Shane Barr is a lucky man. While you might not know his name, he is one of the driving forces behind a revitalisation of touring the likes of which has never been seen in this country before. He is the Australian managing director of The Appointment Group, a company that began in earnest in a one-bedroom London apartment 26 years ago and now has offices stretching across four continents. TAG is a travel and event management group, and while that might not sound immediately glamorous, the people of TAG are not your usual brand of dry professionals; they are, first and foremost, passionate fans of the music.
“The consultants that we employ tend to be very focused on the music scene, and really have a strong interest in it,” Barr explains in his pleasant Northern Irish brogue. “Not just from a travel perspective, but the whole picture. They love the music, and enjoy being part of the machine that is the entertainment industry, making it all happen. We obviously look after some big global acts, where there could be up to 120 people in the touring party, you know? But what we really credit ourselves on is giving the same level of service, whether it’s an Australian artist just starting out or whether it’s a global tour that’s selling out stadiums.”
This is true as much from a financial perspective as it logistical; even a cursory examination of TAG’s business operations spots a level of what you might style creative competency that is second to none. No matter where in the world an artist wishes to tour, these guys have the mechanisms in place to hit the ground running. This is not simply a matter of transplanting one itinerary on top of another, though; each country will present its own idiosyncrasies, each tour its own distinctions. Here in Australia it is no different.
“The Australian market is very different to most of the other markets that we operate in,” says Barr. “Everywhere else in the world, we have a relationship directly with the artist, but whenever it comes to Australia, the market here is very much governed by promoters. So it’s a matter of trying to bring that all together. You know, artists want to use us globally, and part of that is comfort. [Everyone gets] the same attention to details. Our 24-hour service, for instance, is wholly in-house. In Australia the 24/7 approach tended to be something like someone with a laptop sitting at home with a mobile phone. But with us, you can call either the Sydney or Melbourne number and you’ll be chatting with someone sitting at their desk in London.
“Because the market has been stagnant here for the last 20 years – it’s been the same players – we have a very different approach. The guys who have been here before us are very domestic and very much focused just on Australia, whereas we see that from a travel perspective Australia is being sucked into the rest of the world. It used to be a bit of an outpost just because of its location, but now all the deals that we’re doing are scaling it as a regular global fixture.”
What seems most impressive about TAG’s operations is how personable they appear. Tours are treated individually, and great care goes into ensuring the artist’s needs are fulfilled. As Barr affirms, “It’s knowing the client. Knowing what their expectations are and knowing that we can deliver.” From wrangling with airlines to wrangling riders, TAG can have a hand in every aspect of the itinerary – although gone are the days of outrageous artists requests, of trashed hotel rooms and televisions hurled from balconies.
“To be totally honest, that sort of behaviour from artists is becoming few and far between,” laughs Barr. “The requests now tend to be for things like mineral water and a yoga room, rather than wanting to have cases of vodka and copious amounts of drugs delivered to their rooms. That seems to be very much on the out. A lot of the artists who you might have a bit of a wild perception of, a lot of the time it’s a public persona to attract rebel fans, but when it actually comes down to it, there’s not much of that going on.”
Given Barr himself is ideally placed to offer advice to the aspiring musician, manager or booking agent, before we release him back into the wild we ply the MD for his insight into how to make those uneven first steps in the industry truly count.
“My number one piece of advice for young musicians starting out is to remember that if you’re wanting to have a career in the music industry, don’t burn anybody early on. You never know whenever you’re going to need someone who you’ve dealt with in the past when some sticky situation comes along. So remember that when you’re starting out, it’s all about building relationships rather than destroying them. And also, plan everything as early as possible. Align yourself with professionals who are doing this all the time, day in and day out, and have transparency there. Try and form relationships very early with key people you’re going to be using an awful lot, and really, just treat people like you’d like to be treated.”
For more info head toappointmentgroup.com.
