Learn How Tour Merchandising Works

Learn How Tour Merchandising WorksLearn How Tour Merchandising WorksWhen youre playing live, your tour merch sales are a big part of your bottom line. Solid merch sales can mean the difference between making some cash and going into debt on your tour. Touring Merchandise From the outside, merch looks pretty simple. Items with the band anthroponym, likeness, logo, etc., are designed and traktement to fans. Easy, right? Well, not so much. Merch can get pretty complicated pretty fast, and the bigger your fan base, the more complex things can become. For indie bands just starting out, merch often IS as simple as it looks. Someone sets up a merch table at the venue - often manned by band members themselves or their manager - and collects money from fans that shell out for the goods. The band usually just keeps all the money or in some cases pays the venue a cut, and thats all she wrote. As you start touring, if you have a bit of money around, you may hire a dedicated merch person to h andle all of the set-p, selling and accounting of merch for the entire tour. Still, the band or label probably designed and paid for all the merch and keep the proceeds, less any venue charge and expenses (i.e., you owe the manufacturer for the shirts). Thats all well and good - until your reach keeps on growing, your shows keep getting bigger, and tour merchandising company starts sniffing around. When you hit the big leagues, a tour merchandising company will want to take your merch job off your plate. Deals with tour merchandising companies are so different from record deals. Company Licenses In a nutshell, the company licenses the right to use your name and likeness on the merch they produce. They then work with you and a designer to come up with items to sell on the road. They then produce those items, handle the sale of the items, and pay you a percentage of the proceeds. Most artists receive a percentage of the sale of their merch - around 30% or so is pretty common, at l east in the US, though the rate can fluctuate depending on your star power. This percentage is commonly taken from gross sales of your merch - that is sales minus taxes, and credit card fees. However, there is another factor that can influence your take on merch sales - nachhall fees. Hall fees are fees charged by a venue for selling your merch there. These fees are usually a percentage cut of your merch take and are paid to the hall by the merch company. Though the merch company pays out the hall fees, the percentage the venue gets is up to you and your agent. When your agent books your shows, they negotiate the hall fees. Because you are in charge of negotiating the fee the merch company pays, and because artist takes on merch have increased in recent years, merch companies have begun putting caps on hall fees into their contracts. Anything over the cap comes out of the artists take. For instance, if the cap in your tour merchandising contract is 30%, and your agent cant get a bet ter rate than 40% as a hall fee, the difference between the cap and the actual fee (in this case, 10%) comes out of your cut the merch sales. But wait - where do venues get off charging so much for selling merch under their roof? Well, in many cases, your merch company doesnt actually physically sell your merch. Instead, they just deliver your merch to the venue, and the venue staff sets up the merch stand and does all of the selling. The hall fee is the charge for this service. Hall fees also include the cost of patrolling your show for bootleggers in many cases, but usually, that is a very small piece of the pie. Note that tour merchandising deals can vary. In some cases, rather than getting a percentage of gross, musicians get a larger percentage of a net shared between all parties involved. Speaking of the deal, what does a tour merchandising deal look like? Besides detailing the percentages of we already discussed, tour merchandising deals have a few different parts. Advance s for Tour Merchandise One of the biggest parts of such a deal is the advance. Tour merchandisers frequently pay advances just like record labels. Unlike record deals, merch advances are often recoupable/returnable and sometimes are even recoupable with interest. Advances from merch companies are usually paid in a few different chunks over the course of a tour and are contingent upon a few factors You have to begin your tour within a specific amount of time as laid out in the contract. Usually, the time is pretty short - three months or so from the date of signing is common.You have to agree to pay a certain number of shows with a certain number of paying concertgoers per show. That last point - the certain number of concertgoers is key. This number is known as your performance minimum. The merch company expects you to play for at least that number of people at each so. Why? So they are enough people around interesting in buying your merch. This performance minimum is based on the amount of money they think each person will spend at your show - for instance, the total take at a show breaks down to $1 spent on merch for every person at your gig. If you dont meet these minimums, the tour merch company can cancel your deal and recall your advance. Your advance can also be withdrawn if you dont hit the road in a timely fashion or if you become unable to fulfill your touring obligations because of sickness, injury, etc. As a musician, one of the most important things you can negotiate in your tour merch deal is the term. Learn more about the specifics of tour merch deals, terms and performance minimums here. The information included here is general in nature and is not intended as a substitute forlegal advice. Your own circumstances and deal might be different.

