Endorsement deals

Mark Metdker · From: North Central Texas, USA

How does it usually work? Let's say an amp, or guitar manufacturer wants you to be one of their endorsement artists. How does the deal work. The equipment is basically on loan to you for your use? You use it for a while and trade it out occasionally?

Thanks in advance.

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Zum U-12 w/True Tone pickup thru a Nashville 112
Strats thru a VHT Super 30
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Curt Langston · Posted 14 Apr 2006 7:22 pm

Usually the artist will "agree" to use the instrument or amp for a period of time. There is usually a few photo-ops as well.
The equipment is usually given to them. Of course the cost of the instrument will be absorbed by the average joe in the long run.

b0b · From: Cloverdale, CA, USA

Sometimes the endorsee simply buys the product at a low wholesale price. It all depends on how much the manufacturer needs the endorsee.

Kenny Davis · From: Great State of Oklahoma

Or, if you're lucky you can get one like this -

Smiley's Deal

John Billings · From: Ohio, USA

My best friend has several endorsement deals.
The string company sends him boxes of strings whenever he needs them.
The amps he paid about cost for.
The guitar company gives him guitars. All made in the custom shop, his name is the model name. They're his to keep. They use him in advertizing. They also book tours for him. It's been a very good relationship for both.

Jim Sliff · From: Lawndale California, USA

Unless you have a model with your name on it, nothing is free anymore, with rare exceptions of things like strings. Guitars and amps are usually at 10-15% below dealer cost, and shipped direct from manufacturer.

It used to be that stuff was given out, but the "free lunch" days are gone. PRS and Mesa were the last ones "feeding" bands, but I hear they both stoped a few years ago.

Small manufacturers rarely even do huge discount endorsement deals. Players endorse those products out of devotion, not $$$.

Mark van Allen · From: Watkinsville, Ga. USA

I have several very helpful endorsement deals. On a couple I was approached by the manufacturers, others I approached them. Generally it works out to a very substantial discount, nothing free, and some exposure through their advertising. Some companies, like D'Addario strings, take a limited number of endorsees, close endorsements and then reopen more at a later time. In the rock world, an endorsee can be used for the high profile advertising you see in Guitar Player- in our little steel world, it's honestly kind of a manufacturer to extend an endorsement, since they don't get all that much back from it.
I also wouldn't endorse any product I don't actually use.

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Stop by the Steel Store at: www.markvanallen.com

Curt Langston · Posted 15 Apr 2006 9:49 am

quote:
Small manufacturers rarely even do huge discount endorsement deals. Players endorse those products out of devotion, not $$$.

You don't really believe that! Surely you must be kidding.

If Robert Randolph takes an 11 string Fessy and plays it for an hour on Austin City Limits (with the crowd on their feet most of the time)that is a LOT of advertising for the guitar. Much more than 2400.00 or so for the price of the guitar.

Why wouldn't manufacturers do endorsements? It just makes good business sense for them to.

Not rocket science.

Not many manufacturers want to talk about that though.

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I'd rather be opinionated, than apathetic!

Larry Bell · From: Englewood, Florida

I don't know -- never really asked Jerry -- but I would suspect that Robert paid SOMETHING for the guitar

Most of the most visible guitar brands are not factories like Gibson or Fender by any stretch of the imagination. Most are built in a polebarn by one to five people and can't really afford to discount much. Even to Robert Randolph.

I'll also bet (and, once again, don't know for sure) that Buddy paid something for his new ZumSteel. It's wonderful for a player of Emmons' caliber to play it but Bruce certainly doesn't need any more business. Guys like Bruce Zumsteg, Del Mullen, Jerry Fessenden, et al., have all the orders they can handle. They are backed up for months or even years. A few more orders that MAY materialize in the future from giving a guitar away would probably not pay back very well. I know Jerry mentioned to me that one prominent player was playing another brand that required him to put it in the spotlight. Some do that. Some (like Jerry and, I'm sure, Bruce) don't.

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Larry Bell - email: larry@larrybell.org - gigs - Home Page
2003 Fessenden S/D-12 8x8, 1969 Emmons S/D-12 6x6, 1984 Sho-Bud S/D-12 7x6, 1971 Dobro, Standel and Peavey Amps

richard burton · From: Britain

I don't understand why Robert Randolph needs to use an 11 string pedal steel guitar, when the same cacophony is easily achievable with a regular 6 string guitar.

Jim Sliff · From: Lawndale California, USA

This isn't a Randolph thread, so that opinion is probably not necessary here.

Anyway - for a small manufacturer it's a huge chunk of profit to give away anything. And for a manufacturer with a waiting list, it's just dumb.

For the big guys, think about it - there are hundreds, if not thousands, of pro players playing Fender Teles. If they GAVE each player a nice custome shop model there would be no time left for the CS to do anything else.

