2018: The Annual Booking Agency Shakeup

– Sound Talent Crop
The formation of Sound Talent Group was one this year’s big booking agency stories, with veteran agents Dave Shapiro, Matt Andersen and Tim Borror opening shop with major rock clients.

The ever-changing agency landscape continued to evolve in the second half of 2018, with notable moves including veteran agents Dave Shapiro, Tim Borror and Matt Andersen forming Sound Talent Group, the venerable Buddy Lee Attractions closing its doors and in a surprise that still has many scratching their heads, WME partner and Nashville co-head Rob Beckham leaving his position without explanation.

Pollstar broke the news of Shapiro and Borror leaving United Talent Agency in early October, with the news that fellow agent Steve Kaul had also left the agency previously. 

Sound Talent Group brings a roster of about 100 artists including notable rock and metal acts such as Galactic Empire, Animals As Leaders, Trivium, Lamb of God, Zakk Sabbath, and Hatebreed. The three co-heads of the new agency were all previously at The Agency Group, which was acquired by UTA in 2015. 

Buddy Lee Attractions, once a top Nashville booking agency, announced it was closing shop Sept. 21, ending a 50-year legacy that included representing artists such as Garth Brooks, Willie Nelson, George Strait and others. 

“I wouldn’t have a career if it weren’t for Buddy Lee Attractions, in particular, Joe Harris,” Garth Brooks told Pollstar. Harris signed Brooks to BLA in 1988 and brought him over to William Morris in 1993. Harris was posthumously inducted into the IEBA Hall Of Fame with Brooks and his manager Bob Doyle and concert promoter Ben Farrell in 2016.

“The industry is debating whether the boutique agencies will survive or disappear, the answer for me is it is always up to how much the artist is willing to work,” Brooks added. “The dream, whether a big agency or small, is to have an agent that knows what work is. To push you, as an artist, to build that fan base one person at a time. Find that agent who overworks his or her artists and then shock that agent by working ten times harder than he or she thought possible. Because in the end, success is up to the work ethic of the artist.”

Shocking Music Row was the departure of Beckham from WME, where as a partner and co-head of the Nashville office he led a superstar roster including Garth Brooks, Brad Paisley, Chase Bryant, Chris Young, Gary Allen, Jerrod Niemann, Jake Owen and others. It’s not known which, if any, will remain with Beckham should he land with another agency or open his own shop. 

Considered one of the most powerful agents in Nashville, Beckham garnered awards over the course of his career to date including CMA talent agent of the year, T.J. Martell Ambassador of the Year, NATD honors, and a Nashville Swan Ball award in 2016 for his dedication to philanthropy and the arts, according to Music Row.

Also exclusively reported by Pollstar was Bruce Solar’s promotion at APA to partner and co-head of Worldwide Music.

“We’re really trying to rebuild with younger agents, also,” Solar told Pollstar. “We’ve brought in some really good young agents in-house because, at the end of the day, that’s the future.”

Those major stories followed other notable shifts from earlier in the year, including Paradigm adding Ali Hedrick and Trey Many, both of whom left The Billions Corporation and brought a combined roster including Sufjan Stevens, Death Cab For Cutie, and many others. Joining the agency in April was Phil Egenthal, bringing The Revivalists, George Porter Jr., Dumpstaphunk and Foundation of Funk. Other major agency hirings included Adam Voith and Andrew Colvin joining WME (also from Billions), bringing artists including Bon Iver, Jason Isbell, and Mumford & Sons.  

– Matt Pike, JJ Cassiere and Dan Rozenblum
33 & West

Meanwhile, CAA earlier this year became home to major hip-hop agents Zach Iser and Caroline Yim, who at ICM Partners represented artists including SZA, Anderson.Paak, Future, and Daniel Caesar. 

The boutiques space saw action as well, with the formation of 33 & West with veteran agents Dan Rozenblum, JJ Cassiere and Matt Pike retaining major artists including Napalm Death, Dance Gavin Dance and Insane Clown Posse among dozens of others after the April sale of Circle Talent Agency to UTA.