Leading People - ECQs

Leading People - ECQsLeading People - ECQsLeading People ECQsECQ 2 Leading PeopleAs discussed in the last blog, the Executive Core Qualification (ECQ) statements are broken down into five categoriesLeading Change Leading People Results Driven Business Acumen Building CoalitionsEach ECQ category has leadership competencies that are required to be addressed within each ECQ. Each ECQ typically has two stories and the leadership competencies can be woven through both stories.Today, we are going to discuss Leading People. The leadership competencies attached to Leading People areConflict Management Encourages creative tension and differences of opinions. Anticipatesand takes steps to prevent counter-productive confrontations. Manages and resolves conflictsand disagreements in a constructive manner.Leveraging Diversity Fosters an inclusive workplace where diversity and individual differences are valued and leveraged to achieve the vision and mission of the organization.Developing Oth ers Develops the ability of others to perform and contribute to theorganization by providing ongoing feedback and by providing opportunities to learn throughformal and informal methods.Team Building Inspires and fosters kollektiv commitment, spirit, pride, and trust. Facilitatescooperation and motivates team members to accomplish group goals.One or more of the Leading People stories should focus on leveraging diversity and conflict management. If you integrate those competencies into the stories, then most likely you will also titelblatt team building and developing others.Leading People is focused on leading the people, rather than human capital or human resources management. Many ECQ writers will find that they need to flip stories from Leading People to Business Acumen or vice.To include diversity, identify stories that involve a wide-range of personnel with varied skill sets, ages, or varied experience (e.g., military, industry, university, international). One writer told a sto ry of matching more senior staff with millennials he asked the senior staff to mentor and provide knowledge transfer to the newer staff, and he asked the junior staff to teach the senior staff how to use smart phones and other computer programs.Another writer told a story of melding military personnel with non-military. He created special forums and team-building activities to blend the two cultures and bring understanding.For conflict management, one writer told a story about how he assumed leadership for a disorganized and chaotic team in constant conflict with official grievances. He mentored his senior subordinates (Branch Chiefs) to properly use performance evaluations for the staff and enforce performance standards. He professionally developed the entire staff by coaching his Branch Chiefs to properly manage their staffs.Final Tip for Leading People Use stories that focus on more than one person the results need to provide benefit to the greater team or staff/offices. Stories that focus on only one person and one conflict can be too narrow and may be disqualified by the Qualifications Review Board (QRB). Conflict resolution stories at affect the entire staff are much stronger and show broader expertise in applying the required leadership competencies for Leading People.If you need additional assistance, check out our newly updated book (December 2015),The New SES Application, or visit ourtafelgeschirrspage for a quote. Diane can also deliver hands-on training in ECQ writing at your agency contact us for a discussion. Diane Hudson is a multi-credentialed career coach, executive resume writer and editor, specializing in posturing federal and non-federal employees to enter the federal governments Senior Executive Service (SES). She is co-author of The New SES Application, the first-ever book written about the Five-page SES Federal Resume, as well as the traditional 10-page ECQ format. Diane is an experienced trainer in Senior Executive Service, ECQ/TQ, KSA and Federal Resume Writing topics for SES Candidate Development Program candidates. Agency instruction experience includes Commanders Leadership Development Program at the Naval Ship Yard, Air Force Headquarters, US Army Missile Command, FEMA, Defense Acquisition University (Fellows), EPA,PTO, Bureau of Reclamation, Southern Command, Special Forces, and others. Diane is an instructor for military employment readiness specialists and retiring military as well as train-the-trainer at career industry conferences internationally on outplacement and career search topics. The New SES Application, 2nd Edition Why struggle on your own to write your Senior Executive Service application? Use a clear step-by-step method that was refined over 10 years in author Kathryn Troutmans 2-day SES workshops, and proven to work hundreds of times in the classroom. Along the way, youll find excellent before and after samples of the application pieces. Includes the key steps involved in developing the SES application writing the ECQs, TQs, Five-Page SES Federal Resume, and Executive Cover Letter (if needed), as well as using the required Challenge-Context-Action-Results (CCAR) format for SES narratives.Order Book Now

