?
Gerry Bron had been on at me for awhile to join the Bron Agency. Then NEMS changed ownership and I didn’t want to stay with the new owners. So I went into Bron and brought all of my talent there. Gerry was then very active with his label (Bronze Records). Uriah Heap was at their height (of popularity) and Motorhead was soon after that and then Girlschool.
One of your first moves on your own was to open a office in New York. It didn’t work out. Why?
We opened Cricket Talent & Booking in New York. We had Simple Minds, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, Echo and the Bunneymen, and the Revillos. It was all esoteric English talent. We naively we would have enough volume out of our English side to make the company work. It didn’t. As well, we didn’t visit New York enough to make sure the company was being run properly. Whereas, now I am in New York once a month.
It was another 10 years before The Agency Group opened in New York in 1992. Were you making sure, you wouldn’t have a repeat of Cricket?
When Cricket went down, I was really struggling to make The Agency work.
What did you do in 1992 to launch in North America?
I was frustrated that I couldn’t get things done for my artists. I was having a conversation with Steve Schenck who managed Blue Oyster Cult. I said, “I have this band Nazareth who tell me that they can turn over (sell) in America.” He said, “I can book a Nazareth tour. I can book them into the same places that Blue Oyster Cult goes. We’ll get a license and issue the paper.” I went, “Oh, okay.” Then I was working with the Stranglers in the UK, and they wanted to go to North America. So I asked Steve if he wanted to get involved. And he said sure. So we set up in the Fisk Building (250 W 57th St.) in a, tiny office. That was the start of The Agency Group in North America.
It was very casual at the start?
It was very slow in terms of what we did. But then we took on another agent and (Agency Group president, North America) Steve Martin joined in 1994. Then we started to kick forward in a very different way, and the company began to grow.
You opened an office in Toronto in 1996 where you compete head-to-head with S. L. Feldman & Associates. Still, the office has signed such acts as Nickelback, Three Days Grace, and Billy Talent.
Ralph James and Jack Ross called me out of the blue about opening in Toronto. I told them I had no intention of opening in Canada. That I had enough problems in America. But they knew I had an affinity with Canadian music having represented Max Webster, Lee Aaron, Triumph and all of these Canadian artists in the early days. (Canada) was really a very good (talent) source for me.
Thanks to Celebrity Access and Larry LeBlanc.
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Mon. March 30/09
The Agency Group takes home 14 Juno Awards
14 statues were given out to TAG Toronto’s clients last night at the 2009 Juno Awards in Vancouver!
Our winners include:
Chic Gamine
- Roots and Traditional Album of the Year: Group
Dallas Green
- Songwriter of the Year
Divine Brown
- R&B/Soul Recording of the Year
Doc Walker
- Country Recording of the Year
Feist
- Video of the Year - Honey Honey - Anthony Seck (Feist)
Lights
-New Artist of the Year |
Nickelback
- Group of the Year
- JUNO Fan Choice Award
- Album of the Year
Sam Roberts
- Artist of the Year
- Rock Album of the Year
Simon Collins
- Recording Engineer of the Year - Kevin Churko Disappearing | The Big Bang U-CATASTROPHE (Simon Collins)
The Stills
- New Group of the Year
- Alternative Album of the Year |
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Mon. March 16/09
TAG named Booking Agency of the Year, sees multiple wins at CRMAs and Indie Awards during Canadian Music Week
After what was probably the busiest Canadian Music Week TAG Toronto has ever experienced, we are glad to kick our feet up, take a couple days off from going to shows, and reflect on what was a great four days.
On Thursday night, The Agency Group was once again named Booking Agency Of The Year at the 2009 Industry Awards! The Canadian Radio Music Awards took place Friday afternoon and Saturday evening was the Indie Awards. TAG had multiple wins during both awards including:
CANADIAN RADIO MUSIC AWARDS WINNERS:
BEST NEW GROUP/SOLO ARTIST (ROCK) OF THE YEAR:
Age Of Daze – Afflicted
BEST NEW GROUP/SOLO ARTIST (HOT AC) OF THE YEAR:
Lights – Drive my Soul
BEST NEW GROUP/SOLO ARTIST (MAINSTREAM AC) OF THE YEAR:
Lights – Drive my Soul
INDIE AWARDS WINNERS:
ChartAttack.com FAVOURITE ALBUM
Hey Rosetta! - Into Your Lungs (Sonic Records)
ASTRAL MEDIA RADIO FAVOURITE SINGLE
Lights - Drive My Soul
FAVOURITE GROUP/DUO
USS
FAVOURITE SOLO ARTIST
Lights
FAVOURITE VIDEO
The Trews - Hold Me In Your Arms
FAVOURITE LIVE ARTIST/GROUP
The Trews
inDiscover.net FAVOURITE ARTIST/BAND WEBSITE
Hey Rosetta! - www.heyrosetta.com |
FAVOURITE CLASSICAL ARTIST/GROUP
Canadian Brass
FAVOURITE COUNTRY ARTIST/GROUP
Doc Walker
FAVOURITE FOLK/ROOTS ARTIST/GROUP
Kathleen Edwards
FAVOURITE POP ARTIST/GROUP
The Midway State
FAVOURITE PUNK/HARDCORE ARTIST/GROUP
Protest The Hero
FAVOURITE ROCK ARTIST/GROUP
Matt Mays & El Torpedo |
Congrats to all our winners! |
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Wed. March 11/09
Bruce Cockburn signs with The Agency Group
Jack Ross, Senior Vice President of The Agency Group Canada is proud to announce the signing of one of the country’s most beloved and accomplished musicians, Bruce Cockburn.
