Artists agencies in crisis: work without profit

Artist agencies fight for cancellation fees for their singers and are themselves on the brink in the culture lockdown.

Munich - you have somehow been forgotten by the public. They have an indispensable hinge function between the artist and the organizer: Just like the singers, conductors and actors, the artist agencies are currently threatened by the rejection orgy. No fee, no commission - and therefore no operating income.

But just being a lone fighter and fighting for rights and default fees for your own artists is too little, as these companies find out. "It is time for us agencies to come together and remind us of the fatal situation of our protégés," says Verena Vetter from the artist secretariat at Gasteig. With Lothar Schacke and Elisabeth Ehlers, she represents stars such as conductor Herbert Blomstedt, pianist Lang Lang, soprano Christiane Karg and baritone Christian Gerhaher.

Due to the common payment model, this agency has also gotten into a fatal situation: Basically, these artist representatives make an advance payment by arranging contracts and organizing the extensive logistics such as travel and hotels. If the solo date fails, these efforts have also been unsuccessful financially. In addition, the artist secretariat is currently planning for appointments in three to four years, but cannot cover the ongoing costs for the eight employees with current income. "The black panic" grabs her again and again, admits Verena Vetter.

"Force Majeure" no longer counts

The artist secretariat believes that a joint venture with suffering colleagues can create a different awareness - and perhaps new commission models that are developed with the organizers and opera houses. "The organizers are all currently on hold," says Lothar Schacke. In particular, orchestras abroad are hesitant to plan, and in some cases they do not get an answer to inquiries. The situation is particularly fatal in the United States. There, some orchestras are thinking of only giving online concerts until Christmas or completely stopping their operations this year. Schacke emphasizes that an agency is not just a lawyer for artists. "We are also agents for event organizers, develop proposals for appointments at their request and therefore do not only act in one direction." That means: That is precisely why the agencies could not simply be left hanging.

The artist secretariat at Gasteig is also currently fighting for cancellation fees and for abandoning the general apology for “force majeure” that has long since become implausible in the event of cancellations. "The slow-moving opera decisions must also have a signal effect for the publicly funded orchestras," says Verena Vetter. "We should also stop arguing purely from a legal point of view, but have to appeal and remind the situation of the artists - who will all be used again by the organizers after the pandemic."