Agents Teach MGMT 403

Entertainment Industry Agents

UM alums and longtime supporters of UMEM, James Yelich and Keith Miller visited the program March 13th and 14th. The two were accompanied by former Entertainment Management student and graduate Randy Seltzer, a booking agent for the William Morris Agency.

Yelich, a Montana native who began his career by helping promote concerts in Missoula and then eventually representing the hugely successful Alan Jackson and many other artists, spoke about his career in the entertainment industry. He shared his insights in several different aspects of the industry including artist/manager relations, music industry consultation as well as emphasizing the large amount of work and commitment that it takes to be relevant in the industry.

Miller started his career working as an agent for the Good Music Agency based in Missoula MT, and is currently Senior Vice President of the William Morris Agency's Northeast region at the Nashville office. Miller gave a comprehensive discussion on the life of agent, from the early beginnings all the way to head of a region. Recent graduate of UMEM and W.M.A agent Randy Seltzer followed Millers discussion with his firsthand account of his journey from leaving The University of Montana and moving to Los Angeles, getting a job in the mailroom of William Morris, becoming an assistant to being hired as a booking agent.

The instructors and the students then broke into 3 separate groups with an instructor assigned to each group. Miller, Yelich and Seltzer transitioned through each group and allowed the students to do a question and answer session to bring light to any subject that was not already addressed. Many different questions were asked varying from industry ethics to how you would approach a prospective client or even a current client, all of which the different speakers had different but unique answers for.

Later Yelich, Miller and Seltzer assisted the students in applying these principles to the student produced Spring Thaw, an annual event encompassing a Festival on the Oval, a concert, and a Casino Night.

This year's Casino Night will be held Sunday, May 3, at The Broadway Inn and Conference Center. The Festival on the Oval, followed by the Concert, will be Friday, May 8.