Bruce Cockburn’s career includes 30 albums, 20 gold and platinum records in Canada, and countless concert performances since he released his first solo work in 1970. He has received many honours, including inductions to the Canadian Music Hall of Fame and the Canadian Broadcast Hall of Fame, he was made a Member of the Order of Canada in 1982 and has since been promoted to ‘Officer’, and he was recognized with the Tenco Award for Lifetime Achievement in Italy. His hit songs like “Lovers in a Dangerous Time” and “Wondering Where the Lions Are” have become staples of the Canadian soundtrack.
“I have been a lifelong Bruce Cockburn fan and it is an honour and a thrill to represent Bruce for live engagements.” – Jack Ross
As a long-time client of music business legend Bernie Finkelstein (True North Records), Bruce Cockburn has not had an exclusive Canadian agent in his 35+ years of touring until now.
"Both Bruce and myself are looking forward to working with Jack and The Agency Group. Jack has proven himself to not only be a great agent but also a brilliant strategist and we're happy to be part of the team.” – Bernie Finkelstein |
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Wed. March 11/09
Colin Lewis & Rob Zifarelli Promoted to VPs
Neil Warnock, Chairman of The Agency Group, along with Ralph James, President of TAG Canada and Jack Ross, Senior Vice President, are proud to announce that Colin Lewis and Rob Zifarelli have been appointed to the position of Vice President, The Agency Group Canada.
“It's a personal pleasure for me to make these appointments. Colin and Rob both represent what is best about The Agency Group in personal service, diligence and hard work in the development of themselves and their respective rosters.” – Neil Warnock
“Colin Lewis and Rob Zifarelli are two of the finest agents I've worked with - they both have great ears and instincts and we're excited to have them join our management team.” – Ralph James
Colin Lewis has been with TAG Canada since its inception thirteen years ago and has risen through hard work and tenacity to personally represent some of Canada’s finest recording artists including Metric, Jully Black, Hot Hot Heat, Cake, Social Distortion, Sum 41, The Canadian Idols, Martha Wainwright, Matt Dusk and De La Soul.
Rob Zifarelli joined The Agency Group five years ago and with his dynamic leadership he has helped to expand the careers of many TAG-represented artists internationally. Rob’s personal roster of clients include Alexisonfire, Feist, Bloc Party, Broken Social Scene, City and Colour, Hawksley Workman, Dinosaur Jr., K-OS, Stars, Xavier Rudd, The Weakerthans, Luke Doucet and many others. |
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Mon. February 2/09
Steve Martin and Neil Warnock win at the 2009 Pollstar Concert Industry Awards
The 2009 Pollstar CIC Awards took place on Friday and The Agency Group is proud to house two of the winners in two different categories for agents.
New York's Steve Martin won the Bobby Brooks' Agent of the Year Award while CEO Neil Warnock was named UK Booking Agent of the Year once again. |
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Tue. March 11/08
James Rubin and Jules De Lattre Join The Agency Group
The Agency Group London is pleased to welcome new agents James Rubin and Jules DeLattre to the company.
Jules DeLattre, age 27, is originally from France and graduated with an MA from Edinburgh University. He co-founded multi-purpose music company Best Kept Secret and has been the head of the booking department for the past four years, where he was responsible for 60 international artists. While at The Agency Group, Jules will continue to specialize in urban, world, and reggae artists. His current roster includes The Black Seeds, Breakestra, Candi Staton, Horace Andy, Babyhead, Dwele, Groundation, The New Mastersounds, Shape of Broad Minds, Souljazz Orchestra, and Willie Isz.
At the age of 28, James Rubin has already had a hand in the promoting and booking sides of live touring. He was the co-founder of Australian touring company Melting Pot Productions, where he spent five years touring artists across New Zealand, Australia, and Asia. After relocating to London, James became one of the head agents for Best Kept Secret where he handled the bookings of the Live and DJ acts throughout the UK, Europe, Asia, and Australia. James’ focus will be on electronic, indie, and urban music. His roster consists of Platinum Pied Pipers, Shapeshifter, Aesop Rock, Thieves Like Us, Malakai, The Coup, Spektrum, Swollen Members and more.
