During our interview, I wanted to get Jeremy’s opinion on
three different aspects of negotiating and deal making, including: leverage and
power, mutual benefit, and best alternative to negotiation. Ironically, Plastic
Musik was in the middle of a re-negotiation to their booking and management
agreement so the information was basically given to me in real time.
In reference to leverage and power, I asked how gaining a
certain level of clout affected the ability to negotiate on Plastic Musik’s
behalf. Jeremy’s reply explained that having clout was a great position in
which to be but not what is giving him the ability to get terms more favorable
to his vision. Utilizing his position and standing in the world of percussion
gave the agent the ability to spend less time on booking and also justified a
lower percentage for less work involved on the agency’s behalf.
My questions toward mutual benefit were along the lines of
“other than financially, how can both Plastic Musik and the Booking Company
mutually benefit each other by a renegotiation of their agreement?” His answer
was “I had planned on spending a larger amount during the first two years of
the project because of the work involved for the agent, but now because people
are calling to fit us in their schedules I have to justify paying back some of
the overhead that accumulated during the initial routing of the tours. The
agent has benefited because other projects looking to get on the road and start
a career will see the company’s ability to sustain shows based on our touring
history, and I will benefit because I have built a solid relationship with
quality individuals and retain a larger portion of what I earn for the group.”
Jeremy and I spent quite a bit of time discussing BATNA as a
last resort or worse case scenario to the potential of the negotiations, or
future negotiations not going well. He explained how always cultivating new
relationships with the buyers of his group’s talent and getting opinions on which
agencies they’ve had the best experiences working with gave him the ability to
speak with other companies that were interested in what the group had to offer
without being disrespectful to his existing agency. Weeding out the many
companies that wanted to be part of the group’s success was a goal for Plastic
Musik when the idea of “what happens if our current agent doesn’t agree to fair
terms’’ becomes a reality. Because of this, Jeremy was able to streamline his
alternate interest into three sections. 1) Book and manage the project himself,
2) Negotiate terms with a company that he feels the group would be a great fit,
or 3) Stop touring with Plastic Musik until he gets the terms he wants. Each
was a legitimate alternative, but after factoring in the other performers of
Plastic Musik, not touring wasn’t an option.
His solution to the complex, multi-month, negotiation
process was to A) be more flexible in his terms to the existing agent,
respecting the work already completed and recognizing the mutual importance of
benefiting together and B) only talking to two other very strong companies that
could help the project grow in ways the current agent wasn’t able keeping
himself in a position to sustain with greater profit, or move forward and grow
to a new level earning more profit in the long-term.
In summary, Jeremy was in the position as a business person
to decide on reclaiming a portion of his company that he had to give up for two
years, or work harder to find a common ground with other agencies that could
help him grow into new markets. Each aspect of this process took into account
emotions, livelihoods, and realistic visions for the future. Though in a great
position to sign with any company in the market, Jeremy was more concerned with
building a long-term, fair, relationship with deserving people. His final
thought on the interview was “people buy people, not products… I’d rather pay
an agent more and get more than have a company give me what I want and produce
less.”
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