Artists reveal 10 things they hate about event planners

It is an unabashedly open fact, that the events industry in India is a disorganized business.  The consequences of which sometimes have to faced by the artists who come on board with such planners as performers for their event. From changes waiting to be made at the last minute for an event planned months in advance, to the agenda of a corporate event being whispered to an emcee as he is about to start to the show and from waiting for their payments to be cleared after months of performance to haggling over who would pay the hotel bills.

There are a lot of things that artists in India do not like about the event agencies today and we at EE met with established event artists Vipin Aneja, Singer and performer, Rupali Suri, anchor, actor and model and Kubra Sait, anchor, actor and model, to ask for the same. 

1-Experience not valued- Vipin Aneja begins his opinions by establishing the fact that experience today is not valued most of the times by event planners. He says, “Even newbie performers who have no experience are sometimes paid and put in the same category as established performers who have a considerable amount of experience. Not only is this practice unfair and unjustified but at the same time this brings down the level of the event for everyone.”

2-Tax Issues- Vipin further says, “There have also been times when I have been paid my fees after the deduction of TDS but the certificate of TDS deduction has never been given to me. This I feel is a wrong practice and needs to be changed.”

3-Equipment issues- "Just like guns and ammunitions are the weapons of a soldier, light and sound are the weapons of a good performer, however most event agencies today start of by negotiating over every simple thing. They get cheap equipments for your performance at times to save money and when the performances are not up to the mark the onus of that falls on us”-completes Vipin,

4-No budget hoax- Kubra Sait begins her list by saying that 'hate' is a very strong word to use and she does not hate anything about even planners or organizers. However she feels. there are a few things that event planners need to change in themselves.  

She says, “Agencies call you today and they start the conversation with fact that the event is going to be a larger than life one, with all top stars coming in however we have no budget for same. It is actually funny at times when they expect us to believe this.”

5-No hospitality- Kubra continues her stance, “Also, there are times when you are booked for an event months in advance however when you reach at the venue on the day you will be told that there is no room available at the hotel.”

“As a result we sometimes have to stay at a different location which is so far from the event venue. Also some event organizers disappear immediately after the event has been executed and we sometimes have to sit and wait for our hotel bills to be cleared. I just hope the event organizing industry gets a little more organized in that sense.”

6-Call Timings- Nothing ever starts in India on time, however the call timings for invitees are much in advance. Speaking about the same phenomenon, Kubra says, “We as emcees are sometimes called 4 hours before the show has been started. Many a times even the stage has not been constructed but we are called way in advance and we have to sit and wait for things to get into place which hinders our performance.”

7-The script issues- Rupali Suri says, “As artists there are a lot of issues we face as far as the script of the emcee is concerned. In spite of asking for it much in advance there are times it is only on the last minute where you are handed over that precious piece of paper. There are also times when you literally have to beg them for it.”

8-Payments- “Getting your payments out of some event planners is a bigger challenge than anchoring an event with no script at times. I am not talking about all event planners but yes there are a few who haggle over the budgets from the get go and even after we have settled down for a low fees we are at times not even paid that after the event”-says Rupali.

9-Unreasonable requests- Pointing out the unreasonable requests made by event planners at times, Rupali says,“There are times when event planners ask you to wear a certain type of dress for an event which at times costs more than what you are paid for the event itself. And when you ask them to pay for the same they expect it to be a part of our fees, This kind of experience is certainly the worst for any performer and agencies should restrain from following such practices.”

10-No to greenroom- "There are also times when some event planners do not understand the importance of greenrooms for artists. There is a certain kind of mental preparation that needs to be done before an event and a greenroom helps you to do that. However, most event organizers feel that it is a waste of space and hence no such services are provided. I hope this culture changes soon”-says Rupali Suri as she completes her stance on things she does not like in event planners.