Be it a presenter or an agent or an artist/company...

It's time to begin preparations for our planning retreat in June. And 
to get that process started, I'd like you to think seriously about the 
title of this post...and respond back to the list with your answers. 
We're going to use the posts in this discussion as an electronic 
flip-chart to begin the process of assessing how Tennessee Presenters 
can best begin to serve all of its members.

As some context to open this discussion, I'm concerned about this 
organization's ability to deliver value to the group of people whom we 
most need for support - agents and artists. We're proving that we can 
deliver value to the presenter members; $70,000 worth of savings on 
artists fees in our first year of existence is a good start. And we'll 
do more as we learn more about working with each other this year and 
next and on and on. And let's not forget that those multiple bookings 
alone are of great value to artists and agents.

But.

We're one of a couple dozen state organizations who are doing this sort 
of thing now, along with the regional organizations and APAP - and all 
of us want those agencies to support us. And as I once remarked to some 
fellow photographers at a trade organization leadership retreat who 
were complaining about the way the big, bad clients were treating them 
that unless the client was General Motors, their big, bad client was a 
small business as well. The implication being that they, too, had 
limited resources that had to be allocated to many needs.

The same goes for even the largest of agencies that deal with the 
"fine" arts. There's only so much money. There's only so much time.

So what is going to make Tennessee Presenters stand out from every 
other state or regional arts association seeking support from these 
agency folks? What is going to make us more responsive to presenters 
than other state/regional organizations? What design do we need for 
that proverbial "better mousetrap"?

The answer to those questions will be the principles that guide our 
development to a stable organization that can deliver value to 
presenters and artists for the long term.

So to get the conversation started (and I'll be keeping notes to bring 
to the June 18 meeting), here's two lists of needs for presenters and 
artists/agents. You'll note some differences in order based on that 
organization's perceptions. What I want each of you to do is think 
about the list that pertains to you - rank the items in the list based 
on your needs. Add to the list. Post that list back here and tell us 
what is important to you and why. I'll keep a running file which will 
become the basis for our conversations in June.


The Presenter's Need List:

1) Block Booking
2) Professional Networking
3) Information Exchange (regarding artists)
4) Information Exchange (regarding operational/marketing/etc. issues)
5) Showcase opportunities
6) Professional Development
7) Other


The Agent/Artist's Need List:

1) Professional Networking
2) Showcase Opportunities
3) Block Booking
4) Information Exchange-artists
5) Information Exchange-operations
6) Professional Development

Look 'em over. Re-rank them. Change them. Add to them. Tell us what you 
did and why. We need your best thinking here.

Thanks in advance for your thoughts and input.

Here's to a better Tennessee Presenters organization.

Bob


Robert Boyer
Patten Performances Director
UTC Fine Arts Center
www.utc.edu/finearts
423.425.4379