UNDOUBTEDLY, artistes play a very vital role in ensuring the success or otherwise of a concert for which reason event organizers will have to be extremely cautious with their choice of them.
However , image is very key when these artistes are being selected because not every artiste may be suitable for a particular event.
Graphic Showbiz sampled the views of some event organizers who delved into all the factors they consider before choosing artistes for their events.
Robert Klah of Charterhouse gave his views, “Every event is quite different but one of the key things you always want to look at is your target. Every programme has the kind of people they want to reach so that should inform your choice of artistes.
“Hit songs and image also play a role because people want to come and jam to your songs and when you have young people they want to come and jam to the hit songs so that also comes to play. Image also plays a big role depending the kind of show you have and your audience.
“Sometimes, you have a theme that you want to work with, you want an all-female artistes because you have a feminine theme or you have young people so the artistes should be people the young ones want to resonate with.
“Your cost will also determine who you can or cannot afford. If you are doing a show that a client is paying for, they will determine who you should field because obviously they are paying”, he added.
Nabil Alhassan of Event Factory also shared his views, “First it depends on the type of show, if I am doing a Highlife show, I cannot put a rapper on it, same way if I am doing a Hiplife show I cannot put a Gospel act on it.
“Then you look at putting an artiste who is relevant in terms of their radio play and social media presence. You then look at cost, your budget and if you can afford the artiste. Having done all that, you then look at the artiste’s stagecraft if it will suit your target audience.
‘’I can go for artistes such as VIP although they haven’t released a new song in a long while but their old songs are still relevant and people will jam to them same as Amakye Dede.
“Image is key because sometimes you are doing a corporate event and you cannot bring someone who will come and expose herself or sometimes you are doing a Presidential or Political event and cannot bring someone who is notorious or smokes weed”, he concluded.
This is what George Quaye of Image Bureau had to say, “If it is a client’s event, the clients usually decide who they want. If it is our own event, well, a number of factors come to play. If it is a ticketed event, then the currency of the artiste is important.
“Is it an artiste the target group are willing to pay to watch? Once this part is cleared, the next line to check is availability of the artiste, willingness to be on the show and finally cost. Can I afford the artiste?
“There is also the aspect of sponsorship, sometimes the headline sponsor, based on what they want to achieve by associating with the event may insist on a particular artiste. Some may even go to the extent of paying extra just so you can get the artiste on the show. Sometimes, as part of the deal, the artiste has to endorse their product while on stage.
“Sometimes, you can also choose artistes to create a particular kind of effect based on the kind of event being produced. An “old school’’ act to create a nostalgic effect is a typical example. You can also opt for a romantic/love kind of act if maybe it’s a Valentine Day show, a wedding reception, etc.”, he stated.
On his part, Artiste Manager and Event Organiser Nana Poku Ashes stated, “The number of songs the person has is the first thing, then his fanbase, then you consider his stage presence, is he is able to command the stage and people loving him for who he is etc.
“You also look at how many hours he can be on stage and then ask yourself, will people pay to come and see this guy? Then you look at the cost, can you afford the artiste? Some artistes come with a whole entourage. You book a Shatta Wale and he comes with about 20 people, can you afford rooms for all of them? he questioned.
For Ashes, image doesn’t matter at all, “For me, image doesn’t matter at all, the important thing for me is for the person to be a crowd puller who will be able to get me the numbers”, he stated.
