Exploring everything it takes to book a concert

Music is Anthony Carlo’s passion. But as the director of special events for MSU Residence Halls Association, or RHA, it’s Carlo’s job to find out what students are passionate about — and find ways to bring those acts to campus.

“This semester, I heard a lot of ‘There wasn’t any country music’ and ‘There wasn’t any hip-hop and R&B,’” said Carlo, a mechanical engineering senior. “You try and figure out how you can fill those voids.”

Carlo finalized a contract days before finals week last semester to bring Will Ferrell’s Funny or Die Comedy Tour Presented by Semi-Pro, starring Will Ferrell, Demetri Martin, Zach Galifianakis and Nick Swardson, to Breslin Center on Tuesday.

Months before a student can pick up tickets for an act such as Ferrell, Carlo and the artist’s college agent exchange e-mails to match up when an artist is looking to add tour dates and when a campus venue is available. In a large talent agency, a college agent works with a college or university to bring a show to campus, typically a smaller market in comparison with a stadium tour.

“To do it right, it would take well over a month and a half to do,” Carlo said. “That’s where the line gets cut down pretty fast because you go from having 30 artists you want to bring down to 20 real fast.

“Then, you probably can’t afford five of them, so it narrows down your search a lot.”

While an artist’s asking price can be the deciding factor in whether or not a bid is submitted by the event planner, planning and a little luck have helped RHA bring popular acts to MSU, Carlo said.

The Fray was booked to perform in the Auditorium about eight months before its concert last year. Carlo said the group gained popularity in that time.

“What The Fray were when they were booked was not what The Fray was when they came,” he said. “That was a stroke of luck and good looking forward.”

A clause found in most contracts that limits the number of miles and days between an artist’s shows can hinder RHA’s efforts to bring an act to campus, Carlo said.

With East Lansing within 100 miles of Grand Rapids and Detroit, two cities with larger music venues, many artists skip MSU.

“If someone is doing a show in Detroit and they have a 100-mile clause, then they can’t play here the next night,” Carlo said. “Detroit’s got a huge music scene, so you compete with them to get your concert.”

If an artist is available when a campus venue is available, Carlo will make a bid within his price range. RHA budgeted $95,000 for its director of special events this semester.

Ferrell’s asking price was more than $200,000, Carlo said. However, Breslin Center and RHA are equal partners and they will split the costs, as well as any profits, he said.

If tickets for the event didn’t sell, RHA would have lost money. However, Carlo said RHA will make money.

Although Carlo could produce one large show or about 20 smaller shows with his budget, he said he tries to find a balance between the two.

“Anthony really responds well to what people are saying,” RHA President Mark Dobson said. “He’s one of the best at what he does.”

Each bid has an expiration date, which gives the artists and their agent about two weeks to accept, Carlo said.

If Carlo receives confirmation, he submits an Activity Planning Form to the Department of Student Life.

The form must be approved by the time MSU officials sign the contract. From there, the contract is sent out to venue staff, MSU police and anyone else who may be involved in the production of the show.

A few days after sending the confirmation, the agent either e-mails or faxes a contract and artist rider to Carlo, who takes it to Cathy Neuman, assistant director for MSU’s Department of Student Life.

A rider lists an artist’s special requirements, Neuman said.

Neuman usually spends about an hour reviewing the documents to ensure the language doesn’t open any possible liability issues for the university.

Anything listed in the artist’s contract or rider that the student might not feel confident they can provide is immediately crossed off the document, Neuman said.

“Somewhere in the contract it can say that if all of the things aren’t fulfilled that are in the contract, then they can choose to cancel the show and still get all their money,” Neuman said.

Once changes have been made, Neuman usually faxes the contract, artist rider and MSU’s rider back to the agent.

If an artist’s manager doesn’t have any additional changes, he or she reviews, signs and e-mails or faxes back the documents.

Carlo will take the signed contract to Paul Goldblatt, director of the Department of Residence Life, for the final signature.

Once Goldblatt signs the document, the contract is completed and RHA can begin selling tickets and advertising for the upcoming acts.

About five or six shows usually are hosted by RHA each semester, but Carlo said that number can fluctuate. RHA has hosted four shows this year, excluding the Augustana concert during Welcome Weekend.

“They did eight shows last year, but that was pretty crazy,” Carlo said. “That took some serious, serious planning.”