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Today’s guest is Ari Nisman. He is the founder and president of Degy Entertainment. They are one of the largest booking agencies for colleges and military. They have hundreds of artists on their roster and book thousands and thousands of shows every year.
But in today’s conversation we talk about how the college entertainment market works; how the military booking market works; how much they pay for all of that; and how much each booking earns. Surprisingly they’re paying guarantees. You’re not having to worry about promoting those shows. So we break all of that down.
We also talk about how Degy Entertainment pivoted once live music was shut down and what the virtual space looks like, even ticketed ones they’ve been executing within the Degy market. We discuss Degy World, which is an avatar-based, virtual, interactive world that they’ve built. It’s proprietary. This is how they’re able to host festivals, conferences, concerts, and dating events.
Ari also talks about the live entertainment world and what it’s going to look like when it returns.
Quick links:
4:32 – What has attracted Ari Nisman to social media app Clubhouse
5:58 – When is live entertainment going to return? What is it going to look like?
11:30 – What is a middle man?
13:54 – Why will college buying come back before anything else?
16:55 – How does the college market work?
19:54 – Talking about the music and artists that work in the college market
23:16 – Why do campuses push back against hip-hop music?
27:18 – Is Degy Entertainment booking more independent artists or bigger artists these days?
29:09 – What can an independent artist expect for a guarantee on a military base?
30:30 – What are the buying opportunities for independent artists in the college market?
32:49 – What are NAPCA and APCA?
39:18 – How Degy Entertainment pivoted into the digital realm and what they’re doing with Degy World
44:58 – Working with FanFX to create a unique livestreaming experience and proprietary system
48:45 – Has there been any work for artists livestreaming recently?
50:52 – Is the college market spending what they were spending pre-COVID?
53:17 – What is Degy World? Where did the idea come from?
1:05:38 – What it means to Ari Nisman to make it in the new music business
