Event Diary (2)

• Blog
• Correspondence

<

>

From: EM
Subject: Re: New act introductory email enquiry - Fiesta Latina
Date: 10 September 2015 at 21:41:24 BST
To: Rory
Cc: [email protected]
Reply-To: EM

We get an enquiry, we assume our acts are free unless they tell us otherwise as they all share their on-line calendars with us.

This is a follow-up post from our original Event Diary (1) post.

In 2015, one of our agents, TE was added to our weekly Event Diary following on from them Bcc'ing all artists requesting them to update them on their summer availability. 2 years later, the exact same agent requested to be removed from our weekly Event Diary. Furthermore, they didn't acknowledge that they'd been added as a consequentiality of their request, or address any of the reasons why when asked.

​​We are left guessing as to why this is the case. It may be that the agent is too "busy" to manage their workload, and is struggling to keep on top of emails. Alternatively, it may be that the agent is trying to be polite by not acknowledging or addressing these points, and, somewhere in the hazy background, may be offended by the content of our informative communications. However, in not communicating why, we are again left to speculate. What's the alternative?

See tabbed for the full story.
Read further to understand why "Thought for the week" is now a regular fixture as part of our Event Diary.

From: SD
Subject: Re: Gig diary 24/02/2014
Date: 24 February 2014 at 09:45:55 GMT
To: Red & Black Events
Hi 
With respect I'd rather not receive this on a weekly basis, I look after at least 70 bands and would be inundated if they all did this!
Best Wishes, 
NJ 

​From: Claire
Subject: Re: Event Diary - 16/10/2017
Date: 16 October 2017 at 14:00:00 BST
To: Tom
Cc: Rob
Hello Tom, Rob,
No problem at all, I completely understand.
I have unsubscribed you from our weekly Event Diary.
Please do let me know if you wish to re-subscribe at any point.
We run a live event diary, updated via iCal and published live to the Red & Black Music website.
To see the live event diary, click on the link below.
www.redandblackmusic.co.uk/diary.html
Please do feel free to get in contact at any point should you wish to check our availability.
Best Regards,
Claire Maillot

On 16 Oct 2017, at 13:44, Tom wrote:
Hi Claire,
If you could remove us form your list that would be great.
Thanks!
Tom

On Mon, Oct 16, 2017 at 1:00 PM, Claire wrote:
Hello Tom, Rob,
How’s it going? I hope you enjoyed your weekend.
Thank you for letting me know you wish to unsubscribe from the weekly Event Diary. Are you sure?
You are receiving our event diary because we registered Diáspora. You are welcome to unsubscribe or re-subscribe at any point.
Why do we run an Event Diary?
Due to agent request, we run an event diary, delivered to our existing agents and contacts every Monday. The event diary is an informative communication to keep agents and stakeholders updated on our availability. We've had several agents request artists to keep them updated on our availability, including T Entertainment (re: Diáspora):

On 30 Mar 2015, at 10:51, Rob wrote:
Hi guys,
We are still receiving a large volume of enquiries for peak Saturday's through the summer and would like to make the process of checking availability & gaining quotes as quick as possible, to help with this could you please let me know the following:
Saturday's you are available May - Sept 2015
Your price for local bookings (so we can check the guide price we have on website is accurate)
Thanks!
Rob

If you still wish to subscribe, then this is not a problem and I can do so immediately.
Please note you can still check our availability via our live event diary, updated via iCal and published live to the Red & Black Music website.
To see the live event diary, click on the link below.
www.redandblackmusic.co.uk/diary.html
Please do let me know if you would like the embed code for your website, or if there is anything else we can do to assist in further streamlining the process of checking availability.

Many thanks,
Best Wishes,
Claire Maillot

You are receiving our event diary because we registered our details. You are welcome to unsubscribe or re-subscribe at any point.
We run a live event diary, updated via iCal and published live to the Red & Black Music website.
To see the live event diary, click on the link below.
www.redandblackmusic.co.uk/diary.html
Please let me know if you would like the embed code for your website.

On 16 Oct 2017, at 12:04, Tom wrote:
Hello Claire,
Please could you remove me form your mailing list.
Thanks,
Tom

On Mon, Oct 16, 2017 at 12:00 PM, Claire wrote:
Hello,
Please find attached and below our current event diary.
Best Regards,
Claire Maillot
- - -
EVENT DIARY
13/11/2017 - Contracted - Rory
16/12/2017 - Contracted - Rory
30/12/2017 - Contracted - Rory
31/12/2017 - Enquiry - Phasma
17/03/2018 - Enquiry - Fiesta Latina
06/05/2018 - Contracted - Rory
26/05/2018 - Confirmed - Fiesta Latina
26/05/2018 - Enquiry - Rory
26/05/2018 - Enquiry - Rory
23/07/2018 - Contracted - Fiesta Latina
Thought for the week:
anybody who could give me a female undercut and some layers this week? (please let me know the price as the spare cashflow pot is getting low)
Thanks :)
Best Regards,
Claire Maillot
You are receiving our event diary because we registered our details. You are welcome to unsubscribe or re-subscribe at any point.
We run a live event diary, updated via iCal and published live to the Red & Black Music website.
To see the live event diary, click on the link below.
www.redandblackmusic.co.uk/diary.html
Please let me know if you would like the embed code for your website.

