®
®
Booking Agent Training School®
Stay tuned for updated information including the class schedule.
Continuing Legal Education Classes (CLE)
Focus on Festivals
Non-Profit Institute for Folk Organizations
Times are challenging, and your organization needs to know not just how to survive but how to thrive. The building blocks of success are sound planning, accurate record keeping, finding good board members, training them, and setting them loose to create a great organization.
Music Business Basics (Crash Course) -
An Introduction to the Folk Music Business
This all-day session requires an additional registration fee. Please check the appropriate line on the registration form, and enclose the appropriate fee in addition to your conference registration fees. This session is subject to cancellation if fewer than 10 people sign up by December 1, 2003.
Songwriting Ahead of the Curve -
A two part session with Bob Franke © 2000-03 North American Folk Music and Dance Alliance. All Rights Reserved
Materials Fee: US$25/CDN$35
Class size will be limited to 70 pre-registrants. Registration deadline is December 1.
"As for the agent training class, I learned so much that I'm able to set up gigs, book a tour
and quote prices ." Alvin Lee, Lee Boys, Orlando, FL
Booking Agents are essential to the movement of cultural and popular arts around the world. Now
in its third year, The Folk Alliance Booking Agent Training School® is designed to educate and
inspire new agents to take their place within the entertainment industry and keep artists touring.
As a result of our first two years, many new agents have joined the professional ranks,
establishing their own agencies and helping artists to tour successfully.
Jeri Goldstein, long-time agent and author of the award winning "How To Be Your Own Booking Agent
and Save Thousands of Dollars", will be the dean of our Agents School. This program is designed
to teach budding agents how to create a business, develop a roster of artists, book a tour, route
a tour, negotiate, write contracts, and market an agency, as well as the artists.
Folk Alliance member agents and other experts will be the faculty, and students will have
first-hand looks at the inside of the music business throughout the conference. The faculty will
be with them every step of the way. And after the conference, these registrants will have the
knowledge, tools, contacts, and mentors to dive into their own agency work!
The course will begin on Wednesday, February 25 at 10:00 am and will run throughout the
conference. These sessions will be dedicated to the various aspects of starting, maintaining,
and building a successful booking agency, whether you are working with one artist or many. Those
teaching the course are seasoned, professional agents who represent a variety of genres and
fields within the entertainment industry. Business consultants, lawyers, and presenters will
also be part of the teaching staff. They will discuss issues regarding general business start-up
and provide advice on avoiding pitfalls that can affect a new business
Important Details:
Coordinated by Professor Jack Sahl, Deputy Dir., Miller Institute for Professional Responsibility, University of Akron School of Law, Akron, Ohio
Friday and Saturday, February 27-28
$100 fee for attorneys wanting any portion of CLE credit available.
If you are a lawyer, you know how important continuing education is to your professional development. At this conference we offer a variety of courses covering essential issues in the field of entertainment law, taught by music professionals. Expand your knowledge of entertainment law in an exciting, educational, music-filled environment.
Some core workshops will be repeated and new ones added, including "Key Cases and Litigation Basics in the Music Industry" and "The Law and Technological Developments in the Music Industry."
This series of classes will take place on Friday and Saturday, February 27 and 28. Although these classes are open to all conference attendees, there is an additional fee of $100 for lawyers wishing to have all or part of the series count toward continuing education requirements. Please check the appropriate line on the registration form and enclose the appropriate fee in addition to your conference registration fees.
Friday, 9:00am-10:15am
FINDING THE RIGHT MANAGER OR AGENT AND NEGOTIATING A PERSONAL SERVICES CONTRACT
This panel of nationally recognized experts discuss the lawyer's role in finding a manager and agent for an artist. They will analyze key provisions in the manager-artist employment contract and also consider important ways for lawyers to enhance the relationship between manager and artist.
Scott Sanders, Esq. (Atlanta, GA)
& TBA
Friday 10:30am-11:45am
PRACTICING LAW IN THE MUSIC INDUSTRY: RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITY
Practitioners in the music industry routinely encounter a myriad of ethical and legal dilemmas. Professor Jack Sahl, a former lawyer in the industry and a nationally recognized expert in professional responsibility, will discuss some of the more common ethical and legal dilemma and offers tips for avoiding lawyer discipline and malpractice. Professor Sahl will also discusses recent developments in professional responsibility and offers some advice on how to proceed when faced with allegations of wrongdoing.
Professor Jack P. Sahl, Deputy Director, Miller Institute for Professional Responsibility, University of Akron School of Law, Akron, Ohio
Saturday 9:00am-10:15am
ARTISTS AND RECORD COMPANIES: SHOPPING FOR THE RIGHT DEAL
Bob Donnelly and Ken Irwin (each of whom have more than 25 years of experience in the music business) will offer shopping strategies that have proven to be successful for some of their artists. They will provide a checklist of the most important elements of a record deal. Also, they will show how royalties are calculated and why artists often wind-up in an "unrecouped" position.
