REVIEW: “SPECIAL GUEST” APP AND UNMANAGED TALENT IS A REWARDING SYMBIOTIC RELATIONSHIP.

I can hear you right now muttering, “What is Special Guest again? There’s an app for everything!” as you roll your eyes in exasperation. Yes, folks. There is an app for everything and let’s not pretend that they don’t make our lives on the go easier especially in this age of fast-paced lifestyle, instant tech and the gig economy.

So…what is Special Guest Again?

Ah…of course.  We’re getting to that but first, a brief background of its origins.

Special Guest was born from the brilliant minds of both Kristopher Jones and Damon Wayans, Jr. Kris Jones is a serial tech entrepreneur and investor while Damon Wayans is an established Hollywood actor and together they created the Special Guest app to bridge the yawning gap between unmanaged talent and paying consumers that want them.

Kris’s tech background and Damon’s Hollywood experience helped inform the Special Guest app which they pitched on Apple’s first original TV program, “Planet of the Apps”, and raised $1.5m. Astounding!

We all know creative friends and relatives that struggle big time to book gigs and are stuck playing sparse events or are obliged to perform for free for the “exposure” *inset rolls eyes emoji here*.  You’ve heard all their horror stories about rip-offs and what-not and maybe have loaned them some coin to get back on their feet.

Such people above do not have the luxury of professional managers and booking agents as these cost money so they are at a disadvantage. While there is definitely a place for the professionals in the game, there should be space for smaller, unknown and unmanaged creative talent to gain access to consumers who also require talent at affordable price points.

Now, imagine if there was an app where they could put up a profile, set a fee and get booked directly by venues and consumers…and there is! Introducing Special Guest app.

I am reviewing the app for LSEO from my NYC base and I am interested in seeing creative talent available for hire here.

So How Does It Work?

1. First, search for and download Special Guest from the App store.

2. To create an account as a talent, click on “list my talent profile” at the bottom of the screen. It will take you to another Special Guest screen where you can either create an account from scratch or sign up with Facebook.

I do not have to tell you that you need a visible FB page for your talent separate from your personal one. Once you have created an account as talent, get to work.

3. For those who want to browse talents for hire, you do not have to register just yet. Choose from the talent type at the top of the home page and you can tick and untick different categories.

4. When ready to book, click on “Book” at the bottom of the specific talent, enter in a venue address and sign in with whatever login access you initially opened your account with (see below).

5. Alternatively, you can click on the specific artist to read their talent info, then click on “Request to Book” below.

 

Special Guest app is intuitive and simple to use but there are just a few quirks I have noticed:

• On the specific talent info page, there is no arrow button to go back to home page. You would have to click on the mini arrow right above the heart icon above the talent’s name.

 

• There is a discrepancy with different fees on pages of the talent profile. See Brent Kessler profile below.

 

• The booking page shows talent fees double that shown on the home and talent info pages and it is this way for a couple of the acts I clicked on. I feel that it will put people off booking if they are unsure as to what the actual cost is. If there is a reason for this discrepancy, it should be mentioned on the booking page or thereabouts.

 

• Also, there is a typo in the word “suggested” on the booking page (1st screenshot) and it is present on similar pages of talents.

How Much Does It Cost to Join?

$0. Special Guest app costs $0 to download or join for unmanaged talent but it does get its fees from the venue.

 

I Don’t Have An iPhone to download Special Guest app. Am I being Excluded?

Of course not! It’s only natural that the app be available on the App store seeing that it debuted on Apple’s original TV show but there is a desktop version. I don’t know if there are plans for an Android version.

 

Oh Yeah? How Different Is the Desktop Version?

A whole lot different from the app version in terms of sub-categories of various talents.

For example, the app allows the choice of different talents like Artists, Comedian, DJ etc. but the desktop version breaks down an act like say, Comedian, into clean comedian, Christian comedian, comedian juggler and other sub-categories.

Access the desktop version at https://specialguestapp.com/

Also, the acts under “Artists” differ in both the app and on the desktop. For example, in the app, “Artists” brings up bands, ensembles, DJs, musicians, face painters and actual artists.

On the desktop version, “Artists” are broken into sub-categories, as earlier mentioned, like face painters, tattoo artists, air brushing etc. even though the results for this category (sans sub-category option) show a DJ, a pop/rock band, a tattoo artist and a game designer. See shot below.

I feel like there should be re-arrangement and consistency between both versions and the placement of the right talent type within the “Artist” category.

Besides, “Artists” is quite vague: does it mean artist like a painter, sketcher or someone that works with colours and creates static images OR is it “artistes”, which means professional entertainers like singers or dancers?

