CAA: Creative Acquisition Agency

I always keep my eye on the big conglomerates. That being said, it definitely caught my attention when I saw this headline yesterday: New York Yankees Select Creative Artists Agency for Global Partnership and to Market Unprecedented Sponsorship Opportunities for New Yankee Stadium. Should this be surprising? CAA has already broken ground in a variety of ways, why not add another mega client to its stable? On the same day that the Yankees and CAA jointly released that press release, Fortune magazine decided to release an extensive piece on Creative Artists Agency [A Hollywood agency with star power]. In the past, I have discussed only CAA's sports business, but it is important to understand the interplay between all areas of its business. Some CAA background facts: * There are 6 controlling partners (Richard Lovett (President), Bryan Lourd, Kevin Huvane, Rick Nicita, David "Doc" O'Connor, and Rob Light). Lovett and Lourd may exude more power. * Their entertainment division is overwhelming. o They represent the best actors, writers, directors, and producers of mega movies. o They put together most of the current top rated TV shows. o They organize music tours for some of the best musicians in the industry. * The PR division attempts to keep CAA very private and secretive o Go to CAA's website and see how bare it is. * Lovett became good friends with Mark McCormarck (founder of IMG) before he passed away. * Every agent at CAA works for every client. There are no specified agents that handle a certain client's business alone. * Profits may be on the downside while revenues continue to rise. o Last year, bonuses were cut by 10%. This is expected to occur again this year. Expense accounts have been greatly reduced as well. Apparently many agents are looking to leave. Lovett believes that CAA will be a force to be reckoned with in the sports industry. He is quoted as saying, "Sports is just a natural extension of our business." Natural extension for a company always looking to grow by acquisition… -Darren Heitner