Right now, talent buyers, event organizers, and promoters all over are feeling the stress from the current uncertainty in our industry with holding events and booking entertainment for them. Like most other entertainment booking agencies, TSE has seen a decrease in buyers booking entertainment for their large 2020 and early 2021 public events out of fear of the unknown. While smaller events have still been possible, this fear for larger events is understandable. After all, the sheer number of live events that had to be cancelled or rescheduled already this year has resulted in billions in revenue lost for 2020.
According to a recent Pollstar survey involving live music venues, promoters, talent buyers, production/concert support, ticketers, agents, and record labels, over 50% of the live events industry personnel believe that we’ll be back to full capacity by Quarter 3 of 2021. This outlook coincides with what we are seeing in major live events. Large name entertainers such as Guns N’ Roses, Justin Bieber, and the Doobie Brothers, among others, have rescheduled their 2020 shows and tours for quarter two and three of 2021. So, what does this mean for your event?
Although no one can predict when large, public events will be back into full swing, with continued and evolving safety measures, there’s a real chance that we can see large-scale live entertainment rear it’s beautiful face again next year. Just in our agency alone, we have major events that so far are still scheduled to take place in the spring of 2021.
Thus, moving forward in this climate that we have all had to adjust to, there is no reason to hesitate in hiring live entertainment for events planned for next year. if you have the proper representation and take the necessary precautions you should not have a problem.
Like most others in our industry that are learning to navigate this new terrain, TSE has taken extra precautions with our clients, both buyers and artists, to make sure that all our drafted contracts for future events keeps everyone protected contingent upon the chances of COVID-19 cases rising once again.
Booking Entertainment Contracts: Force Majeure
This security is provided through the “force majeure” clause in the contract. “Force majeure” is French for “superior force.” It is a contract provision that relieves the parties from performing their contractual obligations when certain circumstances beyond their control arise, making performance inadvisable, commercially impracticable, illegal, or impossible.
If local and state health authorities decide that your event cannot take place because of the Coronavirus, then the Force Majeure clause of your entertainment contract will keep both parties protected. However, it isn’t enough to just have this clause in your contract. Because courts tend to interpret this clause narrowly, it is important to plainly list what you are anticipated protection from. In the case of COVID-19 cancellations, obviously you will want “pandemic” listed under Force Majeure.
Example of a Force Majeure Clause:
“Neither the Performer nor the Client will be held liable for any failure to perform its obligations under this Agreement where such breach is due to any of the following: acts of regulations of public authorities, labor difficulties or strike, inclement weather, epidemic, interruption or delay of transportation service acts of God, or any other legitimate cause beyond the reasonable control of the Performer and Client.”
Attention to detail, clear communication, and flexibility will make your experience with booking live entertainment that much less stressful, even in the middle of a global pandemic. Attention to detail to make sure everything is in place to keep everyone protected. Clear communication is key so that both parties know exactly what is expected should something happen. Today’s times demand flexibility by both parties as well in the case that something does happen.
Rescheduling Your Event
The majority of our 2020 bookings that were canceled due to the pandemic were simply rescheduled for the following year. If your event is rescheduled for a later time, all deposits will be held, an amendment to your contract will be added, and all will remain the same until the new date of your event.
If your 2021 event needs to be rescheduled, our agents will work diligently with you and keep you updated fully with clear transparency so that everything goes smoothly. TSE absorbs any stress, so you don’t.
This is the easiest course of action, but what if you cannot or do not want to reschedule?
Handling Cancelations
If you are working with TSE Entertainment as your booking agency, you are guaranteed protection of your full deposit in the face of a COVID-19 cancelation. You get your deposit returned to you in full, and in a timely manner.
Our top goal as a company is building long-term relationships with our clients. Trust is the glue. Events and moments such as this pandemic have proven our commitment to all of those we work with. Out of hundreds of bookings canceled during this “black swan” event, we did not leave a single client hanging. We are driven by100% client satisfaction across the board.
Don’t Forget the Impact of Day of Show Weather on Outdoor Events
Another, experience that can have a major impact on the ROI (return of investment) of your outdoor event is rain. Rain can a major impact on turn out and day of show ticket sales for outdoor concerts, festivals, and fairs. The rain doesn’t need to occur immediately before or during the concert to have a negative impact. If potential attendees see rain earlier in the day, they will often change their plans and skip the event fearing more rain at the time of the concert. That’s why promoters and event salespeople will make every effort to get their target market to purchase advance tickets to the event through online ticket sales or box office sales prior to the day of show.
Fortunately, you can purchase rain insurance to hedge against day of show rain incidents. It’s not cheap and the premium depends on a number of issues, including weather history for the area and date, how much rain you choose to insure against, and the time window you want the insurance to be in effect. Expect to pay six to ten percent of the policy amount based on our experience over the years for such events. It’s a big hit to the budget but can save you to be able to plan and schedule your next event.
Use a Reputable Agency to Protect Your Entertainment Dollars
Not all agencies are the same with respect to doing right by their clients. TSE has had many entertainment events canceled or rescheduled during the Coronavirus pandemic. In all cases we have made our clients “whole” even when some of the acts booked were unable to refund the deposit because of their own financial condition.
Many other agencies would just tell you that the act refused to return the deposit and that’s it as far as they are concerned. That’s not the way to develop long term relationships with clients. That’s not the way we do business at TSE Entertainment.
No matter what your concerns are regarding booking entertainment for your large 2021 event, we are here to help keep you reassured and protected. That’s why many of our clients have been booking entertainment with us for over 20 years. We hope that these protections for anyone booking entertainment for upcoming events will give them peace of mind about moving forward with their events.
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