CLEARFIELD – The process of booking an entertainer for a venue such as the Clearfield County Fair is a complicated one, according to Joyce Martin of The Joyce Martin Group, booking agent for the fair.
Martin forwarded a letter to several media agencies Thursday explaining the procedure and why ticketholders still don’t know who will be performing on the grandstand Tuesday night.
“I know that there are many upset fairgoers about the cancellation of Foreigner at the Clearfield County Fair,” Martin said in her letter.
Martin said the process is often frustrating because more than 100 booking agencies must first be contacted to see if artists have Tuesday open and meet the fair’s budget.
“After reviewing entertainment options and an artist has been selected that would best represent the fair, an ‘official’ offer must be sent to the booking agency of that artist.”
An agent within the booking company then gives the matter to the territory agent for Pennsylvania, Martin said. The chain then flows through another agent who represents the artist within the booking company.
“The agent must then fill out the proper paperwork and forward the fair’s offer to the artist’s personal manager.”
Martin explained that if the booking agency is in Nashville and the personal manager is in Los Angeles, the fair has to contend with two different time zones. (Nashville is one hour behind, and Los Angeles is three hours behind.)
“The personal manager looks at our offer to determine if we have the money, if our date fits in with his artist’s routing and basically decides whether or not he is interested in accepting the fair’s offer,” Martin said.
Then the issue must be approved by the artist.
If the offer is acceptable, the notice must go back through the chain to the fair board.
Martin said all of this has happened in the past 48 hours with the fair board working until 10 p.m. the last two nights while the board “anxiously” waits for the decision on their offer for a Tuesday entertainer.
“If this offer is not accepted, then the fair board must start the procedure all over again.”
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