When you examine any one of the big four the thing that stands out the most is literally their size.  They’re actually really “big,” CAA for instance has 10 offices, spanning the globe from Los Angeles to Beijing.  William Morris has 5 offices, and employs well over a hundred agents.  With their enormous size and far reaching influence they have become powerful symbols in more than just the entertainment industry.

While most people correlate the term “talent agency” to dealing strictly with actors and models, which may be true for most talent agencies, the big four have become major players in several other industries.   Corporate Consulting for instance, has become a major revenue stream for the big four, as has branding and licensing.  Several athletes have also now signed on with the big four to help increase their endorsement exposure. (E.g. WME represents world-class athletes such as Alex Rodriguez, Serena Williams, and Magic Johnson).

Another mechanism that separates the big four from the rest is their client demographics.  If you were to walk through the front doors of ICM you may see the likes of Al Pacino, Samuel L. Jackson, Eminem, Beyoncé, and many other world class stars.   The world’s biggest stars are represented by the world’s biggest agencies, and the big four have truly established themselves as representation to the stars.

The success of CAA, UTA, WME, and ICM didn’t happen over night though; years of hard work, mergers, and great individuals (Ari Emanuel – character Ari Gold from entourage is based off of) have been the recipe behind their success.

With all of that said though, it’s important to point out that while representation by one of the big four could be very helpful in progressing a young talents career there is other avenues for reaching success.  There are literally hundreds of other good and capable agencies out there, so don’t be discouraged if you don’t get signed by one of the big four right away, just like anything else, it takes time to climb to the top.

A great tool for comparing the big four is FindTheBest’s Talent Agencies Comparison.  FTB’s tool allows you to compare the big four in a side-by-side view.

Basically, an artist or his/her representation can set up a concert in
your town and specify a minimum amount of tickets that makes playing
there worth it. Booking a show is free and until this minimum amount is
met (or their lingo “set-off point”) the transactions won’t go
through. If for whatever reason the concert doesn’t take place, all
purchases are fully reimbursed. They also have an industry low service
fee at around $4.

For artists it’s a great way to test interest in a certain destination
and branch out into new markets. Gone are the days of low attendance,
with Ticketometer only shows that are up to snuff will actually happen.
In return, the fans partake in the tour selection and artists have new
negotiating power through predetermined results – a guaranteed product
to offer. Venues win too. They can potentially book empty nights by
letting artists compete to meet a setoff point.

Almost just as interesting as the concept itself is how limitless its
uses are. Big house agencies may not always know where their artists’
fans are centralized. A co-founder, Ardon Lukasiewicz said, “It has
been really exciting to see all the positive feedback from artists,
agents and managers. They bring new ideas to the table… one was to
book 20 shows with a famous artist and the first 15 shows to reach the
setoff point happen!” Their service can be used as a safety net,
negotiating factor or to maximize tour performance for all sizes of
artists.

You can see a demonstration of their ticket pages at
www.ticketometer.com/u - which was posted by a Coldplay cover band along
side Chet Haze… Tom Hank’s son.  The site, as you can see, is
eye-catching, intuitive and easy to navigate. After speaking to them
about the future of Ticketometer, they have a lot of new features and
development still ahead for their full launch. Feel free to sign up, and
if you’re an artist, big or small, I’d highly recommend that you
give it a try, you have nothing to lose and potentially a lot to gain.

Ardon can be reached at ardon@ticketometer.com, as well as their other
co-founder and brother Lukasiewicz at jaron@ticketometer.com

Furthermore, narrowing your choices down can be confusing.  That’s of course after you actually know what all your choices are.  With thousands of registered talent agencies across America and even more internationally, finding an agency that meets your needs can be a daunting task. Luckily, there’s now a tool to help you; FindTheBest’s new Talent Agencies Comparison is an easy to use, objective based tool that helps every type of talent find a talent agency that best meets their needs.

FindTheBest’s talent agencies comparison allows users to sort and filter on a variety of different fields ranging from location and industries covered, to number of agents employed by each agency.  For instance, if you were looking for a talent agency in Los Angeles that employs more than 100 agents and works with licensing intellectual property, you would be directed towards United Talent Agency (UTA), Creative Artists Agency (CAA), International Creative Management (ICM), and William Morris Endeavor (WME).

