Backstage Spotlight™
December 2003 Talent Agent Scott Pang
Scott Pang has worked in the music industry for 24
years and has been an agent at both ICM and William Morris. Artists he’s worked with
over the years include Rod Stewart, Barry Manilow, Diane Reeves, David Lee Roth, and many
others. Scott Pang was also the director of touring for the Ice Capades and Harlem
Globetrotters. Currently he is an agent at ICM.
MBADC: Let’s talk about media consolidation. How has media
consolidation changed your role as an agent, and how has media consolidation changed the
way tours are booked?
SP: With promoter consolidation, it’s changed. It’s become more
difficult to do business because the promoters like Clear Channel have the opportunity to
go out and buy a tour directly from a manager and cut the agent out of the loop. But
it’s also created opportunities where, because of the agent being cut out of the
loop, you’re also cutting other promoters out of the loop. So these promoters and
these agents have to turn somewhere in order to make a living. So you turn to areas of the
business that were traditionally ignored.
MBADC: Such as?
SP: Adult acts, adult contemporary attractions, and acts that really the Clear
Channels don’t really want. Those acts are very viable. Those acts make a lot of
money, and what you’ve done is create a great opportunity for both promoters and
agents to sell these acts and develop more business. So in essence the media consolidation
into the one-stop shop of national tour promoters I believe has actually helped the
business.
MBADC: Interesting. I never thought of it that way.
SP: It really has. It’s taken acts like an Anne Murray for example and made
them more important to everybody because of the fact that the Rod Stewart is now
[unavailable to the independent promoter]. And the promoters themselves, they’ve
learning that hey, I can make a lot more money on an Anne Murray because as a promoter of
a big arena act, the deals are so tight that there’s no money to be made. Whereas you
can risk less, make more.
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