Iconic Rosebud Agency To Close
Mike Kappus, founder of the iconic Rosebud Agency has decided to shutter the booking agency component of the company at the end of 2013, according to CelebrityAccess. While 2013 was one of the agency's top fiscal years, unforeseen circumstances led to concern that going forward, the agency would not be able to maintain its standards.
"I've been training someone to step in as the vice president but his replacement left to join another agency and I felt we couldn't maintain the same level of effectiveness so it seemed like the time," Kappus told CelebrityAccess.
Mike said that Rosebud plans to continue the artist management side of the business and to work on special projects. Kappus currently manages the aforementioned Trombone Shorty and oversees the estate of the late J.J. Cale and Don "Captain Beefheart" Van Vliet.
As for the disposition of Rosebud's agents, Kappus told CelebrityAccess that Tom Gold is planning his own agency and Michael Morris is headed for Monterrey but was not ready to make announcements regarding future plans for the company's other agents.
Mike Kappus founded Rosebud in 1976 and has since built a remarkable boutique agency with an intentionally small roster of eclectic artists with a focus on jazz and blues.
Artists with over 20 years tenure at Rosebud include John Hammond, who signed on with Rosebud nearly 37 years ago, Loudon Wainwright III, The Blind Boys of Alabama, The Dirty Dozen Brass Band and the recently deceased JJ Cale, who worked with Rosebud for 30 years. Cale, Robert Cray (22 years), and the late John Lee Hooker (25 years) were all management clients as well.
In addition to booking and management duties, Kappus made CD deals for Mavis Staples, Bettye LaVette and Charlie Watts and was instrumental in helping Buddy Guy secure the record deal that resulted in his comeback albums, beginning with his breakthrough Damn Right, I¹ve Got The Blues in 1991.
Kappus was also hired by Van Morrison to oversee promotion and marketing for his April 2008 CD, "Keep It Simple." The record's entry in the Billboard pop charts at #10 marked the highest ever US chart position in Van Morrison's lengthy career.
As head of The Rosebud Agency, Kappus has also been a pioneer of the green movement in the industry and incorporated policies focused on environmental and social responsibility issues into the company's daily routine. The Rosebud office was converted to full solar power in 2000 (the largest such installation in San Francisco at the time) and was named in the first wave of green business certifications in San Francisco.
Kappus' environmental concerns also drove him to coordinate 2 compilations for non-profit, Earthjustice, featuring artists from Tom Waits and Willie Nelson to Norah Jones, Tina Turner, Bob Dylan, Rubén Blades, Michael Franti, Ani DiFranco, Keb Mo, Ruth Brown, Etta James and many more. He continues to support numerous non-profit organizations in various ways.
Kappus stated, "I would like to express my deepest gratitude to the current and former Rosebud staffers for their dedication and hard work over the years which helped the company attain a long term reputation in the industry for living out its mission from the start of giving greater attention to a limited number of timeless rather than merely trendy artists. Former Rosebud staffers have gone on to head publishing companies, act as record producers, work at record labels and festivals and spawn new management and booking agencies of their own. Ideally the company's current artists and staffers will find similarly satisfying new roles in the immediate future. It has also been an amazing blessing to work with so many incredible artists over the years. It is extremely difficult to turn the page on such incredible opportunities and history but this appears to be the most appropriate next step forward." – via CelebrityAccess
