Chris McKee is a Toronto-based writer, broadcaster, concert promoter, and award-winning booking agent and tour manager for major artists. During his 20 years as an agent, Chris produced tours across North America for Rihanna, Wu-Tang Clan, Busta Rhymes, The Roots, Naughty by Nature, The Black Eyed Peas, and hundreds more. His 2019 book Life On The Road With The Wu-Tang Clan follows his 12-plus years tour managing and serving as an agent for one of hip-hop's most influential groups. Currently, Chris is a broadcaster for professional and college basketball, volleyball, and soccer for CBC-TV and TSN Radio, and a traffic reporter for NewsTalk 1010, TSN 1050, Flow 93.5, and Jewel 88.5 in Toronto.
In this masterclass, Chris will share his expertise and industry insight on what it takes to be a successful music agent. Chris will dive into everything there is to know about artist management, tour management and booking, event management, and music marketing. He will share the work that goes into booking shows, how to successfully approach and pitch to promoters, the best way to negotiate contracts, and how to make sure a show or tour runs as smoothly as possible. Drawing upon his two decades of music industry work, Chris will share his first-hand experiences of being responsible for the success of shows and tours mounted by industry legends.
Attendees will gain a complete understanding of the responsibilities of the booking agent and tour manager and what it takes to be successful in these career path. Chris will provide full details on liaising with bands, labels, and management to establish dates, finances, logistics, and artist goals for tours. He will walk attendees through the process from start to finish of contacting promoters and venues, establishing show/tour dates, arranging payments and transportation, sorting out guest lists and equipment, and carrying out a successful show or tour. This session is perfect for any questions regarding these industry career paths by an expert of the trade.