While the comparison covers all the top agencies in the world, it’s also a great starting point for any young talents out there looking for a talent agency in their backyard.  All you have to do is type in your zip code or address into the location bar and all the agencies nearest to you will be filtered to the top of the search results.

Additionally, the comparison supplies a lot of useful information for each agency- such as office contact info, representation forms, and union affiliations, but it also makes for a fun resource.  You can use the comparison to see who represents who in the entertainment industry.  For instance Creative Artists Agency has an extensive list of notable clients; Meryl Streep, Sandra Bullock, Steven Spielberg, and David Beckham to name a few.

Check out FindTheBest’s Talent Agency Comparison for making sure the agency you choose best meets your needs.  It’s a fun interactive tool that can help make a difficult decision like choosing a talent agency much easier.

For the regular consumer witnessing the events of the past two weeks, Sheen appears to be a nightmare of rants and raves, drug abuse, and sexually deviant behavior.  For Entertainment agents, managers, script writers, networks other than CBS, and studios other than Warner Bros, Charlie Sheen is the quintessential blue print for the new age of maximizing potential for talent into the next decade.  Despite the fact the hit show “Two and a Half Men” has ended with the release of Sheen, Sheen effectively created a new conversation in future business negotiations within his career.  Now that he has nearly 2.5 million Twitter followers, he has created tangible proof that he has not lost his following and Charlie Sheen as a brand name is still big business.  His leverage with studios and networks will be unlimited now that he has both established movie and television sitcom careers, and has demonstrated his ability to deliver in a reality television show format hosted by Ustream via Twitter, in which Sheen sounds off on leaders of CBS:

Even the Red Cross has jumped on the Charlie Sheen bandwagon, declaring via Twitter on March 2^nd:

We may not collect #tigerblood, but we know our donors & volunteers have fierce passion for doing good! #RedCrossMonth

What we are witnessing is flatly amazing considering the depth and severity of allegations that Sheen has survived throughout his career.  According to Perez Hilton.com, Charlie Sheen had faced the following allegations:

1990 – Sheen shot then-fiancee Kelly Preston with a .22 gun…accidentally of course…

1994 – Sued by a UCLA student for allegedly striking her in the head after “she refused to have sex.”

1996 – Arrested after adult film star girlfriend Brittany Ashland claimed Sheen “knocked her out and threatened to kill her.”

2006 – Denise Richards filed for divorce from Sheen and claimed he threw chairs at her and threatened to kill her, multiple times

2009 – Allegedly strangled Brooke Mueller, held a knife to her throat, and threatened to kill her, on Christmas Day

2010 – Adult film star Capri Anderson claimed Charlie “put his hands around her neck and threatened to kill her”

2011 – Allegedly threatened to kill his ex Brooke Mueller…again

You don’t have to live in a Sober Valley Lodge to realize that Sheen was not a model citizen but remained in the spotlight the past twenty years because the American consumers and those tuning in from around the world forgive the lifestyles of A-list actors; however, reality television is produced more frequently than any other form of television show because of the ratio of production cost to revenue generated.  As a result, this forgiveness has extended to unprecedented amounts and has resulted in common people such as the case of MTV’s Jersey Shore to become famous for socially unacceptable behavior they display on camera.  Sheen’s rebellious approach to CBS by naming specific individuals within the corporation is not typical A-list actor behavior, and has turned him into the people’s champ.  His “twitter trends” known simply as “winning” and “tiger blood” have become long running jokes that have been copied and repeated by millions throughout daily life when they log off their computers.

Sheen is a pioneer as an A-List actor who is embracing social media as a link into the “reality” aspect of the entertainment industry.  Aside from releasing his personal live performance on Ustream, he has advertised for a “social media intern” to begin for 8 weeks this summer.

What Sheen is accomplishing is an A-list actor’s parallel to a professional athlete recovering from a scandal and still #winning.  What we are witnessing is Shaq leaving the Lakers and Kobe Bryant striving to win more championships after being accused of rape.  Sheen is no stranger to public controversy and he has demonstrated that even when large conglomerates such as CBS and Warner Brothers part ways with him, he still has millions of fans.  The bottom line is determined by none other than us, the consumers, who continue to value the pizzazz, humor, and wit Sheen exudes on the screen.

