E3 Group

Wedding planners across the country are continually searching for unique entertainment acts to add an extra “wow” factor to their special day. Topping the list of the most requested acts to perform at weddings this summer are the Michael Jackson inspired dance act Signature and Britain’s Got Talent finalist Julian Smith. Due to the current demand for both acts, our entertainment agents are now advising our clients on an increase in their fees - previously estimated at around the £2,500 mark.

Booking requests for Signature have gone through the roof following Michael Jackson’s premature death last week. Clearly, many people are viewing Signature as the perfect act to pay tribute to the record-breaking singer. Saxophonist Julian Smith captured many hearts with his performances on the ITV talent contest and the volume of requests we’re receiving for him to perform at weddings are a reflection of this. Both acts can be booked by calling our office on 020 7836 4759.

Fees quoted by artist management companies to corporate event planners are on the rise in spite of the recession. The Telegraph reports today that a short set by Susan Boyle will cost in the region of £100,000 plus VAT. However, artist management companies are notoriously cagey when dealing with enquiries from individuals or groups they have not come across before. It is a common tactic for them to start with an astronomical quote; as this helps them to determine whether or not they are dealing with an experienced booker.

Here at E3 Artists we have forged a close link with Industry (the artist management company quoted in the Telegraph article) and many of the Britain’s Got Talent acts. We’re pretty confident we could have negotiated a much better deal for booking Susan than the one quoted above. As a dedicated entertainment booking agency, we book regularly on behalf of many of our major corporate clients. This gives us the leverage to negotiate lower prices. For further details see our ‘celebrity agents’ page.

As we enter the month of June, there is no sign of the public obsession with Britain’s Got Talent receding and with the national tour set to begin shortly, it’s not likely to die down any time soon. Requests for acts from the show to appear at corporate events, private parties or organised functions are flooding in on a daily basis so this month’s guide offers some information on the most bookable Britain’s Got Talent acts.

The cost to hire a BGT act can fluctuate significantly according to a number of factors including the media exposure they continue to receive after the show and the demand for their time that this creates. As a general guideline it is possible to book some former BGT acts from as little as £500. However, the majority of acts that make it through to the finals have fee expectations of £2,000 or more. Some of the most successful acts, such as 2009 winners Diversity, can command over £10,000 for a performance. For a more accurate indication of booking fees you can contact one of our entertainment agents using our online form.

1. Hire Escala
Escala wowed the nation on BGT series one with their classical renditions of modern favourites and their stunning image. It’s possible to hire Escala for corporate events, however having recently had an album reach number 2 in the UK charts they are now one of the more costly acts to book.

2. Hire Diversity
This electric dance act pulled off the shock result of the competition this year by being crowned champions. Deserved winners on the night, Diversity are available for both corporate and private events.

3. Hire Flawless
Eventual winners Diversity claimed that they were inspired to create their dance troupe after seeing Flawless perform. A popular booking request, Flawless are available to bring inspiration to your next event.

4. Hire George Sampson
Winner of series two and the forerunner to the hugely successful BGT dance acts that followed. George is available to perform at professionally produced private and corporate events.

5. Hire Stavros Flatly
This father and son duo proved to be much more than just a one trick pony delivering exciting and hilarious performances at every stage of the competition.

6. Hire Signature
Favourites from Britain’s Got Talent, Signature have forged a hugely successful career as entertainers following their massive popularity on the show. Currently a very popular choice for a wide range of events.

7. Hire Gareth Oliver, Strike & Julian Smith
Gareth Oliver amazed the BGT crowd with his fantastic ventriloquist skills, narrowly missing out on a place in the grand final. Strike’s high impact martial arts skills were a crowd favourite on BGT series two and Julian Smith’s laid back saxophone stylings secured him a place in this year’s grand final.

8. Hire The Barwizards
The Barwizards jaw-dropping act kept audiences entertained, flipping, spinning, throwing, catching, shaking and pouring their way through to the BGT final.

9. Hire Bang On!
Bang on! is a unique live percussion act perfect for experiential events. For a competitive fee, Bang On! are the perfect booking for event planners looking to make a real impact.

10. Hire Tracey Lee Collins
Tracey Lee Collins is a sensational drag act with a unique voice who owes her creation in no small part to Simon Cowell’s matter of fact judging style.

E3 Artists has forged a close links with many former BGT acts and their management teams. As regular bookers we can negotiate preferential rates for our clients. For a tailored quote please contact us using our online form. Alternatively, subscribe to our blog for monthly updates!

