Spring Break
The Daily OrangeEarly release
By securing money early in the semester, University Union hopes to make bids for a big-name star for Block Party
By Bill West
Posted: 12/6/07, 1:39 AM EST Section: Feature
Ask and ye shall receive.
This mantra held true when Sterling Proffer and Kelly Bertog asked Student Association Comptroller Michael Rizzolo for Block Party funding months ahead of the budgeting schedule. Proffer and Bertog, University Union's co-directors of UU Concerts, acquired $170,000 from the spring budget on Oct. 8.
And when SA expected the duo to get the ball rolling on Block Party sooner than ever before, they delivered - for the most part.
On Wednesday, The Daily Orange reported that UU Concerts planned to extend at least one offer to an artist to play at Block Party. However, Proffer and Bertog could not be reached for comment on Wednesday evening, so it could not be confirmed whether UU actually made an offer. Jillian Adel, art director of UU Concerts, declined to comment on the issue.
If an offer was made, this official gesture initiates the negotiation process between UU and the artists' agents that may lead to contract agreements. Proffer said negotiations can take a few hours or a few months before contracts are signed.
In the past few years, artist offers were typically initiated in February.
Making offers in the fall allows artists to include the Syracuse stop in their tour. This in turn means UU pays a more reasonable artist fee, rather than the premium that is expected when negotiations take place months after the tour is scheduled.
Proffer and Bertog spent the past two months investigating artist availability and more than three months of research on student music interests. The duo, with the help of UU Concerts general membership, compiled a list of approximately 50 artists that students would like for the April concert at the beginning of the semester. Once SA's Finance Board passed the bill granting UU Concerts $170,000 in early October, Proffer and Bertog started talking with upward of 15 booking agencies about possible acts for the event.
"It's kind of like Johnny Appleseed," Proffer said. "You plant a lot of seeds and see what blossoms."
This mantra held true when Sterling Proffer and Kelly Bertog asked Student Association Comptroller Michael Rizzolo for Block Party funding months ahead of the budgeting schedule. Proffer and Bertog, University Union's co-directors of UU Concerts, acquired $170,000 from the spring budget on Oct. 8.
And when SA expected the duo to get the ball rolling on Block Party sooner than ever before, they delivered - for the most part.
On Wednesday, The Daily Orange reported that UU Concerts planned to extend at least one offer to an artist to play at Block Party. However, Proffer and Bertog could not be reached for comment on Wednesday evening, so it could not be confirmed whether UU actually made an offer. Jillian Adel, art director of UU Concerts, declined to comment on the issue.
If an offer was made, this official gesture initiates the negotiation process between UU and the artists' agents that may lead to contract agreements. Proffer said negotiations can take a few hours or a few months before contracts are signed.
In the past few years, artist offers were typically initiated in February.
Making offers in the fall allows artists to include the Syracuse stop in their tour. This in turn means UU pays a more reasonable artist fee, rather than the premium that is expected when negotiations take place months after the tour is scheduled.
Proffer and Bertog spent the past two months investigating artist availability and more than three months of research on student music interests. The duo, with the help of UU Concerts general membership, compiled a list of approximately 50 artists that students would like for the April concert at the beginning of the semester. Once SA's Finance Board passed the bill granting UU Concerts $170,000 in early October, Proffer and Bertog started talking with upward of 15 booking agencies about possible acts for the event.
"It's kind of like Johnny Appleseed," Proffer said. "You plant a lot of seeds and see what blossoms."
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