In the early days when electric guitars were first gaining in popularity, endorsement deals with free equipment were common - every surf band of any repute had either a Fender or Mosrite deal. But nowadays, there are just too many players who make money at the game. They simply can't afford to give that much stuff away.

Interestingly, most players who DO have deals don't grab everything they possibly can - most are pretty conservative and only get the things they can really use. there are also often "no resale" clauses that limit flipping an instrument for a year or two.

And honestly, except for signature models eric Clapton gets the same deal as everybody else - except for some amps, which are loaned out at no cost, but still belong to Fender.

Donny Hinson · From: Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.

Larry Bell · From: Englewood, Florida

Steve Dodson · From: Sparta, Tennessee, USA

I don't know about today,but back in the 90's,I know for a fact of a top Pro Steel Player who had a deal with a builder.The builder gave him a New Guitar every year and at the end of that year,the player could either keep or sale the guitar he had been playing. And from that one deal alone, the builder more than made up for giving That one Player a guitar a year from the sales he gained from that player picking his guitar. It may be a thing of the pass now, I don't know. But you never really know all you can do is state your opinion.

Charlie McDonald · From: out of the blue

Richard....

[This message was edited by Charlie McDonald on 15 April 2006 at 02:42 PM.]

A. J. Schobert · From: Cincinnati, Ohio,

Alot of good points, I would say for a major rock or country band yes they get their instruments free (6 strings, bass etc.) how many times do you walk into a music store and see a poster of a pop star holding a gibson les paul or a strat? Now with PSG I'm sure from builder to builder it differs but I'm sure a well known steel player doesn't have to wait a year and a half for has axe! I was told by chuck rich he still has an endoresment that he gets free strings for life and he changes them every week, now that is a very good endoresment ..

Curt Langston · Posted 15 Apr 2006 2:08 pm

Well, maybe it is a 13 string. I can only see 12. And yes, you are correct. This is not a RR thread. My point was that Fessenden Guitar gets a LOT of exposure. Certainly more than the cost of the guitar. That is a good thing!

[This message was edited by Curt Langston on 15 April 2006 at 03:09 PM.]

Jack Stoner · From: Kansas City, MO

Some are free, others at greatly reduced prices and some at "wholesale" or "dealer's cost".

Our lead guitar player gets his strings from a friend in Nashville that has a string endorsement deal (at no cost).

The string endorsement (and steel but I don't know what the steel deal was) that Gene O'Neal had with Emmons was very good. in early 72, Gene came into Little Roy Wiggin's music store and wanted to buy some Emmons strings as he was going back out on a tour (with Charley Pride) and didn't have time to get them shipped in from Ron Lashley. Bob Browning offered him the "standard" 30% discount that we gave all the musicians and he got pissed and wanted us to sell them to him at the price he paid Ron Lashley for strings, that was below the "dealer's cost" that we bought strings from Emmons for.

Ron Scott · From: Michigan

I know for a fact that some are given to the Artist and they are able to sell them when ever they get another one from the Company.Then the cost is made up thru other people who buy the product..This goes on with lots of stuff not just Musical equipment.I probably would do the same.It is marketing..RS

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Franklin Guitars

Jim Sliff · From: Lawndale California, USA

Maybe some steel companies give away soem things....it's a totally different world than six-string as I've discovered.

But Fender and Gibson don't. Again - Clapton wants a Clapton model, it's free. Clapton wants a Buddy Guy model, it's dealer cost less 10-15%. Gibson works the same way. PRS now does, as does St. Loius Music who like Fender controls a ton of companies. The one I don't know about, because I have zero relationship with their artist relation people, is Peavey.

Honestly, there's such a good markup that the deals are really sweet. Like Donnie said, I don't want to be beholdin' so I rarely used the ones I had. Never on a guitar - don't like most new ones.

Joe Alterio · From: Irvington, Indiana

I know for a fact that Gibson has recently provided (2005) a very talented guitarist in Nashville a free Country Gentleman in exchange for him playing it exclusively. So, you don't have to be a "name" player or have to have a guitar named for you in order to get free gear in an endorsement deal. Especially not when it is a Fender or Gibson deal.

Joe

Stephen Gambrell · From: Over there

How long do y'all think it's been since Jerry Douglas paid for a resonator guitar?

Dick Wood · From: Springtown Texas, USA

Two of the guys in my band were endorsed and they paid about 1/3 of retail for their guitars.

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Cops aren't paid much so I steel at night.

[This message was edited by Dick Wood on 17 April 2006 at 09:31 AM.]

Chris Schlotzhauer · From: Colleyville, Tx. USA

Why would you be asking about this Mark? Got something brewing? Oh, I ran into Chad at our show the other night.... hehehe

HowardR · From: N.Y.C.-Fire Island-Asheville

Dave Geigerich of The Hula Monsters gets free huggies......he really cleans up on his endorsement deal...

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