| re: I Want To Be A Producer - NY Times article | |
| Posted by: | NewtonUK 08:28 am EDT 08/16/14 |
| In reply to: | I Want To Be A Producer - NY Times article - StageDoorEddie 04:31 pm EDT 08/15/14 |
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| This is the 2d or 3d time the Times have weighed in on this - I'm not sure why except that nothing much else is happening in the theatre in early August. As the business has evolved, a carrot was needed to get the increasing number of investors and 'bundlers' to make Broadway shows happen. When Mr Healey speaks of musicals that used to cost $1 million - thats $1-1.5 million tops in 2014 dollars. Music Man cost $1.2 million to produce in 2014 dollars. To actually produce it on the same scale in 2014 would cost $12-15 million. So yes - if David Merrick had 4 investors who could put $250,000 into each of his shows - thats about all he ever would have needed. Now its 50-150 individual investors per show. So the above the title billing - which denotes Tony (and all award) eligibility - became the carrot to get the money. Especially from the new investors. It balances the unlikely event of your getting your money back. Are some artists annoyed that investor/producers, in addition to lead producers, can win Tonys? Yes. Many great talents work on Broadway and never win a Tony. And I have many colleagues who invest in 3-4 shows a season, always above the title. In 6 years, if they choose wisely, they can easily top Hal Prince's 12 Tony wins. (is 12 correct?) I have young colleagues who already have 3 and 4 Tonys. But this is how and why $3.5 million for a play and $8-26 million for a musical can be raised. Its a fact of our business now, and hurts no one. I know everyone mentioned in the Times article, and all of the investor/producers and bundlers are great people, who love theatre - it is important to them. They all invest to make theatre happen - not to get rich. They care about the shows, and the people who make them. Oh - and those meetings that the investor/producers are allowed to go to are not real meetings. They are staged, usually monthly, for the investors. a lot of information is given out, cheer-leading, back patting. No decisions are made at these meetings, and they are rarely discussed. And if you ask an actual tough question, you are likely to be banned from future meetings - as a colleague of mine was on one show. I guess the article is interesting to some. I guess they'll print a version of this every year now. | |
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| re: I Want To Be A Producer - NY Times article | |
| Posted by: | makemlaff 01:10 pm EDT 08/16/14 |
| In reply to: | re: I Want To Be A Producer - NY Times article - NewtonUK 08:28 am EDT 08/16/14 |
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| I don't understand why this topic, when presented in articles like this, always has the snide sounding comments and back handed praise. It's the nature of the business today, and only affects the artistic product if the lead producer allows it to happen. The billing and awards consideration has indeed been the dangling carrot and seems to have worked by bringing in a continually new stream of investors. I'm not personally offended by awards given to the above-the-title co-producers; though, I too have multiple Tony-award winning friends and colleagues and admit that (while I'm always happy for their success) I have to take their self-aggrandizement with a grain of salt. It's ridiculous to compare those Tony wins in quantity or contribution to Hal Prince's. Part of the trouble with raising millions of dollars in ~$10K-25K increments is the sheer time it takes to accomplish that. Having a team of people each responsible for a portion is a far more effective and time efficient way to get the job done. That said, I'm extremely curious to see how the online fund raising initiative of ON THE TOWN plays out. If it's a success and a large chunk of money is raised by that method, it may diminish the importance of bundlers. | |
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| re: I Want To Be A Producer - NY Times article | |
| Posted by: | pitslre 01:43 pm EDT 08/16/14 |
| In reply to: | re: I Want To Be A Producer - NY Times article - makemlaff 01:10 pm EDT 08/16/14 |
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| I actually don't take issue with the buskers being producers....but the idea that a $35k investor has talked her way into the title in this article is a bit absurd (though I guess more power to her) | |
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| re: I Want To Be A Producer - NY Times article | |
| Posted by: | makemlaff 02:12 pm EDT 08/16/14 |
| In reply to: | re: I Want To Be A Producer - NY Times article - pitslre 01:43 pm EDT 08/16/14 |
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| It's really just a matter of how her money was invested. If she invested her $35K with the lead producer she would be mostly likely be considered. However, if she combined her investment with others and they bring it to the lead producer a unit, they get consideration as a producer along with the producer perks such as the billing and (no doubt) a juicier deal. A straight up investor would receive their pro rata share of 50% of the net profits. As part of a producer syndicate they will collectively receive their pro rata share plus whatever they are given from the producer's share. Honestly, if you were investing $35K in a show how would you invest it? The article doesn't specify whether or not she raised additional money or not, though probably not. | |
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| **corrections for my typos | |
| Posted by: | makemlaff 02:14 pm EDT 08/16/14 |
| In reply to: | re: I Want To Be A Producer - NY Times article - makemlaff 02:12 pm EDT 08/16/14 |
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| **It's really just a matter of how her money was invested. If she invested her $35K with the lead producer she would be mostly likely be considered just an investor and treated as such. | |
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| Harold Prince's Tonys | |
| Posted by: | Erik_Haagensen 10:40 am EDT 08/16/14 |
| In reply to: | re: I Want To Be A Producer - NY Times article - NewtonUK 08:28 am EDT 08/16/14 |
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| He's won 21 Tonys. Thanks for the post. Interesting. | |
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