2018 In Review: Artist Success Spells Leverage

– Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne
No More Block Booking: Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne announce the “No More Tours 2” tour, which became an example of the power artists have in choosing when and where they play.

Taylor Swift was able to negotiate a unique deal with Universal Music Group this year that, according to a Tumblr post by the artist, will grant her ownership of her own master recordings and stipulates that UMG will distribute profits from sales of Spotify shares to artists. 

While cynics might call the latter condition in Swift’s contract a PR stunt, it is undeniably an example of how big artists have, more than ever, displayed unprecedented leverage in negotiations of all kinds. 

The money for streaming exclusives may have dried up in 2018, but a few years ago the rush for exclusive content led to tastemaker Drake getting a $19 million partnership with Apple Music, according to Forbes. 

Jay-Z signed a $200 million, 10-year contract with Live Nation in 2017, a re-up of his $150 million deal signed 10 years prior. Last year’s “4:44” arena tour brought plenty of initial value, and that partnership also secured the rights to Jay-Z’s 2018 “OTR II” stadium tour with his wife Beyoncé. 

Obviously, not every artist can own their own powerhouse entertainment company while also being married to one of the biggest stars on the planet, but others are increasingly able to fight for what they want in various negotiations.

Ozzy Osbourne and his wife/manager Sharon showed they were willing to fight tooth and nail after venue operator / tour promoter AEG presented them with a “Staples Center Commitment” while planning his “No More Tours 2” farewell tour. The document essentially outlined a booking policy stipulating that if Ozzy performed at the company’s O2 – London on the tour, he would have to play Staples Center in Los Angeles at least once. 

Sharon made clear that Ozzy preferred to play the Forum in LA and The O2 in London and they filed suit against AEG, which eventually resulted in a public ceasefire between AEG Presents CEO Jay Marciano and Irving Azoff of Azoff MSG Ent., who had publicly gone back and forth about the competition between their venues for some time.

“Going forward promoters for artists who want to play the O2 will no longer be required to commit to playing Staples,” Marciano said in a statement to Variety. “We would only require that commitment if we had reason to believe that artists were being somehow pressured to play the Forum in order to have access to the Garden. But we’ve had a lot of feedback from artists and agents and managers that they’re no longer [feeling that pressure]. We’re pleased that this is the end result.”

Azoff [who co-founded Oak View Group, Pollstar’s parent company] provided the following statement to Pollstar: “It’s a great day for artists when those of us that make a living serving them recognize that artists should have the right to their own decisions, especially regarding choice of venues to play.” 

Ozzy demonstrated once again that while one company may handle the whole national or even international tour, it’s still ultimately the artist who decides where to play, even if it takes a public brouhaha. 

Indeed, artists have further leverage when they transcend the world of music, becoming entertainment brands with presence on television, film, music, social media and even in festival promotion. 

With powerful full-service agencies in their corners, musicians like Lady Gaga can become superstars on the big screen and actors like Hugh Jackman can book full-fledged music tours. 

Dolly Parton signing over to WME this year is an example of one artist taking advantage of a full-service agency’s reach. 

“We believe that WME is uniquely positioned to help elevate Dolly and her brand at this wonderful stage in her career,” Parton manager Danny Nozell said in a statement. “WME has a vast global network in the entertainment market, especially in the areas that we have strategically identified as priority such as licensing and unique commercial and touring opportunities.”

In recent years, Garth Brooks’ model of booking as many shows as he can until they stop selling out prove another example of how an artist with major star power can cause venues to accommodate unorthodox requests, as some venues cleared their calendars for weeks at a time.