- How does PhinLi Bookings, LLC work?
- Our student group doesn’t have a big budget. Do you have any suggestions?
- I’m not a student or part of a group. How can I get the artist I want to come to my town?
- Are you accepting new artists? How can I become represented by PhinLi?
How does PhinLi Bookings, LLC work?
Most often, people contact us requesting "edutainment." We count on you to tell us your ideas for the perfect event including the brilliant artist/educator/activist of your dreams, your preferred date and budget. At that point, you sit back and we make things go as smoothly as possible from the time we're on board through the end of the event. We coordinate, plan, book, chase down answers and keep track of all the pesky little details so that you can focus on the fun parts and know that we're on top of the logistics that go into making your event amazing.
Our student group doesn’t have a big budget.
Do you have any suggestions?
Fundraising money for your student organization can be fun and very rewarding. Here are some thoughts and resources on how to do this:
- Co-Sponsorship: This is a way to get more than one group or office involved with your program or project. Even small donations add up and having many co-sponsors strengthens the publicity and outreach of the event.
- Funding Requests: Put together a proposal and present it to the Student Government Association, Student Activities, and the Dean’s Office. Make sure that your proposal is solid, includes information on both your group and the event, and explains why you think the Dean (or the Student Council, etc.) should give your group the money.
- Food Sales: Whether you are selling baked goods, bagels, candy bars or soup & bread, these are pretty self-explanatory. While they might be labor intensive, food sales are also a good way to get publicity for your group and the event you are fundraising for. Just don’t eat all the profits.
- Raffle: Another way to make some money for your cause is to hold a raffle. With a 50/50 raffle (just like the ones the football- and band-boosters do in high schools) you sell raffle tickets and the winner gets half (50%) of the money. Your group gets the other 50%. Or you can solicit great prizes from local businesses and sell raffle tickets. You get the money and the winners get cool gifts. (Be sure to check with your Campus Activities office about this, as the rules regarding raffles may vary from campus to campus.)
Bear’s Guide To Getting The Artists You Want
Here are some things you can do to get almost any author, performer, or musician you want to see perform a live show to your town:
- Get in cahoots with the students at the nearest college or university: Universities have large budgets for what's called Student Activities. This is the giant rubric under which lectures, films, comedians/hypnotists/magicians, theater performances, readings, concerts, & all fall. Most universities have some kind of a system by which a student who is keen can create a proposal and budget, gain cosponsors from across university departments and offices, and pull off a show - sometimes even a Very Big Name, certainly someone much fancier than me. Another way to do this is for a bunch of students to simply go write or call the Student Activities office and say "We want [$famousperson]". If enough of them do it, the Student Activities people will at least look into it.
- Look into local arts grants: Many municipalities have some money to bring arts to the region or support the arts. See if your library has reading series money, or if your community center or theater group does. Sometimes you can suggest a cultural worker (author/artist/musician/speaker) or a group (do you belong to a local group?) can apply for funds. Especially a good one if you live, um, anywhere in the world except the 48 contiguous United States (in US, Alaska especially has pots of arts money).
- Partner with a local cultural, religious, or political group to do an event: Is there a local LGBTQ group or something similar, where you are or encompassing the identity(ies) of the person you want to bring? Approach them about the idea, and offer to take the point position on organizing it. Even if your group doesn't have a lot of spare cash, this is possible. Many cultural workers will do a few events per year where they make no or very little money, just get expenses covered - this is called a benefit. Here's a big, important tip though - wait to write and ask until you already have buy-in from your local group - and preferably until your proposed date has been chosen, location has been secured, etc.
- BYO$: If you, or you and a group of friends, can put together some cash - lets assume travel plus $1k-$4k would be a reasonable range depending on how famous your target person is and how far away they are - you can just have a private event.
- Work with your local bookstore/reading series: If there's a local bookstore or series that wants to invite an author, they can certainly ask their publishers to send them there. It will help if you can reassure people that you'll personally get the word out, bring all your friends, et al. Big lively readings rock for all participants. Empty ones, not so much.
The key to all of these things is that unless you live in a large city full of queers, in which people will just flock at the sound of your target person's name, you are your best bet for getting the show you want. You can and should assess your options, make a plan, take it on and get it done. You'll even get to spend some one-on-one time with them: breakfast, airport ride, whatever. You're doing the work, right? So you get the reward (and if forty-five minutes alone in the car to chill out and chat with your target person doesn't seem like a reward, you may not want to devote this much work to bringing them.) If you can take ownership of some or all of the tasks, work your network, stay on top of things, and devote time and energy to the task you can probably bring almost anyone to your town for a live show. (Reposted from S. Bear Bergman's livejournal)
Are you accepting new artists?
How can I become represented by PhinLi?
At the current time we are not accepting any new talent. If you'd like to be considered in the next round of applicants please email bookings@phinli.com with the subject line "New Client Applicant". Please include the following:
- any promotional materials you use to market yourself
- links to, or attachments of, your class, lecture or performance offerings
- at least 1 high res (300 dpi) image
- a listing of, or a link to, your upcoming appearances
- a brief history of your recent bookings including date, venue, workshop/class title and honorarium amount for each appearance
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