What exactly does an agent do?

[Mathman]

GSRossano posted on another thread that Caroline Zhang signed with Shep Goldberg, who was "actively working the media" at Skate America.

Goldberg of course is also represents Michelle Kwan and was formerly the agent for gymnast Mary Lou Retton. He is somewhat unusual (or is this common?) in that he is pretty much a one-man show, as opposed to a big agency like IMG.

So, what does "working the media" mean. Does he call up Phil Hirsh and say, hey, pal, how about writing a feature article on my new girl? Does he try to drum up endorsement opportunities? Does he arrange for her to show up at celebrity charity fund raisers to gain public exposure?

If Caroline can win some medals along the way, put that together with her precocious charm and photogenic smile (she breaks the cute-o-meter), could Caroline be the next million dollar baby?

 

[redhotcoach]

So much for 'amateur' skating..........At least we expect agents in sports such as NHL hockey, basketball, baseball, football......and of course, Hollywood!!!! (and broadway).

Working the media means just that...... Press releases (that often end up in the round file), calls to assignment editors and station managers, faxes, emails etc ...to promote your client. Talking up your client, creating a 'buzz' whenever the opportunity presents itself. Get that face and smile out there!!!

An agent gets a cut of the business they drum up for a client - so Caroline is now paying someone to push her image off the ice for as much money as the agent can get...

It's sad, actually, the way the sport of figure skating has gone. Forget dreaming of success unless you have tremendous wealth or sponsorship, plus the ideal little boy body, and agents, publicists, etc. working for 'amateurs'.

So much for True Sport.....

 

[julietvalcouer]

There are no sports that have true amateurs any more. USA Dance has revised its rules to allow its dancers to earn money (before they had one like the USFSA's old one where if you earned money from dancing, you could lose eligibility.) Because they have to make a living. Competiting at the top level of any sport is going to cost big, big money. Even the one's you'll never or rarely see on TV (equestrian is not cheap, for example.) Disney feel-good movies aside, the backyard success who rises out of nowhere to win the big competition has pretty much always been a myth.

If you want people who can truely excell at a sport, who have time to devote to nothing but practice and perfecting the big tricks that are now needed to win, they have to have a major source of income. If they can get it through endorsements, more power to them.

 

[attyfan]

Also, even during the era of so-called "amateurism", everyone else could make money -- the ISU, the IOC, the federations, etc. The skaters themselves took all the risk -- of injury, or, of losing the benefits of "normality" (education, etc.) on a gamble of making it big. That isn't "pure sport", IMO, it is exploitation!

After all, in other sports (notably football), there are scandals at the college level because promising players take money before they sign with the NFL -- the colleges get money, the TV networks get money, everyone gets money except the players who might get hurt -- and they (at least) get a college education.

The skaters don't even get a college education. They take the risks, they should get the money -- and they should do what is necessary to maximize their earnings!

 

[Mathman]

I wonder how many of the top skaters ever get to the point where they break even on their (I should say, on their parents') financial investment.

Tim Goebel won an Olympic medal, two worlds medals, and three U.S. championships. He participated in several cheesefests and he skated with COI. Did he ever make enough money to offset the cost of ice time, coaching, choreography, costumes, travel, etc., etc., etc.?

Yu-na Kim is the Soul of Seoul. Her financial future is secure and if she wins a couple of World championships and an Olympic gold medal her celebrity in Korea will go through the roof.

But the second best skater in Korea will probably never make enough money to pay back her/his parents' investment.

Not that parents typically ask their children to pay them back for skating lessons (piano lessons, ballet lessons, soccer lessons, ...). But if a family has only, say, $100,000 in the spare change drawer, they have to decide between two years of preparing their kid for skating on the junior grand prix, or putting it aside to pay for two years of college tuition.

 

[attyfan]

I wonder how many of the top skaters ever get to the point where they break even on their (I should say, on their parents') financial investment.

Tim Goebel won an Olympic medal, two worlds medals, and three U.S. championships. He participated in several cheesefests and he skated with COI. Did he ever make enough money to offset the cost of ice time, coaching, choreography, costumes, travel, etc., etc., etc.?

Yu-na Kim is the Soul of Seoul. Her financial future is secure and if she wins a couple of World championships and an Olympic gold medal her celebrity in Korea will go through the roof.

But the second best skater in Korea will probably never make enough money to pay back her/his parents' investment.

Not that parents typically ask their children to pay them back for skating lessons (piano lessons, ballet lessons, soccer lessons, ...). But if a family has only, say, $100,000 in the spare change drawer, they have to decide between two years of preparing their kid for skating on the junior grand prix, or putting it aside to pay for two years of college tuition.

A lot of it depends upon the country. For example, there are many countries that give large financial bonuses, scholarships, etc. to any athlete who can win an Olympic medal of any color -- as opposed to the US, where an athlete who does well in certain "non-glamour" sports don't get endorsements or anything -- and don't get government benefits, either.

Furthermore, I would think that a lot depends on the specifics regarding the skater. For example, no matter what Tim Goebel paid Frank, Frank probably got a good deal of additional money from other, additional students who came to him to be "transformed" the way Frank did for Tim. I know, for example, that some of the Russian coaches take promising kids without money on a "contingency fee" basis (i.e., the coach gets a big chunk of any prize or tour money if the kid is a sucess, but nothing if the kid fails) Don't know about what the Americans do.

 

[John King]

Riddle:

What's the difference between a rooster and an agent?

Well, a rooster clucks defience........

 

[crazydreamer]

It sounds more like a publicist than an agent to me, and almost everyone important in any career has one. Publicists are responsible for getting their clients names out to the public and managing the relationship between the client and the media. They arrange interviews, make press releases, prepare their clients for interview, etc. Some of them also pay for publicity. For instance, most of the time you seen an article on someone published in any magazine, it is because a publicist has paid for the spot. Those Hottest People of 2007 lists...yeah, they're all paid for by publicists as promotion for the artists' upcoming activities.