Furthermore, the desktop version contains interesting sub-set categories under each category. For example, “Cultural Entertainment” has many nationalities under it.

Coming from the diverse, melting pot that is New York City, we are a mélange of cultures and this sub-category of eighteen cultural entertainment types is something that should be incorporated into the app, if feasible.

With the rise and exposure of African music in the American mainstream, live upcoming and unmanaged talent can easily be booked via Special Guest and terms and conditions negotiated and agreed to.

I do notice that there are more talents available for booking in the Los Angeles area and in the 500-mile radius around it than there are in New York City but realize that it is probably much easier to focus resources and engage talent in L.A., the home of entertainment, than in other parts of the country. Still, I hope that the roster of talents will increase in NYC.

I’m neither a singer nor part of a band. Can I join Special Guest?

Sure! All creative talent is represented from artists to videographers. If you’re a photog or videographer, hop on the app because in this social media era, your skills are in great demand. Same goes for children’s entertainers. Remember, Special Guest enables the booking of LIVE talent so if you’re an Elsa doppelganger, sign up and fill out a profile to reach a much wider audience than you currently do.

What about contracts and all that legal stuff when I sign up/book talent?

Special Guest handles legal agreements for both parties making it easier for venues to focus on booking the right live talent.

That’s the review done and dusted. Now, let’s hear straight from CEO, Kristopher Jones, on Special Guest carving a niche in the unmanaged, live talent market. I posed five questions to him and he was gracious enough to respond.

Q: Have you experienced any pushback or negativity from professional and conventional booking agents? L.A. is a cutthroat city.

Kris: Yes, but significantly less than you would think. In truth, we aren’t trying to replace talent managers and agencies – we are focused on helping the other 95% of talent that are non-managed. Since we often work directly with venues (i.e. bars, restaurants, clubs), we tend to work with both non-managed and managed talent.

Once we set the tone that we not only support managed talent (congrats to them for earning the backing of a manager!!!!), but also work nicely with agencies, the professional folks back off a bit. I think it also helps that my partner, Damon Wayans, Jr. is managed by a professional agency (William Morris Endeavor) and that our primary calling is helping emerging, not discovered, and non-managed talent.

There are actually quite a lot of synergies between Special Guest and industry professionals – our technology makes it easier and more efficient for all types of talent to get paid gigs.

Q: Any plans to extend the app to other platforms other than iOs?

Kris: Absolutely! All of the features of our IOS app are available via web at https://specialguestapp.com/.

We find that for day to day management (by both talent and venues), Web is often most popular, while responding to booking requests, sending in-app messages, and rating / review talent and venues, mobile is more popular.

That said – we are in the process of prioritizing an Android app. For Android users, we recommend Web as our users love it! IOS owners can download the app here.

Q: Do you know if some moderately known live talents have switched from their mainstream booking agents to Special Guest?

Kris: Yes, but that isn’t necessarily our goal. Since there are absolutely no fees for talent to use Special Guest, it’s obviously a breath of fresh air and a popular alternative to a traditional talent manager, but we work with a lot of talent that do both – take gigs from their manager and also via Special Guest. Moreover, many managers list their talent on Special Guest. We are talent manager friendly so it’s win, win, win.

Q: Do you think Special Guest will disrupt the scout/ booking agent/talent trifecta, especially in L.A.?

Kris: To be honest, short term yes. Longer term I think we work together nicely. Our focus is on solving the riddle of how hard it is to get discovered and paid to gig on a regular basis. It’s brutal if you aren’t managed and 95% or so of talent performers aren’t managed – that’s why Special Guest exists – to help those people.

Q: Are there plans to expand nationwide or will the focus be on major coastal cities?

Kris: So we are LIVE in California, Nevada, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, and Pennsylvania….and we are currently hiring and launching in Arizona, Texas, Tennessee, and Atlanta (within 30-60 days). By the end of the year, I suspect we’ll be live in about 25% or so of the United States and we will fill out the rest of the Country in 2019.

Thank you, Kris, for those insightful responses that shed more light on Special Guest app and the relationship between professional managers, emerging and unmanaged LIVE talent.

Well, folks. I hope your questions have been answered regarding the Special Guest app and its rising use in the gig economy for booking unmanaged live talent.

Do not hesitate to make Special Guest app known to your creative friends and relatives that hustle for gigs. Now, they can advertise their rates to a wider audience and not have to perform for the dreaded “exposure”.

Download Special Guest from the App store or access the desktop version at https://specialguestapp.com/.

*Views expressed in this review are solely of my own opinion after interaction with both Special Guest app and desktop versions.*

Update: Featured image by Alex Knight from Unsplash.

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