Backstage Pass

An interview with John Finberg,
First Row Talent

John Finberg is the President of First Row Talent, a national booking agency that primarily works with international metal bands. He has been in the business since 1994 and is renowned as an astute businessman. In this interview, Mr. Finberg talks about his life in the tour side of the music industry.

Tell us a bit about your job. What are the responsibilities that define your role?

I am a booking agent which means I handle the booking of live events for music groups and execute the contracts that come with those events.... It is my job to route the tour, solicit, collect offers, confirm dates, issue contracts, collect deposits (fee advances), administrate the dates, and release deposits at the conclusion of the engagements.

How did you decide this was what you wanted to do in life and how long have you been booking bands for?
Actually, that is the shortest answer ever - I didn't have a choice. I began as an agent in January of 1994. I felt I couldn't do anything else but sell and I didn't want to sit at a desk 9-5.

Give us a typical look at your day.

I wake up at 8:30 am and go right to work. I start by checking my phone messages, then sign on to the computer and check emails. Then I get on the phones to start routing tours, checking with band managers, tour managers, and record companies. Basically, I am on the phone all day between promoters and other agents/managers finding ways to create work and make my clients (the bands) bigger.

How does a booking agent make money?

We take 10% of the band's show fee (gross, not net). This is a very competitive business.

What have you done over the years to give you an edge above the rest?

I work a little longer in the office usually staying until 9 or 10 at night and am known to play "catch up" on the weekends.

One of the many areas that makes First Row Talent stand out from many other booking companies is the amount of international bands you work with.

What led you to booking international bands?

Actually, what I found was that NO ONE was doing it, and it showed me that there was this lack of interest in the other agents. When I took Helloween on as a client in 2003, then Nightwish at that end of 2003, I found that these bands had fans.and lots of them. I started to grab all the bands I liked and four years later, I am the leading agent in the genre.

Your role deals with a lot of different relationships, from band members, to managers, to club owners and local show promoters. How did you start out creating these relationships?

By calling them on the phone. FORGET EMAILS!!!!

What are the biggest rewards?

Seeing a band grow to a level that was largely reached solely from touring. When a band has no radio play and no video played on MTV, yet sells 200,000 records, it is strictly because of touring. that is the rewarding goal.

What are the biggest challenges in your job?

Getting smaller bands on as support for larger band tours is the number one difficult challenge of the day. Other than that, getting band managers to absorb your ideas and implement them into action.

How do you choose which bands to work with?

I have to be honest, if I think a band can be an earner, I go for it. I don't play the "if I like it, I will book it" game. This is a business first and foremost, and if I booked only what I liked, I wouldn't be able to afford to stay open. How many bands do you book tours for? I currently book for 86 bands.

How do you determine which cities a band might play in?

The tour is routed to play the cities that are keen in providing the band the ability to play record-selling markets. Tell us a bit about the cost breakdown.

On average, how much do tour costs run?

I have no idea, I stay as far away from that as possible when it comes to exact. [note: It is usually the band manager's job to handle the tour costs and negotiate them with the record company if the band is receiving tour support.]

What is the best advice for a band that wants to move on to a level where it is being booked by a company like yours?

Be aggressive, but also be passive when it comes to contacting me.
Don't call three times a day assuming I didn't get the message - I get all of them.
Let me think, I hardly get that time. I always get pressed and when they press, I push back.
Be patient. If I like the music or think it will be a band that will rise up or make a decent amount of money, I will call you.

What other things do you feel are important for someone to know about being national booking agent?

There are 10,000 bands that need an agent and under 300 of us out there to accommodate this, so let us do our job for the clients and hope to take on new ones. We are slaves to our jobs and the phones ring constantly, but it is better than being bored. The truth be told, it is a rush when you get a phone call during dinner on a Saturday night to tell you the show sold out 1,000 tickets and you didn't expect it to sell 500.