Anyway, this is certainly not unheard of in sports. I'm positive Kwan had one. With all the hype within in the industry about Caroline I wouldn't be surprised to hear she has a publicist. I don't think a lot of people understand how complicated relationships with the media can become.

Agents are a little different in that they usually arrange for auditions and in general help people get jobs (at least in showbusiness). They deal with the relationship between their clients and their clients' employers rather than between their clients and the media. Managers are similar except they are more interested in long term goals and building careers. Also, the manager-client relationship is more one-on-one, whereas agents typically have dozens or even hundreds of clients.

I wouldn't be too put off by the existence of this "business" in skating. Given the state of skating today - the decline in popularity - this is probably a very good thing. Certainly Kwan would never have become such a big name without publicists and the like working for her. And without such stars keeping the public interest, who knows where figure skating would be today?

 

[Pixie Cut]

Tim Goebel won an Olympic medal, two worlds medals, and three U.S. championships. He participated in several cheesefests and he skated with COI. Did he ever make enough money to offset the cost of ice time, coaching, choreography, costumes, travel, etc., etc., etc.?

I don't know what three U.S. Championships you're referring to, unless you mean the novice, junior and one senior title. Timothy Goebel never made money on endorsements, except for maybe a few dollars on his boot and blade deals, but he made a significant amount of money on COI. Remember, he skated the post-Olympic COI tour in 2002, which was like 90 cities. He also did very well in terms of prize money, as the Grand Prix used to have very good payouts due to some sweetheart TV deals. He also had a fat contract with USFSA for those made-for-TV events. So he paid for ice time, coaching, choreography, costumes, travel and everything else related to training and competing and had plenty of money left over. Not Michelle Kwan money, but decent athlete earnings.

 

[Lucy25]

Not surprising that Caroline signed with Shep, since Michelle seems to be mentoring Caroline. What is a bit surprising to me is that she signed so soon. She is so young! Maybe Shep wanted her signed right now in case she becomes a star. If he can do for Caroline what he has been able to do for Michelle, it was a good choice.

 

[Mathman]

Well, Caroline takes her training at Michelle's rink. Caroline's coach is on the permanent staff there, and Michelle's sister is one of Caroline's choreographers. Maybe the first generation Chinese-American thing is a bond, too. I bet Caroline's folks have an account at the East-West Bank, LOL.

I'm not surprised that Mr. Goldberg is right on top of it. (I wonder if Condoleeza Rice knows about Caroline yet. ).

 

[Tinymavy15]

It seems really early in caroline's career for an agent, usually that happens after the skater wins worlds, or is a olympic favorite, and they get endorsment deals and stuff. but it seems like carloine's coach and parents reallly want to shield her from the frenzy and let her focus. An agent would probably make the nessicary staments to the press, etc so caroline would not have to deal with them.

 

[Nigel]

GSRossano posted on another thread that Caroline Zhang signed with Shep Goldberg, who was "actively working the media" at Skate America.

Goldberg of course is also represents Michelle Kwan and was formerly the agent for gymnast Mary Lou Retton. He is somewhat unusual (or is this common?) in that he is pretty much a one-man show, as opposed to a big agency like IMG.

So, what does "working the media" mean. Does he call up Phil Hirsh and say, hey, pal, how about writing a feature article on my new girl? Does he try to drum up endorsement opportunities? Does he arrange for her to show up at celebrity charity fund raisers to gain public exposure?

If Caroline can win some medals along the way, put that together with her precocious charm and photogenic smile (she breaks the cute-o-meter), could Caroline be the next million dollar baby?

Not sure that IMG is or will be handling skaters much in the future though. Look for more independent agents to handle skaters with the decline in interest in the US. On another note, while in Tokyo on a work related trip, saw TV ads for travel in Korea....guess who was in the ad? Yu Na Kim no less.

 

[heyang]

It seems really early in caroline's career for an agent, usually that happens after the skater wins worlds, or is a olympic favorite, and they get endorsment deals and stuff. but it seems like carloine's coach and parents reallly want to shield her from the frenzy and let her focus. An agent would probably make the nessicary staments to the press, etc so caroline would not have to deal with them.

I believe that Tara Lipinski had an agent before she won any titles on the senior circuit, as well.

It's not really that surprising. High school and college athletes have agents now soley based on potential. They can get big fat contracts without even playing with the big boys and proving that they can handle the more competitive playing field and it's off field distractions.

 

[Pixie Cut]

High school and college athletes have agents now soley based on potential. They can get big fat contracts without even playing with the big boys and proving that they can handle the more competitive playing field and it's off field distractions.

High school and college athletes not looking to compete in NCAA intercollegiate sports perhaps, but NCAA rules are very strict about prohibiting any professional involvements.

As for Goldberg, I'm not surprised he's hitched his wagon to a new horse, as Kwan seems to have clearly declared her independence.

 

[decker]

It sounds more like a publicist than an agent to me, and almost everyone important in any career has one. ...

Agents are a little different in that they usually arrange for auditions and in general help people get jobs (at least in showbusiness).

Agreed that this person sounds more like a publicist, but there is a separate category of sports agents (as distinct from movies, music, etc.). Their primary purpose is to negotiate payment contracts, but they do perform publicity functions. High name recognition and loyal fans are good things to have at renewal time. They also sometimes manage assets for the player. These comprehensive services usually are provided by large agencies rather than individuals.

I just doubt that Caroline's person is truly acting as an agent, even if that's his normal job description, because figure skating doesn't work the way the pro team sports do.

Susan