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ASOL Conference Report: 31 May to 3 June 2006

In the sunny climes of California, the 61st annual American Symphony Orchestra League conference took place in the Westin Hotel in Los Angeles, California. For those travelling from Europe, it was a long way to get to get there but in spite of this, a rising number of artist and orchestra managements from abroad attend. Members of IAMA outside North America benefited from a reduced attendance registration fee and it provided a good opportunity for members to meet each other.

For the Association, the event is becoming a regular annual feature not only to meet North American members but also to engage with US issues. Last year’s conference used delegates to lobby issues directly with the US government in Washington D.C. with progress now following. The most recent good news on US visas came only days before this year’s ASOL conference with the announcement that a time limit would be allocated to premium processing of O & P visas. If an ordinary application is not processed within 45 days, it has to be treated as a premium process without the cost involved. This decision by the US Senate will certainly inspire more confidence in the system but, there are still more steps to take including monitoring the decisions of the newly centralised office in Vermont, Virginia.

A further interest that IAMA has is raising standards of the profession. In the context of ASOL, this concerns better development of communication between artistic administrators and orchestra managers. Seldom today do these two sectors meet just to discuss how best to go about doing business. But, this exactly what was aimed for at a recent session at ASOL held on 1 June.

Building on a very successful discussion session last year when a panel debated the issues of outreach and audience development, this year’s panel session arranged in collaboration with ASOL and IAMA was entitled, “Artist Management in a Changing Environment”. The panel consisted of Cornelia Schmid, President, Konzertdirektion Schmid; Lois Fallis, Director of Artistic Administration, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Jeremy Rothman, Artistic Administrator, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra; Nancy Chalifour, Arts and artistic consultant living in Los Angeles and Linda Marder, Managing Director, CM Artists. Over 50 people attended this session held in the conference hotel with almost equal balance between artistic administrators and artist managers. Those attending raised a good range of opinion which contributed significantly to the ideas that the panel presented. Ably moderated by Lois Fallis, the format of the discussion was a collection of questions and answers. What follows is a summary of the outcomes:

How do we collaborate better and what can be done?

DO

• Pick up the phone more often, especially to negotiate contracts. E-mails are impractical and often cause bad communication. Cornelia Schmid also noted that there were cultural differences to note when it came to written e-mail communication. Do you know the party you are sending the e-mail to?
• Send contracts as soon as possible. If the contract comes from the promoter/ presenter, it helps the Artist Management company to tie things down including visa processing.
• The promoter/ presenter needs to communicate to the artist manager what is required of the artist as far in advance as possible. It cannot be assumed that the artist will consent to, for example, outreach appearances before or after the concert and it is not always appreciated when the artist manager turns around and says no. Communication needs to be honest between all parties and as open as possible at the earliest possible stage of negotiation. Likewise, the artist manager needs to communicate what the artist can and can’t do at the first possible opportunity.
• Keep your websites updated. It sounds obvious but presenters/ promoters often are not prepared to wade through paper in files and more readily go to the internet to find their information. Likewise, using your website to help various departments, such as development, education, marketing and the printers, can not only lessen the time the Artist Managers spend in getting material together but also helps the promoter’s staff get to know the artist better. The more information, the better. It takes time and resources but the savings can also be there for the artist management company.

DONT

• No one-liner e-mails – communicate and don’t assume the person can understand your meaning or mood. Often, an idea or point of contention needs to be more rather than less described.
• Don’t send e-mails that provoke an emotional response. Think about it first.
• Don’t presume – make sure all the details of the artist are known and communicated. This should be verbal as well as supported by other communication tools – e.g. websites.

The next American Symphony Orchestra League conference will take place 19-23 June 2007 in Nashville, Tennessee. IAMA members wishing to attend this event should contact the IAMA office in 2007 to confirm registration discounts that might be offered. Back to TOP