Over the years, a variety of artists and performers have made their way through the Iowa State campus. Actors, comedians, magicians and musicians have all dropped by to do their thing, prompting students to wonder exactly how these great acts end up on stage in Ames.

Most, if not all of the entertainment that makes an appearance at the university, is thanks to the work of the Student Union Board (SUB). The process of booking an artist begins with deciding who to book and goes through a few more steps before ending with a successful performance. SUB adviser Jim Brockpahler is behind the process from contact to performance.

The first step takes place weeks, sometimes months in advance to give possible attendees ample information and for SUB to plan their entertainment calendar for the semester. SUB starts with figuring out which performers students would like to see. This is done with the help of a fair amount of research and discussion by the organization’s members.

Research comes in the form of keeping a close eye on trends in the entertainment industry and in pop culture in general. SUB takes into account who might be popular at the time or what kinds of performances the Iowa State community wants to see.

To get a feel of the students’ opinions or possible choices, surveys could be put out and the opinions of SUB’s general members are taken into account as they represent a percentage of the overall student population.

“SUB’s executive board is really discussing things internally but they’re also bringing things to the larger general meetings and getting the opinions of those students,” Brockpahler said. “They reach out and talk to numerous students that come to the Student Activities Center and to other areas of our office. We also look at tour histories and talk to other schools to see what works well and what doesn’t. We see how artists’ past shows have gone and see how well they sell and how well they sell in certain markets. All of that is factored into who we book.”

After making choices about what kinds of acts SUB could book, the next step is to contact the artists. In the case of larger names, their managers or agents are contacted. Agents could directly be under an artist’s recording company but are most likely part of an individual booking or talent agency. SUB has many relationships with large and small agencies, regionally and nationally.

When getting in contact with these agencies, SUB will look at dates set for events such as ISUAfterDark or Maintenance Shop shows, and decide on a preference of genres or types of performances. In turn, agencies typically send back a list of acts that are either available or that fit the bill and SUB makes their final choices before finally booking an artist.

“These lists sent back to them can vary in length as there are only so many artists available at certain times,” Brockpahler said. 

“Booking entertainment is booking entertainment,” Brockpahler said. “It’s looking at what days are available and what artists are available, what you have versus what their fees are, then putting it all together. It’s a puzzle and that’s how this process works.”

With smaller and more local artists, it is a bit easier to get in contact with the artist directly or through local companies. For instance, Brockpahler mentioned a few ways they have dealt with booking artists in the area.

“Most people have an agent or a manager, but comedy shows are a prime example,” Brockpahler said. “So, if we want to bring in professional comedians for the M-Shop, the performing arts directors of SUB, along with myself and the graduate student adviser reach out to folks we know to see who’s available and make our connections from there.”

SUB worked with local groups to book artists for Ames Winter Classic VIII. SUB reached out to Nate Logsdon, organizer of the Maximum Ames Music Festival, and Brian Dudley, owner of Nova Labs, a local record company. This year’s performers Lizzy Poppyseed, SLICE the Celestial Sorcerer and Bleujack are all under the Nova Labs label. 

Entertainers that perform are paid for their work and gain a certain amount of exposure for being here. Their pay comes out of SUB’s budget, which is comprised of money from the Memorial Union and allocations from Student Government.

SUB budgets around how to pay artists after looking at the money they have from allocations and revenue from ticketed shows. Overall allocations are broken down internally, dividing money between booking comedians and booking concerts. If SUB doesn’t spend as much money on artists that year the money could go towards another program.

Brockpahler also discussed what happens in cases of cancelations and how they deal with it.

“There have been acts that have canceled before and its always a bummer when that happens, but we understand it,” Brockpahler said. “Some of these people are working on larger careers so sometimes, we really can’t fault them. We roll with these situations and the agencies we work with help us out to fill that date with someone else. These kinds of things happen, but it’s to be expected in the entertainment industry.”