Agency Intel: Innovative Artists’ Joey Flaherty On Fandom & How Alternative Touring Builds Community

For fans, there’s nothing like the joy of seeing one of your favorite artists live – and this connection is taken to the next level when getting to actually meet the stars in person. Innovative Artists agent Joey Flaherty helps make fans’ dreams come true via his work booking alternative touring including recent Comic-Con appearances for Arden Cho of “KPop Demon Hunters.”

Flaherty spoke to Pollstar about his journey thus far in the live business and how being a fan of Star Trek and Star Wars has made him a better agent.

Pollstar caught up with Flaherty last month following MegaCon Orlando as he was preparing to accompany clients to Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo (C2E2) including Tom Kenny, who is the voice of SpongeBob, and Brett Dalton who was on the Marvel TV show “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.”

He also works with clients including actor, comedian and singer Stephen Kramer Glickman, who recently wrapped a global world tour, as well as Denise Richards and Jess Bush.

Pollstar: How did you get your start in the business? 
Joe Flaherty: I went to college in Providence. And I worked for a small electronic music agency called Maven while I was also the president of the student activities programming board at Bryant University. So I was working with agencies … booking all of the entertainment and speakers and things like that on campus at Bryant. And then from there I moved to New York where I worked at Gotham Artists for a while, before I moved to Los Angeles and started at Innovative.

I’ve been at Innovative now for 10 years in December. So, I was originally hired to do comedy touring, but that kind of has flourished into this new side of the business, which we affectionately call alternative touring at Innovative these days.

What really attracted you to booking alternative touring?
I’ve worked in touring, as I mentioned, for a long time. I worked in music festivals. I used to go to dance music festivals all the time. I still go to Austin City Limits. The best part about what I do is really this community building kind of side of it. It fosters expression and community and individuality.. … Going back to what I do at Innovative, I spearhead speakers and appearances. And the main focus under speakers and appearances for me is Comic-Con appearances. And those Comic-Cons are generally like these large-scale events at these massive convention centers that really foster that same kind of beautiful expression and community individuality that comes from that kind of festival vibe.

I am very passionate about Star Trek and Star Wars and all of the franchises that are celebrated in these spaces as well. And I think that’s led to some of my success because I am [one of] the fans. I relate to them. I know them personally. I help them kind of bridge the gap between them and their favorite celebrity, who I am helping bring to them in such an accessible way.

You were just at MegaCon Orlando with Arden Cho, who voices Rumi in “KPop Demon Hunters.” And then you’re headed to the Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo (C2E2) with Tom Kenny, who is the voice of Spongebob, and Brett Dalton, who was on a Marvel TV show called “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” How did Orlando go? 

It was electric. Arden is so fantastic with her fans who are obviously incredibly dedicated and incredibly passionate about Demon Hunters. It’s a global sensation. We’ve been doing domestic Comic- Con appearances. In a couple of weeks, we’re going to go to Manchester in the UK and do a big anime show over there. But you know, I was talking about community and expression before in these fans, but with the Demon Hunters fans, it’s a lot of families. It’s a lot of younger girls who are dressed like Arden’s character, Rumi. And you know, there were tears, there was shaking – and Arden’s so good with the fans that she really gives 110% to each person that is willing to stand in line and come and meet her at a convention like Orlando. Obviously an incredibly lucrative experience for everyone, but the real important stuff was the face-to-face interactions that Arden got to have with her fans, both older and younger from all across the world.

Arden is an actress but also a musician. Wondering whether there are future tour plans for her to do music or what’s next for her?
At the moment all I can speak to really is her upcoming convention appearances and I have her booked to do corporate speaking gigs, things along those lines. We have five or six upcoming cons that are confirmed … There’s a huge “KPop Demon Hunters” music tour that’s going to be coming soon. But I’m not sure much more besides that.

We’ll just have to stay tuned then.
There’s a lot going on within the “Demon Hunters” brand. I think they announced a second movie as well, coming soon. So, that’s very exciting.

