Transcendent Music Movement Presents: Negotiation and
Deal-Making with Bryan Mahanes
Negotiation and deal-making is an integral part of the
entertainment industry. It often takes
place in the relationships between artists, managers, venue owners, record labels
and other entities in the music industry.
In this blog we will look in to the subject of negotiation and deal
making as it pertains to the owner of OtherBrother Entertainment, Bryan Mahanes.
OtherBrother entertainment is an artist management and entertainment
service provider in Charleston, South Carolina.
They have been providing these services to both local and national
artists and clients for about seven years.
As the owner of this company, Bryan Mahanes core responsibility is
negotiating and making deals on behalf of the artists he represents or the
clients who seek their services.
This seems like a simple business model and I would argue
that it is. However, there are varying
interests, personalities, emotions, and other things that make his job a
balancing act each and every day. Bryan
is responsible for satisfying the interest of three parties in any given
deal. He has to consider the interests
of the artists, his company, and the venue in which they will be performing. Bryan
provided me with an example of how a typical negotiation would flow.
Initially, Bryan would ask the artist their rate. This commences the first negotiation. Bryan’s responsibility at this point is to
accept this price or negotiate an alternate price that the artist is willing to
agree to and that satisfies the interest of OtherBrother Entertainment. As you can imagine, this is the point at
which he is most likely disposed to deal with negotiating concepts such as
status (respective level of achievement), mutual benefit (satisfying all parties involved), and leveraging power (exploiting his credentials).
The personalities, emotions, and interest of the respective artists have
to be considered during this negotiating process with extreme delicacy. Bryan made it clear to me that he values the
artists they represent. He realizes that
they are his company’s product. Therefore,
it is imperative for him to clearly identify the respective interests of every
artist he works with. After learning
about that artist’s personality, interest and emotional need, he can tailor a
proposal that accommodates them. Most
artists elicit an acknowledgement of their respective status and musical talent. This is the biggest emotional concern of a
lot of the artists Bryan deals with, which he says, makes dealing with
personalities very challenging. However,
he is successful because his approach is one that is humble and accommodating
to his artists.
He also has to negotiate when dealing with clients or venues
that request their entertainment service.
Much of the negotiations are the same.
Primarily, he negotiates the price point. At this juncture in Bryan’s job he has to
negotiate a price that is affordable to his client, satisfies the price agreed
upon with the artist and generates revenue for OtherBrother Entertainment. This requires a little more savvy as a
salesperson. These negotiations require
extensive research in valuing the worth of the event. Bryan is able to leverage his experience in
the industry as objective criteria, proving his ability to provide the best
match of entertainment for the event. He
also can propose a cheaper artist as BATNA (best alternative to a negotiated
agreement), in the event that the price point he proposes is too high for his
suggested artist. Emotionally, these
clients are seeking autonomy. They want
to be in control of their event, whether it is a wedding planner or a venue
owner. Though Bryan may offer his
suggestion he has to resist forcing an artist on a client. In negotiating this, he has to yield to their
role in planning or organizing the event.
All of these negotiating obstacles are a part of what Bryan confronts on
a daily basis.
Negotiation and deal-making make up a tight rope that
personnel in the entertainment industry, and Bryan Mahanes, as owner of
OtherBrother Entertainment, have to walk everyday. Bryan attributes his negotiating success to
his humility, tremendous interpersonal skills, his calm demeanor, and working
tirelessly to make his artists and clients happy. These two components comprise the company’s essential
products and customers, and without them, his company would not survive. As OtherBrother Entertainment continues to
promote incredible artists and provide impeccable service to its clients, the
Transcendent Music Movement offers its support and a tip of the hat to Bryan
Mahanes for his successful business practices and negotiating acumen.