“I’m delighted to have Jules and James join the U.K. office. They’ll bring a whole new sphere of musical artists to the office as well as compliment the current staff and roster.” – Geoff Meall, Director.
James and Jules are both currently available and fully operational in the London office. |
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Fri. March 7/08
The Agency Group Canada wins Agency of the Year
The Agency Group won the Agency of the Year award last night during Canadian Music Week's Music Industry Awards! |
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Tues. March 4/08
The Agency Group adds Speakers Department
The Agency Group will further expand its scope with the acquisition of Roth Talent Associates (RTA), a speaker’s bureau founded in 2000 by Andy Roth. Effective immediately, Roth, along with his staff, will join The Agency Group in its Los Angeles office to form its new Speakers Department, a perfect complement to its Literary arm, headed by Marc Gerald.
“As The Agency Group continues to develop the various services to our clients, I am absolutely delighted that Andy Roth has joined us to form our new Speakers Department. I'm sure many of our clients will benefit from this new division and over time, together with our Literary arm, we look forward to developing this division on a worldwide basis.” – Neil Warnock, CEO.
Andy Roth has been an agent in the speaker’s industry for 16 years. Prior to forming RTA, he was a Vice President of Greater Talent Network in New York. Roth is very proud of the diverse roster of artists, athletes, writers, musicians, business leaders and personalities he has accumulated. Many of the speakers have been immortalized in films, on television and in books, such as the real Coach Carter (portrayed by Samuel L. Jackson in on screen version), Harold Jones (the Southern football coach from the film “Radio”), Alison Bechdel (award-winning comic artist and author of the acclaimed graphic novel “Fun Home”), Lance Bass (former N*SYNC star and author of Out of Sync), Sergio Arau & Yareli Arizmendi (filmmakers of “A Day Without A Mexican”), and Harvey Pekar (iconic creator of “American Splendor”).
“I’m really looking forward to broadening our speaker offerings at The Agency Group. There are some innovative and non-traditional speaking opportunities for both the musicians and writers represented currently by the Agency Group, as well as for venues and promoters.” – Andy Roth, Speakers Department Director.
Speakers Department contact information:
The Agency Group
1880 Century Park East, Suite 711
Los Angeles, CA 90067
Phone: (310) 385-2800 Fax: (310) 385-1220
Director: AndyRoth@theagencygroup.com
Agent: EricaLangston@theagencygroup.com
Assistant/Client Services: GiovanniBrewer@theagencygroup.com |
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Mon. March 3/08
The Agency Group names Ralph James President of the Canadian office
The Agency Group is pleased to announce that Ralph James has been promoted to President of the Canadian operations. He will continue to actively oversee his roster of active and emerging artists.
“Ralph has been instrumental in building a major roster of talent for The Agency Group, both in Canada and internationally.” – Steve Herman, CEO North America.
“His new position reflects his dedication to the company and his clients. His diligence since forming the Canadian Company with Jack Ross has been extraordinary, and has manifested itself in the enormous growth of the Canadian Company.” – Neil Warnock, CEO.
Ralph began his career as the bass player for Platinum-selling rock band Harlequin, touring for over a decade. In 1996 he, along with Neil Warnock and Jack Ross, launched the Canadian office. He began with a small roster of Canadian artists, but also signed then-unknown acts such as Nickelback, Three Days Grace and Billy Talent, among others.
In the same nature as the artists he’s developed, Ralph’s career has continued to flourish. He’s won multiple awards including Canadian Music Week’s Booking Agent of the Year Award five times. Most recently, Ralph had the honor of being the first Canadian to be nominated for the Bobby Brooks Agent of the Year Award in 2007 and 2008.