Just to clarify, if Arden announced musical appearances, would you book those dates as well or do you just concentrate on the speaker and convention appearances?
I could definitely help facilitate those dates. I have done large-scale music tours this year with our clients. For example, Steven Kramer Glickman, who is on [the Nickelodeon sitcom] “Big Time Rush” just did a global music tour with Live Nation. So, that is something that Innovative with our 360 representation through, alternative touring could help facilitate, but that remains to be seen.
 
Any highlights you wanted to share about his tour?
Big Time Rush is something that’s perfect for crossover within my business because they have this nostalgic feel from the Nickelodeon show where we can book them into Comic-Con appearances, but then they also have this live music appeal. It’s actually a lot like “KPop Demon Hunters” in that they could do live music tours, they could do college appearances, but then they can also do these face-to-face fan interactions at conventions.

What would you say is the philosophy that guides your career as an agent?
I think that I need to continue to make the fans feel heard. It’s about making clients happy. It’s about making promoters happy, but it’s also the fans. Having come from the fandom myself, I just want to make sure that all of them feel like they are getting what they’re asking for, they feel like they’re getting the best experiences. And my job to facilitate both a successful and lucrative weekend in Chicago, for instance, for a big client is equally as important as facilitating a great experience for the fans who show up and make it possible for us to come to these cities and have lucrative experiences, but also have really important face-to-face interactions with them as well.
 
Over your years in the business, has there been a biggest lesson learned from a mentor that’s stuck with you?
Over the last 10 years of doing shows, I have a mentor named Nevin at Innovative. I’m kind of go-go-go all the time. I’m in 10 different cities. My run right now is Dublin, Scotland, Orlando, Chicago, Manchester … Houston – all before I go back to LA.  I think that taking a moment to just breathe it in and be grateful for the ability to help facilitate these wonderful experiences. Orlando, for example, when there’s people, you know, the dad is with the daughter and the daughter is crying and he’s almost crying as well because it’s such an experience for them to spend the day together and also meet Rumi from “KPop Demon Hunters,” Arden’s character is really special. When I’m at an airport, when I’m on another flight, I think that taking a step back and being grateful for the ability to help facilitate these interactions is something that my mentors have instilled in me and I would like to instill in others when they come into this space that like we are doing this for the fans as well as for our clients.

Anything I didn’t ask you that you wanted to mention as far as upcoming events for your clients? 
There’s so many shows upcoming this year. We’re doing a big show in Vegas called LVL UP EXPO where it’ll be the first time that all three of the Demon Hunters are appearing together. That should be a lot of fun.
 
Obviously Star Trek Vegas – it’s a love fest. It’s just Star Trek fans. There’s various forms of conventions. There’s big Comic Cons like C2E2 Chicago, where it’s a couple of Marvel people and a couple of Star Wars people or there’s events like Star Trek Las Vegas where it’s just a Star Trek event. So they’re both equally exciting and equally as well attended, but they’re different focuses.

One last question about Arden Cho. Anything you wanted to say about the significance of “KPop Demon Hunters” making history at the Academy Awards and what that meant for your client and the K-pop genre?
While they were speaking on their panel, the “KPop Demon Hunters” cast in Orlando, they reminded everyone that they did not always have the ability to see themselves in media. And with “KPop Demon Hunters” being such a big deal globally, I think it’s allowing for others to feel represented in their space and in their personality and in themselves. And I think that’s really amazing that Arden Cho can be a role model for a lot of people. And people can actually come up to the table and tell her that. That’s the kind of the beauty of these in-person fan experiences– Arden can be reminded of the work that she does and why it’s so important and the fans can also see themselves in her, see themselves in the character. 

To me as a kid watching Star Trek or watching whatever was incredibly motivational because I wanted to be who I looked up to. And these opportunities are so wonderful and important these days, I think in representation.