Begin forwarded message:
From: Jo
Subject: Re: Summer 2015 Availability
Date: 7 April 2015 at 18:00:17 BST
To: Rob
Cc: TE

Hi Rob,
I hope you enjoyed your Easter.
Please find attached a list of Diáspora quick quotes for fast-quoting initial enquiries out of office hours (evenings / weekends).
Please note: quotes are pessimistic, based on the highest possible parameter per zone, and should only be used for fast-quoting initial enquiries. Actual quotes will be lower.
The quotes are for the highest possible mileage per zone, for the shortest possible notice period and all-inclusive. Our fee calculator will quote significantly lower if the client enquires further in advance and / or is able to negotiate on certain factors such as expense / technical provisions.
Please do let me know if you require a quotation for a specific enquiry. I’m able to quote Monday - Friday, between 09:00 - 17:00, and I will set my out-of-office if I’m not working.
I hope that this is helpful and please let me know if you require any other information.
I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Thanks_Jo

On 30 Mar 2015, at 11:07, Jo wrote:
Hi Rob,
Thank you for getting in contact. I hope you are well.
I have added you to our weekly gig diary which is submitted every Monday. This is an up-to-date list of all of our current enquiries and bookings, and their statuses. You will receive one today.
We also run a live gig diary, updated via iCal and published live to the clients section of the Red & Black Music website.
www.redandblackmusic.co.uk/clients.html
Re: price for local bookings
I’m in the process of re-structuring the performance fees for Diáspora. These will be calculated on a number of factors_
• Variation (lineup)
• Zone (distance in miles from the home postcode)
• Notice Period (difference between enquiry date and event date - Early Bird, Advance, Full)
• Event Period (if the event date falls in peak / off-peak period)
All expenses and charges will remain the same and are calculated separately. I will submit a revised list of quick quotes (all-inclusive costs calculated for Full / Peak bookings) to you as soon as possible. In 99% of cases, actual quotes will be lower.
I hope that this is helpful and please let me know if you require any other information.
Thanks_Jo

On 30 Mar 2015, at 10:51, Rob wrote:
Hi guys,
We are still receiving a large volume of enquiries for peak Saturday's through the summer and would like to make the process of checking availability & gaining quotes as quick as possible, to help with this could you please let me know the following:
Saturday's you are available May - Sept 2015
Your price for local bookings (so we can check the guide price we have on website is accurate)
Thanks!
Rob

• Blog
• Correspondence

<

>

​Why do we run an Event Diary?

Due to agent request, we run an event diary, delivered to our existing agents and contacts every Monday. The event diary is an informative communication to keep agents and stakeholders updated on our availability. We've had several agents request artists to keep them updated on our availability, including TE (re: Diáspora).

If you wish to unsubscribe, then this is not a problem and we can do so immediately. Please note you can still check our availability via our live event calendar, updated via iCal and published live to the Red & Black Music website.

To see the live event calendar, click on the link below.

www.redandblackmusic.co.uk/calendar.html

Please do let me know if you would like the embed code for your website, or if there is anything else we can do to assist in further streamlining the process of checking availability.

​From: Rob
Subject: Summer 2015 Availability
Date: 30 March 2015 at 10:51:43 BST
To: T Entertainment

Hi guys,
We are still receiving a large volume of enquiries for peak Saturday's through the summer and would like to make the process of checking availability & gaining quotes as quick as possible, to help with this could you please let me know the following:
Saturday's you are available May - Sept 2015
Your price for local bookings (so we can check the guide price we have on website is accurate)
Thanks!
Rob

• Blog
• Correspondence

<

>

​Thought for the week?

We've been told many times that the label is "impersonal".

From: Claire Maillot
Subject: Event Diary 03/10/2016
Date: 3 October 2016 at 12:00:00 BST
Cc: [email protected]

Hello,
Please find attached and below our current event diary.
Best Regards,
Claire Maillot
- - -
14/10/2016 - Contracted - Fiesta Latina
15/10/2016 - Confirmed - Rory Jazz (London)
30/10/2016 - Contracted - Diáspora + Fiesta Latina @ The Jazz Café
12/11/2016 - Enquiry - Rory Jazz (London)
22/12/2016 - Contracted - Diáspora
27/05/2017 - Contracted - Rory Jazz (London)
10/06/2017 - Enquiry - Fiesta Latina (London)
22/07/2017 - Enquiry - Fiesta Latina (Manchester)
19/08/2017 - Enquiry - Rory Jazz (London)
19/08/2017 - Enquiry - Rory Jazz (London)
19/08/2017 - Enquiry - Rory Jazz (London)
26/08/2017 - Enquiry - Diáspora
02/09/2017 - Enquiry - Rory Jazz (Bristol)
30/09/2017 - Enquiry - Rory Jazz (London)

Thought for the week:
“Thank you for working with Red & Black Music. We hope your journey was an enjoyable and comfortable one. Please ensure you take all of your personal baggage with you when you leave the band, and remember to mind the gap between the refrain and the bridge. Welcome aboard the Diáspora Latin Train. The next stop will be bar 529."

