Facility managers will often say that it’s all about the fan. While that’s true, those at facilities connected to casinos add another mantra: It’s all about the artist relationship.
Sound Board Detroit's Bill Borenstein poses with Eminem, who held his CD release party at the venue in May of 2009. (Photo by Robert Sebree/Lime Foto)
Part of what allows casino-based venue staff to develop a deep artist relationship is the amount of time spent at the building. In other venues, artists roll in on a tour bus that they come off for sound check, the performance, and hopefully a quick meet and greet.
“In casinos it’s a whole different world,” said Bill Borenstein, VP of Theater/ Entertainment Operations at Motor City Casino Hotel in Detroit, home of Sound Board. “Artists are typically coming in the night before and they’ll stay at your hotel for an amazing experience. Because of that you get some extra time with those artists, which develops those relationships.”
Tom Cantone, Sr. VP Sports & Entertainment at Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Conn., said that the artist experience is so much different because of ease of access. “It is literally an elevator ride to everything — to the best restaurants, nightlife, spas, shopping, and, of course, the venue.”
He said that many artists and crew grew to love the venue and resort, and its people, with many that he considers in his FFL (Friends For Life) club.
“Relationships matter in this business more than anything else — more than money, more than anything you can think of,” he said.
David Julian of Mystic Lake Casino Hotel in Prior Lake, Minn., said that about a decade ago there was a stigma involved with casino venues. “Now, venues like Mohegan Sun and us, Mystic Lake, have brought in some of the biggest stars in the industry and have executed those events well, so that stigma is being eradicated,” he said. “Now you have artists that build their careers or reinvent themselves around Native American and casino properties.”
He said that in the past five years or so, casino properties have taken a leap forward in presenting artists that appeal to a younger demographic. “It’s a tremendous tool for the artists and for us,” he said. “Younger people come in and realize there’s more to us than a casino: there’s a beautiful showroom, restaurants and bars.”
Shows at casino facilities are comparable financially to the tours at stand-alone facilities. For example, Mohegan Sun Arena sold out its July 18 Justin Timberlake show at 7,090 seats for a gross of $1,124,840, selling out an additional performance Dec. 13 and promoting both in house. It was the smallest capacity venue on the tour, but still grossed comparable numbers to the big arenas. For instance, O2 World Hamburg, Germany, grossed $1.26 million with more than 12,000 seats. Jay Leno’s June 7 appearance at Sound Board grossed nearly $150,000 while performances in similarly sized facilities cleared about $125,000.
Many casino venues boast a full-time technical staff and a multimillion-dollar inventory of equipment at artists’ disposal as a selling point when it comes to bookings. Borenstein focuses on other little extras, such as having catering incorporate flavors from an artist’s hometown and even adding homey, convenient upgrades like a washer and dryer. “I’ve got every type of detergent and fabric softener that exists,” he bragged.
“Sometimes things don’t have what they call a direct ROI, so one could ask how we’re making money by having a washer and dryer in the venue. I’d come back and say that I have great artist relationships and they want to come back and play us,” he said. “It’s so they speak so highly of our venue — that’s why I have the washer and dryer.”
Because of those extras and building those close relationships, artists are willing to put in more effort and participation than at other venues. For instance, though he traditionally shies away from trade shots, Marshall Mathers (Eminem) grabbed Borenstein to snap a photo together after his CD release party.
“There’s all sorts of unique stuff that most venues don’t do or artists just don’t do for the venues,” he added, citing the ‘Accolades’ and ‘Backstage’ pages of Sound Board Detroit’s website. The PR team will go backstage and film the artist saying something specific about being at the facility in Detroit, then piece it together with live footage from the actual performance to share with fans. “People love to see an intimate moment with the artists.”
For 2015, Sound Board has begun getting artist participation for wake up calls. Later in the year, hotel guests will be able to say that they want a wake up call then be able to dictate which celebrity recording wakes them up.
“We just try to take it a step further with our artists to make sure that they’re part of our family and our community while they’re here and even after they leave,” he said.
Interviewed for this story: Bill Borenstein, (313) 309-4561; Tom Cantone, (860) 862-4412; David Julian, (952) 445-9000