Anne Of The Island Unabridged Audio Book
How to Book Celebrity Entertainment for Your Event
Hollywood's Big Secret
Find out how the world of booking celebrities for special events really works and even how to do it yourself and find a company that can do it for you. How much can a celebrity make for a private party?
So, What's the Big Secret?
Although it is widely known that celebrities make most of their money from endorsement deals, product sales, touring, and the like. There is also a little known fact about most of Hollywood's elite that makes many of them millions of dollars each. In fact, very few celebrities do not participate in this money making endeavor and quite frankly they would rather you not know about it. Would you like to know what it is? The answer is private bookings, speaking engagements, appearance fees, and private corporate performances. Many celebrities get paid just to show up at an event, or make a short appearance, and they are surely compensated for it as well. Imagine making $1 million or a 45 minute performance, or $500, 000 for 2 hours of stand up comedy, or how about $25, 000 just to shake hands with people at an exclusive party for 30 minutes. These are not pipe dreams, but actual figures of what many celebrities earn for their time. Who can afford this luxury? You'd be surprised.
The Buyers
So, what kind of person buys a private performance from their favorite celebrity? Well, people who want an exceptional entertainment experience and cost is no object. This can be business people, corporations, medical professionals, associations, nightclubs, and even other celebrities and well known personalities. You are having a birthday party for your wife and her favorite performer is Sting. Well, you don't want to just throw some plain little party for them, you want to give them an experience they will truly never forget. So, you get Sting to come and perform for her. Imagine her reaction and the reaction of her friends and guests in attendance. Of course, there are many reasons why people or companies would book a major celebrity to perform at one of their events, and the reasons make total sense.
Why Companies Buy Celebrities
Large and medium sized companies often look to book a national name act for their annual convention for a number of reasons. Among them is to increase employee morale, lower turnover, boost productivity and increase overall loyalty to the company. When a company does this, the employees in turn feel like they are part of the family and are appreciated. If the convention or party is for customers, the entertainment serves to show how the company really appreciates the customer's business and also helps to protect the company from other competitors. It is also key that the company book someone that everyone can enjoy. This can often be difficult as everyone has different tastes. That is where an entertainment company can help you to narrow the choice and pick a celebrity that most will enjoy and remember, although it is good to have an idea of what kind of entertainment would be appropriate, such as a comedian, musician, speaker, and more.
Most Popular Celebrities?
I am often asked what the most popular celebrities being booked are. The answer really all depends on the clients and what kind of audience they have, their goal for the event, and of course their budget. You are really not going to be able to touch any real celebrity for under $20, 000. All that aside, some entertainers who have performed for private events, home parties, corporate functions, and more, are Seal, Kool and the Gang, Boyz to Men, Sheryl Crow, Carrie Underwood, 50 cent, Tina Turner and others.
The Celebrity Rider
All celebrities have some sort of rider, or list of demands of things they must have when making an appearance, performing, or speaking. These usually include the typical things such as hotel accommodations, flights, dinners, and other things you might expect, but there are also many things you might not expect, such as specific kinds of water, brand name towels, gourmet catering, certain types of candy, candles, and even toys. The bigger the celebrity, the more demanding the rider is going to be. The celebrity will also most likely have a entourage of people that travels with them such as personal assistants, bodyguards, friends and more. You will have to cover the cost of all this if it is in the rider and you are unable to negotiate if favorably. The purpose of the rider is to ensure that the celebrity feels taken care of, and therefore can give the best possible performance. Although, some would argue the fee they earn should alone make them do that. By the way, not everything in a rider is guaranteed, and many things are negotiable as long as you know how to do it. Some items that can be omitted are the brand name only candy, gourmet food, and the like. Often times, the food items are the easiest to negotiate. As far as the specific events that celebrities like to perform at? They are fond of private events, corporate parties, charity events, and conventions. Why? They are not bombarded by the media tabloids at these types of events, and can do the event without the public really hearing much about it, and as a result are free of public scrutiny and the event is generally an easy one.
4 Ways to Get a Discount on Your Celebrity Performance of Appearance
1. Do your best to obtain sponsorships to cover the full cost or part of the cost of getting the entertainer. Sponsorships are easier to obtain if you are keeping in contact with people in and around your industry. Keep a rolodex of your friends, business associates, and past sponsors to give them the first opportunity to help you out. Then create a sponsor package specific to their needs and make sure it allows them the most exposure possible. Be sure to treat your sponsors well and they will return year after year.
2. Contact the entertainer or talent company as early as possible. This can help in getting a discount because the entertainer can block off dates and not have to worry about filling them up later in the year. You may also want to ask if there is a discount if you book at certain times of the year.
3. Try tying the event to a charity of the celebrities choice, or if the celebrity already has a charity, offer to donate a certain percentage of the profits to their charity.
4. Find out if the celebrity is going to be in your area around the time the event is going on. Will they be on tour? It will always be cheaper to get them if they are already in the same city doing a show at an arena and they can swing by your event and perform without it interfering with their schedule.
How to Deal with a Possible Crisis!
You may have booked your favorite celebrity for your event, and everything is set to go on smoothly, however at the last minute you find out that the celebrity is canceling on you. What are you to do and how can you prepare and deal with this type of situation?
