Commanding Higher Fees

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In the January 2020 issue of Magicseen I have written a piece on how to go about deciding on the right fees for your shows.

It’s a common worry, especially for those new to paid work, about where to pitch their fees. They don’t want to charge too much, but by the same token nor do they probably want to ask for too little, and finding the right balance and assessing one’s personal value as a performer is a challenging task.

In David Regal’s excellent book Interpreting Magic, there is a quote from Derren Brown on this subject. Derren was reflecting on how as a jobbing close up performer in Bristol, he was commanding £300 fees. Yet the moment that he was seen on TV, his agent hiked his charges up to £3000 per show—overnight! Continue reading “Commanding Higher Fees”

Magic Is Riding On The Crest Of A Wave

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I wonder whether we are going to look back on the current period and see it as a halcyon time for magic? I say this because it seems as if there are many public magic shows being staged both at local and national level, and TV seems to be featuring an endless number of magicians too, more than I can ever remember, all of which reflects a current popularity for our art amongst the general public.

Those of you who are old enough to think back to the TV magic offerings in the 60’s, 70’s, 80’s and 90’s will probably be hard pushed to name very many performers getting air time. In the UK, David Nixen, Paul Daniels, Wayne Dobson and Tommy Cooper were really the only stars to get regular exposure, and live magic shows in theatres in Great Britain were almost non-existent. Continue reading “Magic Is Riding On The Crest Of A Wave”

Building Your Credibility With Bookers

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One aspect of performing that can be, in my opinion, very instrumental to success, is your credibility with the audience.

Famous TV magicians can sell out large venues because they have already been  seen many times on the box and have established in advance with the viewers that they are good at what they do. Their credibility and standing is therefore not in question and the audience are simply hoping that the performer will live up to the reputation that has been created by these television appearances.

Continue reading “Building Your Credibility With Bookers”

So Many Ways To Get Magical Stimulus

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Where do you get your magical stimulus from these days? Is it from tricks you’ve purchased, books (printed ones or E-Books) that you’ve read, stuff you’ve found on YouTube or come across on TV, or is it from going to your local magic club or attending magic conventions?

I suspect that whatever the answer is, if you have been involved in magic for a fairly long time (at least 10 years or more), then the way you seek out things to pique your magical interest may well have changed.

Continue reading “So Many Ways To Get Magical Stimulus”

Passive Or Active – What Sort Of Magician Are You?

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Are you a passive or an active consumer of magic? In other words, does your magic interest simply extend to reading magic mags and watching magic online, or do you actively seek to get out and perform?

Personally, I have always been a performer, right from when I was a child. Assimilating magic knowledge was not an end in itself for me, but a means to enable me to put together an act and then perform it somewhere.

I’ve always felt that there is not much point in finding out the inner secrets of magic, of attending magic lectures, of reading books on the art, and of turning up at the local magic club, if you are not then at some point going to use the knowledge that you have gained from immersing yourself in the art in this way for a practical end. Continue reading “Passive Or Active – What Sort Of Magician Are You?”