Sheen’s most recent interviews have been described as “manic episodes” by some psychotherapists.  In a world such as Hollywood, where the fast life of cocaine, sexually liberated women, and endless amounts of cash spent on alcohol is common place for men in Sheen’s position, one might view his fast chatter and declaration that he has “tiger blood” as the cry out of a man who is in need of help.  Until consumers turn off the television, Sheen’s portrayal of a man on the road to recovery is not only entertainment, but also big business.

The chat around the water cooler has already started as to whether Christina Aguilera, who is singing the national anthem at the big game on Sunday, will be wearing a cowboy hat or not. With North Texas hosting the Super Bowl and the game being played at Cowboys Stadium, there is the possibility.

The second biggest subject regarding the pop star is how long she’ll hold the last note of the anthem. Odds makers have set the line at 6.5 seconds but knowing the crooner and how she likes to show off her outstanding voice, there’s a very good chance that that last note will take longer than 6.5 to sing.

Speaking of performers, the Black Eyed Peas will be performing during halftime and one of the props for them is whether Fergie, the female member of the hip hop group, will be wearing a football jersey. Obviously, there’s the option to wear a Cowboys jersey, since the Dallas Cowboys are the home team of the venue and are America’s team, or she could also be wearing a jersey of either the Green Bay Packers or Pittsburgh Steelers, which are the two teams taking part in the NFL’s Championship Game. There are some rumors that she may be wearing a half-and-half jersey with half of one teams jersey and have of the other’s as to not appear biased. In case you are wondering, she was born in California so she may not have allegiances to either team.

Check out the prop bets for the big as there are literally hundreds to choose from. The Super Bowl will take place this Sunday, February 6^th.

(Mad) Mel Gibson, Nicole Kidman, Russell Crowe, Naomi Watts, Hugh Jackman, Cate Blanchett, Heath Ledger, Eric Bana, Geoffrey Rush, Toni Collette, Simon Baker, Isla Fisher, etc … no other country has dominated Hollywood the way Australia has, but what lies in store for the future (and specifically, 2011)?

It’s no secret that the ‘big four’ Hollywood talent agencies and a few of the large LA management firms have been scouting for talent ‘down-under’ since Australian’s became prominent in the 80s and 90s. However, it’s not just our actors that are sought after … Jane Campion, Baz Luhrmann and Geoffrey Wright are all considered outstanding directors (to name a few) and we continue to produce excellent ‘behind-the-camera’ talent.

The twelve top Aussie actors in Hollywood appeared in films that had made $US8.94 billion since 2000 (according to a study from August 2009).

Australians are recognised for the solid ‘soapie’ training they receive in Australia (think ‘Neighbours’ and ‘Home and Away’).

Will this trend continue? Yes, if Mia Wasikowska (‘Alice in Wonderland’), Sam Worthington (‘Avatar’) and Chris and Liam Hemsworth’s success is anything to go by.

On the Australian film front, Rupert Murdoch (the head of Fox) is Australian, and was instrumental in facilitating the filming of the ‘Matrix’ and ‘Star Wars’ II and III in Sydney. If the Australian dollar falls against the US dollar, filming in Australia may yet again become an attractive proposition for US studios, especially given the presence of a more than generous 40% tax rebate.

Guy Pearce believes the appeal of actors from Australia stems from the fact that the continent is “built on a convict history. We started with nothing” he says.  There’s no shortage of twinkling convicts in Pearce’s latest film, the gripping indie epic Animal Kingdom, which won the World Cinema Jury Prize at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival.

In fact, the depth of talent in Australia is so great, that a prominent Australian talent agency recently opened an office in a city not usually associated with the arts. Australia also has a rapidly expanding population – this should mean that there will be no shortage of talent in the near future.

Gene Goodsell is Australian and works for Abrams Artists Agents in Los Angeles. Prior to this, he worked as a talent agent for the Sydney branch of a global sports and entertainment firm and before this, was a commercial lawyer in Sydney and London.

On Saturday, October 23, I attended the Institute on Entertainment Law & Business at the USC Gould School of Law, which included a lunchtime address by Michael Lynton, CEO and Chairman of Sony Pictures Entertainment.

Although the Institute had a heavy legal focus, there were numerous poignant issues highlighted, which impact upon the practice of a talent agent.

One of these issues was the rise of India and in particular, China, on the world movie stage. This is an issue that I have written about before: (http://entertainmentagentblog.com/2009/09/28/entertainment-china/ and http://entertainmentagentblog.com/2009/07/27/the-rise-of-asian-cinema/).