Thought for the week:
​I’ll remember that you don’t miss me. I’ll realize that you haven’t tried to reach out or say a word. I’ll feel your absence and I’ll remember that I needed more. That you failed to give me what I wanted.

---

​Too personal?

​OK, quick reminder as to why Red & Black Music does not mix business and pleasure, and might be considered "impersonal".
​

• It raises the threshold for disappointment. Playing "good cop" one minute and "bad cop" another minute is two-faced. Just to clarify while "personal" is nice and lovely in the short term, the reality in the long term is that 99% of people breach agreements, and it is impossible to enforce a contract if the artist/client expects you to be their friend as well as their boss. We'd rather not set a precedent. With all due respect, we prefer to keep people at a polite, respectful and safe distance so that nothing can be said that might cause harm to the other person (whether it be out of misunderstanding or misplaced 'loyalty').
• Social appeasement clouds judgement. We've found from experience "personal" causes confusion and misunderstandings further down the line. We might be socially coerced into bending the rules for the client, thereby compromising circumstances for the artist at the other end of the "tug-of-war" and both denying and undermining the very realities that necessitated these rules in the first place.
• Personal communications are often invariably not written down and therefore not archivable, traceable and documented for the purposes of evaluation and future development. This undermines our striving for accountability.

Given the facts and realities, and to satisfy the almost paradoxical need for the label to be "personal", it would seem reasonable to incorporate an element of "personal" into our communications, whilst ensuring this is kept separate so we don't muddy the waters by mixing these into our negotiations.

Those who are subscribed to our weekly Event Diary get a nice weekly slice of something "personal" from Red & Black Music in order to keep them happy. You want personal? We'll give you personal! Hence thought for the week.

Box ticked √
​Please do let me know if there is anything else you require :-) we strive to please, always.

---

"There's a line!"

1. Answer 1) Is there? We didn't know that. But now you've told us we will be sure to remember that for future.
2. Answer 2) Yes, we know there is a line. Just because our "line" doesn't quite fit to your "line", it doesn't mean we haven't realised that there's a "line" at all. Or are you saying your "line" is the definitive, Platonic notion of a "line"? If that's the case, where do you draw the "line"? How might you qualify your semantics through objective experience? Evidence please!

From: "EM"
Subject: Re: Phasma - Soul to the Universe
Date: 5 September 2017 at 10:57:34 BST
To: "Claire Maillot"
Reply-To: "EM"
 
Also are you a member of the band as we like dealing with people who are going to actually be at the event. If we know that a member of the band is answerable to us for that booking (and future bookings) then it's not just a faceless booking if you know what I mean.

Read More...

From: "JO"
Subject: RE: Please can you call me reference a function I am organising
Date: 11 February 2016 at 22:28:35 GMT
To: "'Jo Mantini'"
 
1) I tend to want to have personnel contact with the people we book / put forward – I asked you to telephone me on a few occasions

From: "Jason @ Book Live Music & Entertainment"
Subject: Re: Event Diary 16/11/2015
Date: 1 December 2015 at 09:56:45 GMT
To: "Jo Mantini"
Reply-To: "Jason @ Book Live Music & Entertainment"
​
Jo
I appreciate you are focussing on a remedy for this but it is not really of interest to us. Our experience of R&B music has been a completely impersonal one, non user-friendly and the below proves this further. The Entertainment business is about making people happy and being approachable, generous and flexible. As you know, we run an agency, too. If we get it wrong we say sorry to the client. We haven't the time to assist you with your 'implementations'. My suggestion would be to try and be a bit more people friendly.

Read More...

From: HP
Subject: RE: Gig confirmation re: 16/08/2014
Date: 31 July 2014 at 12:39:07 BST
To: Red & Black Events, AM
Cc: "ST", RD

I am not meaning to sound ungrateful for being offered work (thank you again), but I have to agree that the current organisation of R&B, though efficient in many ways, does come across a little on the cold side compared to the personal touch it carried when pitched as 'Rory Duff Trio' style work.
Regards, HP

Read More...

​From: AM
Subject: Fiesta Latina
Date: 30 July 2014 at 19:50:09 BST
To: Red & Black Events
Reply-To: AM

I find the way information is communicated a bit complicated and that there are a lot of emails and information flying about. Rather than having long lists of information it would be helpful if it was more concise and either just written in the email or just written in an attachment instead of being both and having the same information repeated in a different format. This style of communication used can feel quite impersonal.

Read More...