First, most celebrity contracts are structured in a way that favors the celebrity, no surprise there. The contracts have stipulations that say things such as, giving the celebrity the option to cancel your booking for a more favorable one, refuse to perform if all requirements are not met, and so on. They do this to ensure that they are not missing any other opportunities when deciding to take on your engagement. So, to prevent this, it is imperative to be working with an entertainment company that knows how to negotiate the contracts and fees so that everyone's expectations are clear and the celebrity is looking forward to working your event. Also, be sure to book the celebrity as early as you can. This helps them work their schedule around your booking and will be less likely to cancel if they took your booking a while back. You may also want to have a backup plan in case something goes off course during the celebrity booking process, such as having another celebrity as an option.
Finally, whether you choose to work with an entertainment company or not, make sure you read the contracts thoroughly so there are no surprises and you know exactly what they expect if they are going to perform at your event. Keep these things in mind and your celebrity event should go off a lot smoother.
The Appearance Fee
Most people associate celebrities getting paid to perform, however they also get paid generously to simply show up at an event, sign some autographs, take some pictures and basically make a short appearance. Why would someone book a celebrity to just show up at an event and not even perform? Well, the reason in public events is for the draw that a celebrity can attract, and the celebrities appearance fee is usually much less than what they would receive if they were to perform at the event. If a celebrities performance fee is $100, 000, the appearance fee could be $50, 000 or less, depending on the star power of the celebrity, their schedule and other factors. Also, it is a lot less of a time commitment for them and therefore frees them up to take on other events. If your event is a private one, then it could be a nice surprise for guests to meet and take pictures with their favorite celebrity. This is something the guests will talk about and remember for a long time. So, next time you want the star power of a celebrity, but perhaps don't want the enormous fees, consider an appearance or meet and greet, as they call it in Hollywood.
Some Juicy Celebrity Demands
Here is a list of demands that celebrities must have in order to perform or participate in an event. Some are unusual, a little crazy, and some quite normal. What do you think? Being a celebrity certainly has its perks.
1. Christina Aguilera must have a police escort meet her at the airport and lead her limo because she refuses to deal with traffic. Backstage, she must have a jar of Flinstones Vitamins.
2. Rod Stewart - Has a special "darkening team" on staff to make sure no light comes into his room when he takes his afternoon nap.
3. Justin Timberlake requires someone go around every two hours to disinfect doorknobs.
4. Jennifer Lopez - Her coffee must be stirred counter clockwise. Trailers and backstage areas must be draped with white sheets and decorated with white rose and candles.
5. Johnny Depp - Likes his dressing room draped with Moroccan drapes and filled with candles and water pipes.
6. Angelina Jolie - Requested a movie studio pay for flying lessons for Brad Pitt before she would agree to film with them.
7. Janet Jackson - Insists that her limo be parked right outside her dressing room door so she doesn't have to walk. Must have a chaise lounge and 10 black roses.
8. Paul McCartney - No more and no less than 19 six foot tall leafy green plants and four six foot tall plants should adorn his dressing room.
9. Prince: A physician. All food to be covered in clear plastic wrap.
10. Britney Spears: Two boxes of Pop Tarts. Fruit Loops. Cable television. Two 6ft sofas. Odor-free carpet. A phone line.
11. Rolling Stones: HP sauce. Shepherd's pie. Paintbrushes. Snooker table. TV (capable of showing cricket matches). Toilet (on wheels).
Hope you enjoyed this list, and yes these demands are absolutely real, however the right entertainment company knows how to negotiate things like this. By the way, do not let demands like this scare you as they are generally enforced more strictly at large events such as concerts, public venues and big galas. No matter, most of the items listed are not that difficult to obtain.
Finally, Who do I Contact to Book the Celebrity and How do I Get a Hold of Them?
When you have made your choice of the celebrity you would like to have perform at your event, convention, party, etc.., you are going to need to contact them. Your best bet would be to contact an entertainment company that books celebrities for events as they are experienced in dealing with contracts, riders, travel, production, scheduling, negotiations, and of course getting a good deal for you. However, in the event that you are really ambitious and don't mind a lot of hard work, you can do it yourself. You need to contact the artist's booking agent or manager and find out his availability, fees, and rider. You can find out who represents the celebrity by doing an internet search and seeing if you can find out what agency represents them or go to the library and ask a reference librarian to help you find the information you are looking for. Once you get the information, call the agency and ask for the booking agent for the celebrity you want. It may take a while for the agent to get back to you because they do not know you and they probably do not think you are a serious player. If you persist, you can prove to them that you are seriously interested in booking the celebrity for an event. Ask the agent to send over the requirements of the celebrity. Be sure to keep in mind that you will have to cover the costs of all production that is needed in order for the celebrity to perform and some musical acts require certain kinds of instruments or equipment. The production is usually the most expensive part of your costs. Not only that, but you are also expected to cover the cost of hotel, travel, meals, and more. Before you commit, make sure you get quotes from various production companies for the cost of audio and visual needs. Also, get the numbers crunched on hotels, flights, meals, and more. After you add up all these numbers including the celebrities actual fee, then that is the actual amount it costs to book the celebrity. Then, be sure to read all the contracts completely so you are not stuck with untold legal complications. Do your homework and be clear on what you expect from the celebrity and most importantly what the celebrity expects from you. Take these steps into your booking process and it will make the experience a whole lot smoother.
Joshua Gair - President - Impact Entertainment Services - Making Events Unforgettable!
josh@impactentertains.com
www.impactentertains.com
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