Bob Donnelly, Esq., New York, NY
Ken Irwin, Co-Founder of Rounder Records, Inc., Cambridge, MA
Saturday 10:30am-11:45am
A WRITER'S GUIDE TO PROTECTING AND PROMOTING THE USE OF SONGS
Robert Sullivan and John Simson will discuss the necessary steps (e.g., copyright filing) a songwriter should consider to legally protect his or her work(s). They will also explore various ways to market songwriting (e.g., jingles) and review important provisions in a music publishing agreement.
Robert L. Sullivan, Esq., Loeb & Loeb, LLP Nashville, TN
John L. Simson, Esq. SoundExchange, Washington, DC
Saturday 3:00pm-4:15pm
THE CUTTING EDGE: AN OVERVIEW OF THE YEAR'S MOST SIGNIFICANT TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS
John Simson will examine technologies that help musicians reach their audiences, enhance opportunities to build awareness, and help to promote music. John will also examine new revenue models which have resulted from the creation of new laws, pertaining to the digital distribution of music, around the world.
John L. Simson, Esq, SoundExchange, Washington, DC
Wednesday 9:00 am-5:00 pm and Thursday 8:30 am-12 noon
Registration fee US$50 / CDN$70
(Fee includes lunch on Wednesday)
Presenter/Facilitator - John Cratin - The DuPree Group, Philadelphia, PA
If you are a involved with the overall management and production of a festival, whether seasoned or new to the business, you won't want to miss this workshop! This year's event will included greater interactive elements and time for an open exchange of ideas. In the past six years this session has evolved from an open discussion on a variety of general festival related topics to a more focused seminar dealing with key issues surrounding
festival events. This year's workshop has been expanded to cover one and a half days with the first day covering business and operations issues such as budgeting, marketing your event, operations/facilities management i.e. vendors in-house vs. third party, food, equipment rental vs. purchase, money handling and insurance issues. The second day will focus specifically on sponsorship development and will close with an open exchange of ideas and discussion on topics covered. During our three hours we will create a template which you will be able to take back to your organization and immediately create or enhance your own sponsorship development campaign. We will explore the key components of a sponsor presentation package and some of the unique issues to be considered when seeking sponsors for music festivals and especially once-a-year events. Also included will be tricks and tips that successful events are using around these topics through presentations and open discussions. Whether you are a veteran in the business or just starting out, this workshop is guaranteed to provide you with helpful information to make your event more efficient and more importantly, a success!
Note: all registrants will be receiving a pre-seminar survey later this year and will be asked to provide information so that the program can as tailored as possible to meet the needs of the group. In addition, participants will be able to meet members of the Festival's Mentoring group who will be available throughout the weekend for individual or small group mentoring sessions.
These sessions will take place Thursday-Saturday during the conference.
There is no additional fee but pre-registration is requested. Please check of appropriate line
on the Conference Registration Form.
Join your with your colleagues to participate in Folk Alliance's Non-Profit Institute for Folk Organizations. This series of workshops provides comprehensive training for anyone involved in non-profit or charitable organizations, and the opportunity to network with your peers to problem-solve and explore new ideas. Staff of for-profit organizations can also benefit from some of the general information and development tips.
Topics that have been offered in the past include: Grassroots Fundraising, Board Development, Grant Writing, Marketing, Sponsorship and Web Design for Organization.
Who should attend:
Wednesday, February 25
9:00 am-5:45 pm
Registration fees
Registration received By Oct. 1, 2003 After October 1, 2003 US$ CDN$ US$ CDN$ Conference Registrant $55 $75 $75 $105 Non-Registrant $125 $170 $175 $235
This program is an overview of the folk music business for performers just getting started. Those who attend will gain a broad knowledge of the field and information on topics that will assist them in career planning, getting out on the road, and understanding how the pieces fit together. Instructors are all based in folk music and dance, and thus provide information that is directly applicable to our field.
Subjects include
Thursday 10:30am-11:45am
Friday 10:30am -11:45am
There is no additional fee but contact the office to register for this class.
This session is limited to the first 20 registrants.
Song is a powerful and often under-utilized medium of transformation. Bob Franke's songwriting workshops have inspired working singer-songwriters all across the United States to tap more deeply into this power and take responsibility for it as artists. The workshop involves individual writing assignments and the formation of a working songwriters' group as a model experience to be taken back into the students' home communities. The workshop occurs over two sessions; Bob provides a safe environment that supports risk-taking, and pays attention to the needs of both the songwriter and the songwriter's audience. By the end of the workshop, many new songs will have been written, and many new insights gained into the possibilities of this ancient yet contemporary art form.