So You Want to Be a Talent Agent?
Everything You Need to Know to Start Your Own Local Talent Booking Agency
by
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I recently read that the problem with some people is that they search endlessly for a job or career the same way that others seek that elusively perfect mate: looking for Mr. or Ms. Right, never finding it, and being constantly frustrated and despondent. Well, in my opinion, I think that the problem is that people settle too easily—for a job that’s “just good enough”. One that makes them hate facing the dawn every work day, one that’s mind-deadening and energy-sucking. What if you could find that “Prince (or Princess) Charming” career—a career that offers excitement, adequate compensation for your efforts, growth, challenge, and even a touch of glamour? Being a talent booking agent might just might fill that bill . . . People are different, and maybe being a talent agent isn’t for everyone, but for most people it sure beats the paper-pushing, bureaucratic drudgery of most jobs. I’ve certainly enjoyed doing what I’ve been doing these last 30+ years, and I think you might, too. This book will tell you everything you need to know about the talent booking business, talking you through every step of the process of setting up the business, finding your first talent and your first customers, and handling the scheduling, negotiating, contract-signing, and follow-up. And I’ve included several helpful appendices to lead you to suppliers, professional organizations and resources, and further reading. Not only that, it can lead you down other paths as it did me—modeling agent, record producer, TV producer, artist manager, script writer, radio program guest slots, “movie star”, and ghosthunter. ENJOY!!!
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About the Book
A down-to-earth, detailed guide to every aspect of establishing and running a small, local talent booking agency, written by someone who has done so successfully for over 30 years. You don’t need any particular background or a fancy college degree or even much money, just a desire to own and operate one of the most fun businesses you could ever imagine.
It’s all here—how to find the talent, how to build up a clientele, how to promote yourself, the contracts you’ll need, and a fascinating insight to where you can go from here, including becoming a modeling agent, a TV producer, a writer, a record album producer, and much more.
About the Author
Talent booking has been Tom's second career for over 30 years, so he's been in the trenches and knows it all from the ground up. Starting back in 1975, he managed and booked a popular street singe from Boston, and from that built up an agency that represented over 100 different acts primarily in the street entertainer and vaudefille venues. But he'sworked with some legends too, like the Gene Autry Family. Drawing from his main career as a marketer and sales specialist, he's supplied talent to hundreds for hundreds of events, ranging from private birthday parties and weddings to municipal events and commercial grand openings. Running a talent booking agency is a fun occupation that he’d like to share with others. What he’s accomplished can be duplicated by anyone, with just about any background, in any city or town in the world. For some it can provide a nice part-time second income, for others it can mean a brand new full-time career. And it can lead to even more exciting possibilities such as talent management, record, television, and radio production, and movie scout. Tom was born in Malden MA, graduated high school there, took some evening college courses, and joined the computer revolution in its early days as an operator and programmer. Eventually he switched over to marketing and was a marketing and communications director for several software companies. He owned a bookstore, was a Sunday school teacher, youth leader, and lay preacher, as well as assistant sales supervisor for the Shaklee Corporation. He is now semi-retired, but writes a monthly book review column for MENSA’s national and international magazines, runs Interim Marketing Services, and is founder and director of Boston Paranormal Investigators, a group similar to SyFy Channel’s Ghost Hunters. He’s divorced, with three children – Tom, Lisa, and Dawn, all now grown and pursuing their own careers, and he’s a surrogate father to a little girl named Angel. His interests, besides ghosts, include UFOs, megavitamin therapy, polyamorism, and new age and folk music, and he’s an omnivorous reader.