Talent Agencies Wait For Art to Be ‘Next Big Thing’

The New York Times wants you to know that UTA is not unique in representing artists. While they’re at it, they want you to know that Joshua Roth, whose wife was just made the head of Christie’s LA Office, is not making many deals directly with artists. Nonetheless, as the Times quotes Maura Axelrod, the filmmaker behind a new Maurizio Cattelan documentary, connecting artists with the broader entertainment and commercial culture is a inevitable extension of its growing influence:

Agencies may be banking on more artists becoming multimedia phenoms, like Mr. Arsham, Julian Schnabel and Mr. McQueen. But when it comes to art, Larry Auerbach, a former William Morris agent and now an associate dean at the University of Southern California’s School of Cinematic Arts, said it remains to be seen “how lucrative this area could be.” Mostly, the agencies are trying to diversify. “They’re all looking for the next big business,” Mr. Auerbach said, pointing to Creative Artists and William Morris’s involvement in sports, and United Talent’s recent acquisition of a music booking company. United Talent, privately held and the smallest of the three agencies, recently stunned the industry by luring away many top comedy agents from Creative Artists (a move that agency is fighting in court). Last month, United Talent also received an influx of funds from a new investor, Jeffrey Ubben, a hedge fund operator, for expansion. […]

“It is a natural progression,” said Ms. Axelrod, who jumped into filmmaking from investigative journalism. “If you’re willing to participate in this system where art is being bought and sold as an asset class, then you can’t object to art being part of the entertainment class next.” She added, “You can look at it as the ultimate commercialization of art, or you can say, this is a way for artists to get more of a foothold in popular culture.”

Joshua Roth Takes United Talent Agency Into the Art World (The New York Times)