Why use and agent? :

Below are some questions and answers of why you would want to work with an agency and why you would specifically want to work with Celebration Music and Events when booking live entertainment.

Why is using an entertainment agency necessary when booking entertainment?
Entertainment agencies are necessary for a number of reasons, but the main one is that our clients want their entertainment to be well, entertaining. In most cases clients are looking to hire entertainment for special events such as concerts, festivals, weddings, company parties, birthday parties, etc. You only get one chance to make these types of events go well and as a non-professional buyer of entertainment you would want to know what we know.

What do professional entertainment agents know that I cannot find out on my own?
An established entertainment agency employs professional agents that work closely with both clients and individual entertainers on many events over an extended period of time. This gives agents an accurate and historical perspective on each and all of the entertainers that they represent. Agents know how well clients and their audiences have received individual entertainers in the past, how appropriate their services are for specific types of events, the average price of an individual act, what services should be included for the price paid, how professional an entertainer is and if you can rely on that entertainer to show up at your event. This professional and unbiased information is simply not available anywhere else.

What does an entertainment agency do for me besides giving recommendations?
Entertainment agencies have ongoing relationships with entertainers, enabling them to negotiate better prices and more favorable terms than individual buyers can usually obtain on their own. Yes, we can often get our customers better prices than they can get if they book direct. In addition to saving clients money, agents also save their clients time by showing them several comparable acts within a set budget and with confirmed availability. This allows clients to compare and shop for the act that best fits their needs quickly and efficiently. Last and arguably the agent's most important job is to control the booking process. Agents work out the final details of each agreement, make a reservation, and issue non-biased third party contracts to both the entertainment and the client. Agents will then do the business follow-through to make sure that contracts are signed and kept on file, the deposit is paid, the booked entertainment shows up at the event and that the entertainment is paid for their services.

Ok, say I decide to work with an agency, why would I want to work with Celebration Music and Events?
Celebration Music and Events has been doing business in the Northwest since 1980, we regularly book over 500 different acts locally, have access to most national and international acts, provide an exceptionally high level of service and we cost nothing to the buyer.

What do you mean your services cost nothing to the buyer, who pays your fee?
We make money by charging the entertainers a small percentage commission on each booking we make for them. They pay us to represent them, find them work and to take care of the business details associated with each event we book for them. If we never book their services we don't charge them anything.

I have heard that some agencies do something called buy-sell, what does that mean exactly?
Buy-sell is an evil way that many agencies rip-off both their customers and the entertainers they represent. Buy-sell means that the agency sizes up the customer and decides what they think they can afford based on where they are having their event, what kind of car they drive, etc. Then they tell the entertainer that the customer can't afford the normal price and attempt to drive down the entertainer's price. To keep this hidden from both their clients and entertainers they make separate contracts, one for customers and one for entertainers. This often results in 50-100% commissions to the agent that both the entertainers and clients pay for. Celebration Music and Events abhors this practice, issues the client and entertainer the same contract, charges the client nothing, and charges a reasonable commission to the entertainer.

Celebration Music and Events just makes a complicated, time consuming process simple and easy, allowing our customers to relax and enjoy the show.