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Thurs. February 14/08
Three Grammy Award wins for TAG
Congratulations to The White Stripes who took home two Grammy Awards on Sunday night including “Best Rock Performance By A Duo or Group With Vocals” and “Best Alternative Music Album” and Duncan Sheik who won “Best Broadway Recording” for Spring Awakening. |
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Tues. February 5/08
The Agency Group earns 36 Juno Award Nominations
The Juno Awards, Canada's answer to the Grammys, will take place in Calgary, Alberta on April 6 and The Agency Group's Toronto office has 36 nominations for their artists:
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Tues. January 15/08
3 Brit Awards nominations for The Agency Group
Congratulations to the 2008 Brit Awards nominees! The Agency Group is happy to announce that we have three artists up for awards this year:
Muse "Best British Live Act
Feist "Best International Female Solo Artist
The White Stripes "Best International Group"
The ceremony will take place February 20th at London's Earl Court. |
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Wed. January 9/08
Brian Culbertson to support Barry Manilow
Brian Culbertson will be the supporting act for Barry Manilow during his "An Evening of Music and Passion" arena tour this January and February. Dates include:
01/11/08 Saint Paul, MN - Xcel Energy Center
01/12/08 Chicago, IL - United Center
03/29/08 Atlanta, GA - Philips Arena
03/27/08 Raleigh, NC - RBC Center
02/08/08 Columbus, OH - Nationwide Arena
02/09/08 Washington, DC - Verizon Center
02/14/08 Los Angeles, CA - Staples Center
02/15/08 San Jose, CA - HP Pavilion At San Jose
02/19/08 Dallas, TX - American Airlines Center
02/23/08 Sunrise, FL - Bank Atlantic Center
02/24/08 Miami, FL - AmericanAirlines Arena
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Mon. December 10/07
The Agency Group has 18 Grammy Nominations!
BEST NEW ARTIST:
Feist
Paramore
BEST FEMALE POP PERFORMANCE:
Feist “1234”
BEST POP VOCAL ALBUM:
Feist “The Reminder”
BEST ROCK PERFORMANCE BY A DUO OR GROUP WITH VOCALS:
Nickelback “If Everyone Cared”
The White Stripes “Icky Thump”
BEST HARD ROCK PERFORMANCE:
Evanescence “Sweet Sacrifice”
BEST METAL PERFORMANCE:
As I Lay Dying “Nothing Left”
Shadows Fall “Redemption”
BEST ROCK INSTRUMENTAL PERFORMANCE:
Rush “Malignant Narcissism”
BEST ALTERNATIVE MUSIC ALBUM:
The White Stripes “Icky Thump”
BEST ROCK SONG:
Jack White (The White Stripes) “Icky Thump”
BEST COUNTRY SONG:
Bill Anderson (with Buddy Cannon & Jamey Johnson for George Strait) “Give It Away”
BEST BOXED OR SPECIAL LIMITED EDITION PACKAGE:
My Chemical Romance “The Black Parade”
The White Stripes “Icky Thump”
BEST ALBUM NOTES:
Ricky Jay “Ricky Jay Plays Poker”
BEST SURROUND SOUND ALBUM:
Porcupine Tree “Fear Of A Blank Planet”
BEST SHORT FORM MUSIC VIDEO:
Feist “1234”
Congratulations to all the nominated artists and their hard-working agents!
The Grammy Awards will air February 10, 2008 at 8:00 pm ET/PT on CBS. |
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Wed. December 5/07
The Agency Group’s nominations at the 19th annual Pollstar Concert Industry Awards
The Agency Group has been nominated, once again, for “Booking Agency of the Year” at this year’s Pollstar Concert Industry Consortium Awards. Also nominated is Neil Warnock for “UK Booking Agent of the Year” and Ralph James for the “Bobby Brooks Booking Agent of the Year”, Paramore & Feist are nominated for “Best New Touring Artist” and Breaking Benjamin & Three Days Grace are up for the award for “Most Creative Tour Package”. |
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Wed. December 5/07
Great news for Paramore!
Paramore has been nominated for the “Best New Artist” Grammy! They have also recently attained Gold status in the USA for their latest album “Riot!”. |
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Wed. December 5/07
Shane Yellowbird big winner at Canadian Aboriginal Music Awards
The Canadian Aboriginal Music Awards were held in Toronto on Fri. November 30 and The Agency Group had three artists win five awards between them, including Shane Yellowbird – “Best Male Artist”, “Best Country Album”, “Best Album of the Year”, Derek Miller –“Best Rock Album”, and Digging Roots – “Best Songwriter”. |
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Wed. December 5/07
Paul Brandt to receive the Allan Waters Humanitarian Award
Paul Brandt will be the first to receive the “Allan Waters Humanitarian Award” in April, following the Juno Awards. The newly named award recognizes an outstanding Canadian artist who has positively enhanced the social fabric of Canada. |
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Fri. November 30
Hinder Receives Rising Star Award
Since the release of the CD ‘Extreme Behavior’, Oklahoma’s own super rock group Hinder has been rewriting rock history. The band, one of this year’s top selling rock groups, performed a special acoustic set of their hits at the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame Concert in Muskogee on Thursday, November 1st. The group was honored with the Rising Star Award during the annual induction ceremony that night. |
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Fri. November 30
Katherine Jenkins Releases Live DVD
On 19th November, in addition to releasing her new album 'Rejoice', Katherine will also release one of the most talked about concerts of the year on DVD. Filmed at the first ever Katherine In The Park, on 8 July 2007, this DVD captures a beautiful summer's evening, the amazing backdrop, an audience of thousands, Katherine at her very finest and some fabulous special guests. |
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