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Britain’s Got Talent has come to an end with Diversity being crowned this year’s champions. With the show finishing, you would expect the media storm surrounding the competition to die down but so far, it has simply gathered momentum, becoming a full blown hurricane. Susan Boyle is now in rehab for the stress of becoming an overnight success and every single act who participated in the final, and even some of the semi finalists, are now the nations hottest entertainment property. What has astounded me is how much the show has impacted on the media, the public and the entertainment business. Last week, E3 Artists reported record visits to the website from people hoping to hire Gareth Oliver and this morning, we even received a Dominoes Pizza leaflet encouraging customers to enter a Britain’s Got Talent competition to design a new pizza. BGT has shaken off its image as the poor relation of the X Factor and other reality TV shows to become the nation’s most watched and most debated programme.

At E3 Artists, the BGT fallout has been unprecedented. Aside from the Gareth Oliver enquiries, every day our team is taking countless requests to book, Shaun Smith, Flawless, Stavros Flatly and really, any BGT act that they can get their hands on. The Simon Cowell/ Piers Morgan press juggernaut is keeping every act firmly in the public eye and encouraging businesses of all shapes and sizes to associate their brand with the Britain’s Got Talent phenomenon. Following the unconfirmed report that Susan Boyle has been asked to perform at the White House, even international governments want to get in on the action and associate their office with the outpouring of good feeling to all the BGT acts.

Critics are levelling accusations of exploitation against the show, accusing them of publicising to death the likes of Susan Boyle while giving no emotional support to the acts thrust at lightening speed into the public eye. I am quite sceptical of exactly how exploitative the show really is. Isn’t the goal of all acts taking part to perform in front of the Queen at the Royal Variety performance? If that isn’t one of the most high profile moments of any entertainer’s career, I don’t know what is. I understand that people may not be prepared for a meteoric rise to fame like the one this series has awarded Susan Boyle, but why would anyone audition for this kind of competition without being in some way mentally prepared for and in fact, actively seeking fame? At any rate, it is clear that the runaway train that is Britain’s Got Talent is far from the home straight and acts like Susan Boyle and winners Diversity will have to be prepared for the international renown that is now obviously unavoidable. In future series’, The BGT team will have to give serious thought to the support available to these acts to help them deal with the stardom that is now so clearly unavoidable.

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Gareth Oliver certainly acheived our vote following his appearance on Monday night’s semi-final of Britain’s Got Talent. The comedy-ventriloquist has enjoyed a successful working partnership with E3 Group and he is also a personal friend of our CEO, David Hill. Gareth has always been a popular booking with our clients. In 2007 he completed a successful contract with us; entertaining guests on behalf of First Choice Holidays. We think he’s thoroughly deserving of the recognition he’s acheived on the show and the continuing success we know it will offer him.

He is clearly very popular with the general public too. Following his appearance on Monday night, our website has experienced record levels of visitors. Hundreds of people have been logging on and enquiring about his availability for private events. Gareth now has contractual obligations with ITV for a certain period, although our entertainment agents are happy to advise on his booking availability.

In the last few months, there has been a bit of press surrounding Simon Cowell’s predicted exit from one of his many talent shows. Depending on who you believe, Simon is set to depart from Britain’s Got Talent, The X Factor and American Idol. Obviously, to assume that he will be leaving all three would be slightly absurd, I mean, what would this multi-millionaire find to do in his spare time? It is still quite possible that he will leave one of these shows and this got me wondering which one and what, if any, impact this would have on the show in question. I think it is unlikely that Simon will leave Britain’s Got Talent as he seems to really enjoy judging this show. He has, however, said no to judging the American version perhaps indicating that one is enough. The X Factor producers have indicated that they think Mr Cowell is “replaceable” but I think you have to take that with a pinch of salt since Simon owns the whole format and he himself hires and fires those same producers. American Idol is the most likely of the three to see Simon depart, in my opinion. The format is owned by Simon Fuller and not Mr Cowell and although he has said that he enjoys not worrying about anything except the judging while on Idol, I think that he could leave and subsequently try to launch The X Factor in the USA. This is exactly what happened to Pop Idol in the UK with that name long removed from the popular vernacular.

