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: When you’re looking for acts to bring to the agency,
what do you look for?
SP: Uniqueness, an act that has star quality to it, an act that a record company
or a manager or a music attorney or somebody says, "This act has a chance of
breaking." There are a lot of acts out there that have a chance of breaking, and you
hope that one of them does. You look for something that you think you can sell. It’s
a gut feeling. You’re looking for a needle in a haystack; you’re looking for the
next hit. You’re looking for somebody that people can relate to.
MBADC: Does potential longevity play a factor these days, or not?
SP: I would say from a record company perspective, no. Due to the consolidation
of record companies and record company ownership by multinational corporations, it’s
very hard to break an artist the traditional way, which is basically sticking by them
through thick and thin and letting them develop and become an artist that people will grow
to respect and enjoy. Right now the music business Is governed by quarterly profit
margins. And that’s the tough part about it, is that there’s no room for growth.
There’s no long-term loyalty. It’s "We want a hit now, or you’ve gotta
go away."
MBADC: So how does that affect you, as the agent?
SP: I think the effect is twofold. One, it makes booking a tour that much more
difficult. You can book a tour, but by the time it comes around to playing, the artist
could be yesterday’s news. Secondly, it makes the job of both the agent and the
promoter that much harder, because you don’t know what you’re investing
in…Will this act be around next year to tour again? Can I help build this act?
Because the act might not have an album to tour behind, because they got dropped from the
label.
MBADC: Has that affected artists’ guarantees?
SP: No, not really. That hasn’t affected it, no. Artist guarantees are still
driven by—I don’t know whether there’s any sensibility in it, but it’s
still driven by [just] whatever you can get. Especially when you’re a new act. When
you’re a new act, you should not expect to get rich. Hopefully you’ll break
even. That’s the best thing you can hope for as a new attraction.
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