Haim Fires Booking Agent After Being Paid 10X Less Than Male Artists
LA pop rockers Haim say that they fired their booking agent after learning that they were paid 10 times less than a similar male artist performing at the same music festival. The sisters did not name the artist or the festival.
"It's scary out there and [messed] up not even to be paid half the same amount. But to be paid a tenth of that amount of money? It was insane," Alana Haim told Grazia magazine.
don’t fuck with us pic.twitter.com/d0RxwgGLHC
— HAIM (@HAIMtheband) June 7, 2018
"We had been told that our fee was very low because you played at the festival in the hope you'd get played on the radio," sister Danielle added. "We didn't think twice about it, but we later found out that someone was getting paid 10 times more than us. And because of that we fired our agent."
"We'll go to alternative radio stations in the States and there won't even be a girls' restroom," sister Este said at the Brit Awards."That's a clear indication that something needs to change."
H/T BBC
red rocks ???? what an amazing way to end part 1 of the sister sister sister tour ???? pic.twitter.com/CpRm4KLyEg
— HAIM (@HAIMtheband) May 29, 2018
That is pretty terrible. I would really like to think it’s because your agent sucked and not because you are women. But 10X is a big number. That means your agent REALLY sucked. I wish I knew who the other artist was you were comparing yourself to. First thing I would do is look up on Pollstar and crunch the numbers….AND when you were booked is also a big factor. Also, if these numbers and the length of your career are pretty similar, where on the festival line up were you booked?
You have been popular artists for a while and sell lots of tickets so should be a no brainer…however I’d also be curious to hear which festival it was.
You would flip out if you saw what hip hop artists and DJ make then if this is annoying you. It’s really about the aggressiveness of your agent and where they stand in that political world. Promoters are always trying to strong arm agents and visa versa. Whoever has the upper hand wins. Find yourself an agent that promoters are scared shitless of you and you’re winning…..never go with an agent because they are “cool” or “nice” …it’ll get you no where.
I’ve seen agents argue with a promoter left and right about where their client is on the festival poster. Threaten to pull the act and purposely not promote the festival until seeing their name on the top of the flyer. Even if the artist really doesn’t have the numbers to back being up there. In the end it’s all about protecting the client and getting what’s best for them.
For some reason agents in the indie rock world do not push as hard as agents for rappers. It’s a different world, different attitude. Need to be more aggressive and don’t back down.