Lessons Learned: Arny Granat

Pollstar continues its series of real life lessons in the concert business.

Back in the earlier days when I was booking the clubs myself and especially the Park West, I was very energetic and avid about making deals and getting reductions. It wasn’t about how much I made, it was about how much I didn’t lose.

I’ll never forget the day they brought in my ticket count sheet and there was a performance that showed zero ticket sales. I picked up the phone and called the agent and started ranting.

“I can’t believe this!” I said. “We’ve got to cancel the show! There’s no tickets sold! Nobody’s interested! I can’t believe it! We’ve got to get out of this!”

The guy says, “Arny, Arny, calm down!”

“What do you mean calm down?” I screamed.

He paused. “The show’s not on sale yet.”

Of course, I told him, “Yeah. I knew that. I was just practicing.”

But the truth of the matter was, I was a young man and it taught me to get my facts in order. Get everything straight before you make a total fool of yourself.