7 Small Gestures Managers Can Make That Will Go a Long Way

7 Small Gestures Managers Can Make That Will Go a Long Way7 Small Gestures Managers Can Make That Will Go a Long Way Being a manager means taking on a world of responsibility and juggling people, projects, and deadlines. But if you really want to be a great boss , here are a few effortless moves that can really pay off.Most workers are used to being thanked for going above and beyond on the job, whether its staying late to finish a project or jumping in to tackle an emergency that pops up over the weekend. But sometimes, it helps to acknowledge the effort your workers put in on a daily basis, even when all they really are doing is tackling their basic responsibilities. Saying thank you here and there sends the message that you value your workers and appreciate their contributions - even those who are fairly run-of-the-mill.As a boss, its natural to want to maintain a certain workflow and uphold a certain schedule. But a little flexibility with your workers is a great way to attain their respect and gratitude. The next time an employee asks to leave early for an appointment or to work remotely for a day to oversee a home repair, say yes, and do so graciously. This shows people that you trust them and respect the fact that they have lives outside the office.Speaking of lives outside the office, its always nice occasionally to ask your workers about the things that are important to them in their personal lives. If you know an employees son has been applying to colleges, ask how the process is going. If you have a worker whose daughter broke her leg at soccer practice, follow up on her recovery. These simple inquiries wont take up more than 30 seconds of your time, but theyll show your team members that youre thinking of them.4. Offer feedback in person, not over emailleleAs a manager, its your job to provide constructive criticism so that your employees can learn from their mistakes and boost their performance. But if youre going to take the time to offer that feedback, do so face to face rather than over email. Though email might be quicker, it doesnt convey tone, and therefore, your words might seem harsher on screen than in person. Youre better off taking 15 minutes out of your day, having a brief sit-down, and talking things out.Meetings are a part of life in most office environments. An easy way to sweeten the deal is to provide refreshments on occasion, whether its a jug of coffee or a box of fresh cookies from the downstairs bakery. You dont need to get fancy, spend a fortune, or do it all the time - but sporadic treats give workers a little something to look forward to.In todays job-hopping age, its not unusual for workers to jump ship frequently. So if you have employees who have been with the company for a notable amount of time, it never hurts to send a group email acknowledging those milestones. Those whose anniversaries are recognized will feel important and appreciated, which will help motivate them to stay on board.Most bosses are busy people. But if you make it clear that youre willing to carve out time for your employees, theyre going to appreciate the gesture. Encouraging your workers to come to you with issues or suggestions will not only make them feel more at ease, but help you earn their trust. And thats certainly a winning formula.Sometimes, all it takes is a low-key gesture to boost employee morale. Incorporate these suggestions and your workers no doubt will come to reciprocate in other ways.Something big just happened I dont know about you, but I always pay attention when one of the best growth investors in the world gives me a stock tip. Motley Fool co-founder David Gardner and his brother, Motley Fool CEO Tom Gardner, just revealed two brand new stock recommendations. Together, theyve tripled the stock markets return over the last 13 years.* And while timing isnt everything, the history of Tom and Davids stock picks shows that it pays to get in early on their ideas.This a rticle was originally published on The Motley Fool . Reprinted with permission.