|
"Money makes the world go 'round."
-Liza Minnelli and Joel Grey in "Cabaret"
As an event entertainment professional, the goal of every
event you produce is to ensure that you meet your client's
objectives and that every event is successful. But, every
event will have a more specific purpose or objective that
you will have to meet and as the quote from "Cabaret"
implies, that objective is often a financial one. Your client
may set some of these objectives and you will have to keep
those in mind when planning the event. Sometimes money will
not be an object and you will be able to produce an extravaganza
that your client and their guests will talk about for years,
but generally, your event will have a budget and stated objectives
that you will be expected to meet. In that case, you will
have to understand how you can assess those objectives, before
the event, state them to your client to win their business
and, after the event, measure how well you achieved your objectives.
The genius classical composer Ludwig van Beethoven once commented
about how much capital it would take to create a piece of
music…"The amount of money one needs is terrifying,"
he replied.
Often Mark Sonder Productions is queried about what percentage
music/entertainment/production should be in the overall budget
of a meeting or event. In the May 2005 issue of Event Solutions
Magazine, The Editor-In-Chief and the Assistant Editor, Michelle
Glicksman and Rachel Globus respectively authored an article
entitled, "Million Dollar (Plus!) Events: Where Does
the Money Go?!?" answered that question. The co-authors
gave us a breakdown of the costs of a half dozen mega events.
From venue, security, staffing, labor, food & beverage,
rentals, local ground transportation, producer fees, décor,
gifts, and of course music, entertainment and production thereof.
The gross budgets ranged from a low of $900,000 to $3m. Entertainment
costs ranged in percentages from a low of 10% to 59% with
the median being 30%.
Music and entertainment for an event generally adds the most
value and these budgets are starting to reflect the importance
that these elements play.
From the great lyrics of the 2005 Inductee Rock and Roll
Hall of Famers The O'Jays and TV's theme music to Donald Trump's
"The Apprentice," "Money Money Money Money…
Money!"
Party on!
See Tips on How to Determine
an Event's Money Metrics.
See Eddie Money,
this month's featured Artist.
 Mark
Sonder, CSEP is the Chief Entertainment Officer of Mark Sonder
Productions, a leading national entertainment agency providing
headline talent and production services for large venues,
corporations and associations. In addition, Sonder sits on
the faculty of The George Washington University, Stratford
University and Northern Virginia Community College. Event
Entertainment and Production is the book published by
Wiley authored by Sonder.
|