If Simon was to depart from any of the above franchises, the impact could be devastating. E3 Group recently created a bespoke production of Strictly Come Dancing for clients Thomas Cook, replicating the format as close to the original as possible. Initially, the view was taken that we would not use a Craig Revel Horwood style, nasty judge in the production as we worried this could de-motivate the contestants and audience, defeating the point of any corporate production! We found this notion to be completely wrong. The second version of the production came complete with the nasty judge and the audience revelled in it. It gave them a figure to unite against in mutual hatred and somewhere to direct those almighty boos! If Simon Cowell leaves any of his talent shows, this will be the result. A void where the boo-absorbing sponge used to be will appear and overly nice comments will begin to pour from those remaining judges without anyone to keep them in check. If the producers try to replace Simon with another harsh talking judge, audiences will see through this too easily. It will become all too obvious that a format has been created independent of those who appear on it, easily dismantled and repackaged with new faces. I know, to some extent, this has been happening already throughout the evolution of this kind of talent show, but for me, Simon is the lynchpin that keeps all these formats ticking over. To remove him could truly sound the death knell for any one of these popular talent shows.

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Susan Boyle is slowly becoming a global phenomenon as her YouTube video, boasting an impressive 19.2 million views as I write this post, clearly demonstrates. Her unexpected vocal talents have been the subject of national debate, prompting some journalists to evaluate the snide and almost sickening reaction to Susan before she wowed the Britain’s Got Talent judges and audience alike. Susan has now made appearances on prominent American TV shows and is due to appear on the Oprah Winfrey show, if you believe the rumours. Susan clearly has an exceptional gift and her performance is testament to just how much we as human beings appreciate talent. Her success is in no way undeserved, but her instant achievement and catapult to fame hasn’t materialised out of thin air. Simon Cowell will have been busy working in the wings to garner this global exposure but, once again I reiterate, it is wholly deserved. What it has made me think about is that the Britain’s Got Talent judges clearly have a type of act they seem to favour, the musical variety. The true spirit of variety and indeed the royal variety show itself is one of complete diversity. People don’t watch the Royal Variety show to see a singer, then a dancer, then a vocal group, then a dance troupe, they watch it to see the plethora of talent on offer and, in fact, often to see a talent they have never conceived of before.

It seems that the judges’ predicate is to stick with what’s safe and what has a clear route to market. Simon Cowell knows that Susan Boyle will be able to sell records if she emerges victorious from the show. I am reminded of the reports that Simon organised “secret” singing lessons for previous contestant Faryl Smith which could have constituted an unfair advantage. There were no such reports indicating similar training for non-musical contestants. Ant and Dec who host the show have both expressed their desire to see a comedian win the show but admit that with Simon’s unusual sense of humour, such acts are at an immediate disadvantage. Is there money to be made from variety and light entertainment stalwarts such as comedians, magicians, circus performers and specialty acts? In Cowell’s eyes, Perhaps not. Undoubtedly, many of the aforementioned acts that do appear on Britain’s Got Talent are woeful but, here at E3 Artists, we see such a wide variety (no pun intended) of talented acts that fall under these brackets that it surprises me that the finals of the last two series of Britain’s Got Talent have been dominated by singers, dancers and musicians. Of the fifteen acts that made it through to the live finals of the first two series, just three stood out as offering something besides musical or movement related talent. Damon Scott, a ventriloquist, Strike, a martial arts team and E3 favourites, the Barwizards. Ultimately it is up to the British public to keep acts in the show so we can only hope that those E3 Artists clients who have chosen to hire a comedian, magician or speciality act in recent months, pick up the phone and keep these acts represented throughout the competition.

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Britain’s Got Talent began again in earnest this weekend providing avid viewers with entertainment that continues to add new definition to the word variety. From the bizarre to the sublime, Britain’s Got Talent has it all. Whether your personal preference is dancers, singers or perhaps something a bit more madcap like Stavros Flatly, the show continues to provide a buffet of entertainment spectacle to suit all pallets. In my opinion, Shows like Britain’s Got Talent are a real bonus for event organisers everywhere. It is a platform from which some of the less traditional but often more remarkable acts are thrust into the public eye and therefore making them more attractive booking propositions.

Before Signature’s amazing run on the show, offering a potential client looking to hire an entertainer a bangra-infused Michael Jackson dance spectacular would have labelled you as some kind of raving maniac. The overwhelming public support and acceptance Signature received during and as a result of the show has made them extremely popular amongst our clients looking to book utterly original entertainment. Britain’s Got Talent has opened the doors for people with exceptional skills to promote themselves to the events community. E3 Artists’ entertainers such as The Barwizards, Bang On! and Tracey Lee Collins (who all indecently found fame appearing on Britain’s Got Talent) as well as acts who would fit right in to the make up of the show such as Nathan Zorchak and Mat Ricardo, have all benefited from the huge resurgence of variety as a popular entertainment option. So whether you’re a small venue booking a magician or a huge outdoor event looking to hire a unique entertainment experience, examining the variety entertainer option is a great way to maintain impact while keeping the budget reasonable.

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