Talent Buyer/Promoter

Direct Reporting To: Director of Operations, Drake Hotel

Dotted Line Reporting To: Assistant General Manager, Drake Hotel

Direct Reports: Programming Admin Assistant

This is a full time position.

Who We Are:

Hailed as one of the best performance art venues in Toronto, the Drake has a reputation for hosting legendary shows and parties, and presenting emerging, local and international DJs and musicians of every genre. We are dedicated to growing our platform to celebrate and amplify the voices of artists and performers while encouraging dialogue, learning and inclusivity. We will continuously revisit and learn what it means to be a safe space for programming, one that includes representation from women, the LGBTQ2+ community, and people of colour.

Who You Are:

You are a bona-fide talent seeker for live music, dance parties, late-night DJ’s and indie art events with a proven pedigree in meeting expected results. You will have worked with major promoters, concert production companies and/or record labels, fostering relationships with an array of Agents, Bookers + Talent Managers and have experience creating sponsorship programs with large music labels. You may have an A+R background and have spent the requisite time honing your chops listening to, and researching, new music while being on the hunt for upcoming talent—especially emerging artists. You are very familiar with the top promoters in the city, and country, and will look to build partnerships with these art + culture thought leaders for successful late-night activations. You understand the comp set in any given genre of performance space and regularly scout nightlife around town with your finger on the pulse of the music scene. You get social media and the importance it plays in building brand + audience and recognize the significance of the Drake Underground venue as a go-to, highly sought after music venue for emerging talent in the city.

Responsibilities:

• Oversee the set up and execution of all live entertainment bookings in the entire building, act as a liaison between external booking agents + Drake Hotel, as well as act as the in-house Booking Agent responsible for booking talent.
• Achieve budgeted venue revenue targets and manage expenses including staffing, tech fees, talent bookings + payments and negotiating 3rd party agreements.
• Ensure that all agreements and signed contracts with Drake Hotel hired talent are adhered to and executed as stipulated in said contract including the arrangement for any payment for services rendered.
• Work with our in-house AV department to schedule Sound Tech(s) that are required for the set up and execution of the live show.
• Work with the DH Scheduling Manager to ensure that the venue is properly staffed for every event. This includes all F&B Staff that are required, Bartenders, Bar Support, Servers (If required), Door Staff, Coat Check and Security.
• Attend stakeholder (GM, Programming, Operations) meetings to support a consistent level of communication between departments.
• Work with the Marketing, Culture, Events, and Operations teams to execute the various Programming initiatives throughout the Drake.
• Effectively communicate internally all Drake Hotel venue programming and work with the Drake Hotel Marketing team to ensure we have both 4 wall (internal) promotions and external Marketing plans and initiatives for all scheduled and booked events.
• Maintain and utilize external promotional events listings to ensure successful promotion of shows and internal Drake channels (Social Media including Instagram and TikTok, email marketing), while continuing to find new, creative alternative promotional avenues.
• Attend marquee + continuous programming events as a Drake ambassador.
• This role will work with the other members of our cultural programming and F+B Operations team to ensure the venue is run in a well organized, professional, and profitable manner. This role will also work closely with the Corporate Marketing team to ensure that programming initiatives are successful. They will be required to work in tandem with the Cultural Programming Coordinator and the Special Events team to ensure that Drake programming + special event mandates are equitably managed.

What We Offer:

We pride ourselves in providing strong leadership and development opportunities for passionate art + culture and hospitality professionals who are looking to build rewarding, long-term careers. Drake offers a competitive compensation and benefits package, employee discounts, training + development support and many other unique perks as a part of joining the Drake team.

The Drake Hotel is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed and actively working towards fostering a positive, supportive, and creative environment at Drake Hotel Properties that promotes equity, inclusiveness and diversity. We welcome job applications from candidates of all backgrounds including, but not limited to, Indigenous, Black, and racialized persons; refugee, newcomer and immigrant persons; two-spirit, LGBTQ+ and gender non-binary persons, and persons with disabilities. Please advise us of any accommodations needed to ensure you can access and complete the submissions process.