APA and AGI Merge Agencies, Rebrand as Independent Artist Group

APA president Jim Osborne is named CEO, with AGI founder and CEO Dennis Arfa tapped as the IAG music division’s chairman

Jim Osborne Dennis Arfa IAG Independent Artist Group
Jim Osborne and Dennis Arfa (IAG)

Agency for the Performing Arts and Artist Group International, the premier independent music touring agency, have joined forces to create a more powerful full-service agency with one of the top music divisions in the industry. The two agencies have merged and will rebrand as Independent Artist Group, the companies said Wednesday.

Jim Osborne, current president of APA is being named CEO of IAG, while Dennis Arfa, founder and CEO of AGI, is being named chairman of the music division of IAG, effective immediately.

The board of IAG will consist of Osborne, Arfa and former longtime APA CEO Jim Gosnell, who will spearhead vertical growth opportunities for IAG while passing the baton of running the day-to-day operations of the agency to Osborne. The formation of IAG comes after an agreement was reached between APA and Ron Burkle’s Yucaipa Entertainment LLC.

AGI was founded 35 years ago by Arfa and ranks among the top grossing and most respected touring agencies in the business by Billboard and Pollstar magazines. AGI’s superstar client roster that it brings to IAG includes Billy Joel, Metallica, Def Leppard, Rod Stewart, Motley Crue, Linkin Park, Janes Addiction, Darryl Hall & John Oates, Norah Jones, Neil Young, The Strokes, Smashing Pumpkins, Ghost, Elvis Costello, Cage The Elephant and Five Finger Death Punch.

AGI president Marsh Vlasic is being named vice chair of the IAG music division. Vlasic, Arfa, AGI COO Jarred Arfa, AGI president of touring Adam Kornfeld and the rest of the senior agents and staff of AGI will all be joining IAG.

The two agencies successfully established a strong working relationship this past year, with APA working on several AGI clients in the crossover space including Joel, Hall, Perry Farrell, GHOST and Billy Corgan, ensuring that the transition between the agency’s will be seamless.

“Dennis Arfa and his exceptional colleagues at AGI are revered in the industry, having built a spectacular artist roster and a sterling reputation,” Osborne said in a statement to TheWrap. “The great news is we have already established a tremendous working relationship with them through shared representation on some of their most valued artists. This new partnership with AGI and our rebrand to Independent Artist Group is another major step that elevates us within the agency landscape… and we are not done yet!”

Arfa added: “This was the natural next step in our evolution and made in the best interests of our valued artists. We have admired how Jim Osborne and their colleagues have been market leaders in creating brand expanding, non-touring revenue opportunities for their clients and we are excited to build on that success with them and look forward to integrating under the Independent Artist Group banner.”

Vlasic added: “Over the years we have looked at many different opportunities to partner with a full-service agency, this time the people, circumstances and timing were all in alignment to best serve our artists. We believe the value each side brings to the table creates a uniquely important agency that is right for the marketplace and we couldn’t be more excited to get started as IAG.”

Gosnell added: “This is a great day for us. I could not be more bullish on this opportunity to combine APA and AGI which gives us an incredible music division with tremendous scale, to go along with the excellent scale we have generated in the past year on the talent and lit side of the business. After 40 plus years at the agency, this is without a doubt the strongest position we have ever been in. With that in mind, it has been the tradition of this agency to pass the leadership baton on to the next generation when the time is right. I am proud to now pass the job of CEO to Jim Osborne, whose growth as an agent, executive and leader over the past 12 years has been truly remarkable and impressive. I know he will do a fabulous job and I am here to support him in every way.”

IAG will have offices in Los Angeles, New York, Nashville and Atlanta giving it a foothold in the top cities for touring artists.

IAG will have the URL Independentartistgroup.com with a new website launching this summer. IAG’s new email address format will be first initial last name @independentartistgroup.com. Current APA and AGI email addresses and websites will remain active to maintain continuity.

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