Breaking: Two agents and artists move to AskonasHolt
NewsAskonas Holt has signed two disaffected agents with their artists in a move that is curdling the breakfast coffee around the music business.
Nicholas Moloney joined earlier this week from Intermusica. His artists have included Alice Coote, Amanda Majeski, Joélle Harvey, Adam Plachetka and Leo Hussain. So far, he has been joined at AH by the Polish tenor Piotr Buszewski.
This morning, AH recruited Solal del Castillo from IMG Artists where his list included Jakub Józef Orliński, Fleur Barron, Théo Imart, Sandra Hamaoui, Jasmine White and Izabela Matula. Orlinski (pictured) is expected to join AH in the coming days.
Intermusica have hit back by signing the Italian bass Ildebrando D’Arcangelo and the US soprano Olivia Boen from AH.
Also lkeaving AH is the soprano Eleanor Dennis, who has joined James Black Management.
It’s poaching time out there.
See earlier: Nadine Sierra jumps
I’m not sure how well it reflects at all well on an agent, or an agency, if they poach artists.
The sign of a good agent is one who can build an artist from the ground up.
If you’re having to poach artists, then you’re only proving that this is beyond your abilities.
If an agent leaves an agency, it’s highly likely that their roster will want to join them. Most artists do not make their choice based on the agency itself, but rather on the agent they will work with. There’s no poaching. And if an artist is unhappy with their current agent, they will reach out to other agents on their to “see what else is out there”. Again, there’s no “poaching” here. Artists are also free to do as they see fit, and most often, it is artists making these decisions on their own accord.
Ahhhh… But it is possible to poach the agent of artists that another company covets. Just offer them more money and a flashier job title. Which essentially amounts to the same thing….
Exactly…
These are businesses run by people who need to make a living. There’s more than one way to be a good agent.
Who cares. An artist should be able to be represented by the manager of their choice. I don’t know why Norman feels this is worthy of an article
This has happened for decades, a form of musical chess. In the end, the artists must have solid relationships and trust in placing their career guidance in the hands of others. And vice versa. Above all, the relationships artists build with their colleagues will inevitably determine their road of success. Having faithful representation to help put puzzle pieces together can help, no doubt.
Majeski and Harvey don’t seem to be listed on Intermusica anymore so I’m guessing they’ve gone over too. They could only have had local representation though as their general management is with Alex Fletcher in New York, so I’m guessing that’s not a great loss, whereas that is a hefty name heading over from IMG.
Totally agree with elements of previous comments, no artist can be forced to change agency (unless dropped), but some will go with a moving manager, especially if they have a longstanding relationships.
I can’t speak to the reasons for these individual managers to jump ship, del Castillo I know of, Moloney I don’t, but I think it’s unfair and inaccurate to say that all it takes is a flashier job title and more money. In my 30+ years in the industry, I found that agents want to be in a place where they like the atmosphere and feel like they can grow and develop. Agencies can either feel like stepping stones or forever homes, and sometimes a place just doesn’t feel right and you want to try somewhere else.
Similarly I don’t think it’s healthy that this site augments the significance of every single move or every new signing. The agencies are competitive, they have to be, but this isn’t a mafia war spilling out into the streets, it’s just the normal course of business.
Also “flashier titles” seems to ignore the fact that they are both moving to new agencies but keeping the same job title from before. So lateral moves for both of them.
Do tell us about del Castillo.
Music business in a nutshell: lack of character, politics, political trends, and the typical one hand washes the other (though one remains dirty). One more page in the “agent playbook”.