CAA and WME Entertainment’s establishment of a Beijing office is testament to the large revenue streams being generated out of China. The Chinese Government has stated that they want to build as many cinema screens as the US (at the moment, they are second only to the US in the number of traditional movie and IMAX screens that they have).

Rand Holston from CAA stated that CAA is experiencing considerable success representing Chinese film stars in Beijing. The cost for CAA of setting up an office in Beijing was in the vicinity of USD 5 – 10 million. However, Chinese movies are very popular and generate considerable revenues, which was a major reason for CAA establishing an office there.

US producers are also experiencing considerable success making films in partnership with the Chinese (for example, where Chinese companies contribute development funds).

There is no doubt that the Chinese film market is still very domestic-centric and the Chinese Government has a strict censorship system in place. However, China has a population that is approaching 1.5 billion, so any form of investment is bound to reap some kind of reward.

The Chinese State Administration of Radio, Film and Television has predicted that box office revenue will exceed USD 4.5 billion by 2015 and the US, as well as other countries and organisations are lobbying intensely for China to remove the restrictions on the number of foreign films that are allowed to be shown domestically. Once this restriction is lifted, the value of the Chinese market to Hollywood will be enormous.

As Holston stated, there are impediments for agents to doing business in China. These include:

• the lack of an established, stable legal system (let alone a specialized body of ‘entertainment law’);
• an unpredictable Government; and
• the need for Westerners to have pre-existing relationships with influential Chinese decision-makers ‘on-the-ground’ in China.

Despite the presence of these issues, the Chinese market will continue to generate eye-watering revenue figures and given the low cost of labour in China, will continue to become more and more attractive to Hollywood as a centre for investment.

Gene Goodsell is an ‘agent-in-training’ with Abrams Artists Agency in Los Angeles, has a law degree with honours, a business degree, a post-graduate diploma in legal practice and is currently completing a Masters of Laws. He has practised as a commercial lawyer in Sydney and London.

In June 1999, Twentieth Century Fox released George Lucas’ digitally mastered Star Wars: Episode 1 – The Phantom Menace. This was the first time that a major studio released a film digitally.

Digital film making represents a huge breakthrough in the way films are produced. In fact, digital film making has been compared to the arrival of sound in 1927.

Digital film making provides tremendous cost savings during production and in post-production. Film makers are not burdened with servicing the bottom line requirements of banks, studios, insurers, completion guarantors, foreign sales companies and distributors.

New delivery systems for entertainment content are continually emerging. Apart from the traditional means of distributing films and TV, programming can now be delivered by digital methods such as delivering TV directly to the home (DirecTV), or over the Internet, which is used to deliver such online streaming services such as Lion’s Gate/Trimark’s CinemaNow.

Where a digital distributor wants to exhibit a movie over the Internet on its website, over DSL systems, or via a private, closed delivery system, they will provide a producer with a distribution agreement.

There are a number of factors that a producer should be aware of when negotiating a distribution agreement.

1. The Licensing Period

Your license term for digital exploitation will depend on what other rights (if any) you have previously licensed. If you have had no previous exploitation, try to negotiate the license for a period of six months so that you can reassess the digital marketplace in the not too distant future.

2. Advertising

The digital distributor will usually want to use the names, voices, likenesses and photographs of actors for their own marketing purposes. You should be careful not to grant rights to the digital distributor that are not available under your various talent agreements.

One provision that a producer should ask for is a commitment on behalf of the digital distributor to advertise the movie in a negotiated manner.

3. License Fee

Obtaining an advance against royalties for a digital license is difficult. If an advance is not possible, a producer should ask for a large share of the gross revenue for downloads, streaming etc (ask for around 50%).

Also, ask for a share of advertising revenues associated with the viewing of your product. If relevant, also ask for stock options and the right to purchase stock at less than market rates. Specify the minimum rates to be charged for downloads and viewings. It is absolutely crucial that you make sure you are clear as to how your share of royalties from subscriptions are to be calculated.

You should receive monthly statements within 60 days detailing all relevant financial details associated with the digital distribution. The distribution agreement should have a provision allowing you to audit the digital distributer’s financial records. It is wise to negotiate for the digital distributor to pay for the cost of an audit.

4. Cross-links

A provision should be included in the distribution agreement requiring cross-linking of the digital distributor’s site with your official site as well as the right to sell merchandise from your own site.

