| Assuming you have the budget to fund a private gig, | | | | prefer to rent sound equipment rather than transport |
| what are you getting yourself into? Well, if you're not | | | | their own, requiring the production company to cut |
| sure, you might as well not even bother to inquire. | | | | deals with local sources. Every band needs a green |
| "No agent is going to sell an act to a client that | | | | room in which to cool out before the show and |
| doesn't know how to produce a show," cautions Ben | | | | dressing rooms as well--and chances are your master |
| Bernstein, a personal appearance agent at the William | | | | bedroom won't cut it. Then there are the catering |
| Morris Agency in Beverly Hills who specializes in | | | | necessities pre- and post-show for both band and |
| private gigs. "Ninety-nine percent of end clients don't | | | | their crew. And don't forget about adequate parking |
| have production experience, and the last thing we | | | | for all the semis and catering trucks it's going to take |
| want to do is get a band into a situation where they | | | | to haul everything to the performance site. |
| can't perform." | | | | Then there's insurance coverage in all its maddening |
| In such circumstances, Bernstein typically | | | | detail. John Roskopf, senior director of Tave Risk |
| recommends potential clients a production company, | | | | Management in Northbrook, Ill., recommends clients |
| such as CK Entertainment.. Such firms can handle | | | | conduct a thorough examination of liability exposures. |
| everything from negotiating a reasonable price from | | | | In the end, are private gigs worth it? For the true |
| a booking agent to acting as a liaison between artist | | | | fan, there could only be one answer--of course they |
| and client, to actually producing the show. "Often | | | | are! Be advised, that your true fan status doesn't |
| private clients have no idea what they're responsible | | | | count for squat in the cut-throat music business. |
| for," notes Carey Kleiman with CK Entertainment | | | | Indeed, it may actually be a detriment. "The true fan |
| who oversees some 40 private gigs a year. "They | | | | is the thing that scares performers the most, |
| hear a price and they say, 'Great!' But when they find | | | | because you'll be all over them," says Carey Kleiman, |
| out what goes into mounting a show, they're | | | | managing partner of CK Productions, which has |
| dumbfounded." | | | | booked acts ranging from rap to country to Christian |
| For starters, every performance contract has a | | | | for private and corporate clients around the |
| production rider, which spells out the nuts and bolts | | | | country. "Whether it's a $30,000 act or a $1.5 million |
| required: staging, lights, sound equipment and the | | | | act, you need to make it a professional production |
| rest. For "one-off" private gigs that are not | | | | form start to finish. |
| coordinated within a tour schedule, bands typically | | | | |