5. Delivery of materials

It is advisable to attempt to get the territorial distributor to pay for subtitled versions of the product that may be required.

The digital distributor should agree not to authorize any copies of the sub-master to be made without your prior written consent and should agree to keep the motion picture sub-master secure during the license period and agree to destroy any encoded and compressed versions of the movie at the conclusion of the license period.

6. The protection of intellectual property

A producer should reserve all rights in relation to their product and any other software or intellectual property.

7. Breach

A common provision in a digital licensing agreement provides for a reasonable notice period for breaches on either side but in the event of breach on behalf of the digital distributor, you waive your right to any injunctive relief, the right to terminate the agreement or seek recision. The only remedy would be an action at common law for damages.

*          *          *          *

The digital delivery of motion pictures will rapidly expand over the next few years. Digital pricing, territorial limitations, the issue of exclusivity and appropriate license periods will become more generic and a set of even more specialized standard terms for digital exploitation will emerge.

Gene Goodsell LLB (Hons) B Bus (Accounting) Post Grad Dip LP FTIA has experience working as an entertainment lawyer and agent/manager. Gene can be contacted at ggoodsell@navitasmgmt.com

Please note that the contents of this article are predominantly based on US law and the information in this article is not intended in any way to be construed as legal advice but only as information of a general nature.

Considering some of the “Bottom Lines” Jones covers in his email, let’s take a brief look at the industry now:

Due to the lack of studio feature film production, BOTH film and TV actors are competing for a limited number of jobs in the episodic and pilot environments.

Production companies are currently doing everything possible to diminish costs and risk.  This means producing low risk films with solid scripts, good marketing and within certain genres. In other words, they are taking a very conservative approach.

The reality is that even though the US economy is slowly recovering, a rash, imprudent decision could cost someone their job.

The economic conditions are forcing the industry to be as ‘thin’ as possible.

Reality TV is all the rage – why? Because it can be produced for a low cost and usually generates solid revenue. However, even reality TV has suffered from the impacts of the GFC. The past year saw many production budgets cut and large projects postponed.

A state of flux

Meanwhile, MGM is on the auction block and Miramax is now part of Walt Disney.  It’s important to remember that MGM fetched $4.8bn when it was bought in 2005 by its current owners Sony, Comcast, Texas Pacific Group and Providence Equity Partners. DVD sales are also in decline. The introduction of DVD rental kiosks such as Red Box, have eroded traditional DVD sales figures.

More platforms = more content = more revenue!

Many new technologies are being introduced to encourage viewer participation and increase revenue for studios. For example, increasing viewers control over when and how they view films in their home. Studios are also looking at gaining more information about individual consumer preferences via electronic devices (such as the Internet and through cell phones) in order to tailor service offerings to consumers.

One only needs to look at the recent LA Times article on digital 3-D to see where the future of the industry lies: http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-ca-3d-20100425,0,3625039.story

There’s also no doubt that making it possible for viewers to see films such as Avatar in 3D only helped boost ticket sales and revenue for Fox.

Moving forward …

The GFC started in earnest in 2007 … things are improving – the US and world economy are getting stronger. More money is being invested into projects and the effects are being seen.

For the time being though, solid defense is still winning the game.

Gene Goodsell is a lawyer and agent currently based in Sydney, Australia.

It appears as though Lil Wayne may not be in the studio ‘rapping’ for a while. On Monday he appeared in a Manhattan criminal court to officially be sentenced for having a loaded gun on his tour bus. The incident happened in the summer of 2007.

Luckily for him, his one year sentence will be of a more elegant nature – apart from the rest of the prison population. If good behavior prevails, he may see parole after eight months.

Ironically this criminal sentence dawns on his rising career as rap icon, and recently ‘actor.’ The last year (2009) has proven quite lucrative for him with his tours grossing almost $42 million, supporting a wide variety of artists along the way. In addition, according to Billboard, in 2008, he earned $57.44 million personally.

As one of the ‘richest’ and most well known rappers and music artists in the world, this incarceration could cause not only a financial stress to him, but also groups that cover on tours and even the few that collaborate on albums. Lil Wayne is a catalyst and a transformational figure in the music industry; with him out expect some sort of ripple effect to follow.

We know he’ll be back, better than ever – expect ‘Tha Carter’ to be developing some new material in these next few months. However, what will the affect be on the entertainment and music industry while he’s away?