Semi-OT: How Michael Jackson affected the history of the Pats

[PatsWickedPissah]

Chuck Sullivan's debacle should be a required case study at Harvard Business School. So much business experience consists of what not to do, mistakes to avoid.

 

[Pats726]

Trust me, anything to do with the entertainment industry, from concerts to films to record companies to TV shows, Broadway... It's all about how much they can skin off the cat before he croaks.

I've spent quite a bit of time with film, theatre, TV, etc. It's all about everyone getting their cut, and not having to pay for anything. I've seen a film company roll up millions in debts from local companies, and literally, the day AFTER the film wraps, the company disbands and leaves creditors holding the bag.

See, concert promoters are like film producers. You want to put on a series of shows? Fine. You incorporate a production company solely for that tour. It exists to take in money, pay the act and staff, and nothing more. Everyone who works for the company is treated as a self-employed sub-contractor and gets a 1099 instead of a W-2. That way no SS or taxes of any kind are withheld or paid. Everything from office furniture to computers to vehicles is purchased outright. Contracts are let for transportation, catering, security, etc. The day the show wraps, all the locks are changed. the very next day, everything tangible is sold on the steps of the office or warehouse for whatever price they can get, usually cash only. Anything left is abandoned and the company ceases to be.

This way, there's no one to sue in case of any liability issue. All the investors have no one to go after when they get left holding the bag. The corporation produced the concert tour, or the film, or whatever, so in almost all cases, the folks running things are off the hook.

Anyway, the standard primer on the issue is the old Zero Mostel fil, "The Producers". It's a great comedy, but it's also right on the mark as to how things work in that industry.

respects,

Thanks...it does seem to be part of the standard..BUT?? Why do you go into a business like that from the outside with so many people WHO KNOW what they are doing...and then lose out like that?? Wasn't the tour a success?? I THINK from what I read it was.. THOUGH not for Chuckie...

 

[RayClay]

Thanks...it does seem to be part of the standard..BUT?? Why do you go into a business like that from the outside with so many people WHO KNOW what they are doing...and then lose out like that?? Wasn't the tour a success?? I THINK from what I read it was.. THOUGH not for Chuckie...

Lot's of people book the band and set up the PA in college. Probably think, if I just had some money, I'd promote big time concerts.

Plus they'd already mortgaged the farm and this was going tobe their big score. Jimmy Carter era interest rates didn't help on their debt either.

 

[jmt57]

Thanks...it does seem to be part of the standard..BUT?? Why do you go into a business like that from the outside with so many people WHO KNOW what they are doing...and then lose out like that?? Wasn't the tour a success?? I THINK from what I read it was.. THOUGH not for Chuckie...

Why go in to a business like that? Who knows, but my guess is that Sullivan saw concert tours come in to Foxboro, lots of money being thrown around, and figured why just be the guying making a few bucks renting out the stadium. He probably figured "that's easy; look at those guys, I can do that" and the rest is history.


Regarding the tour, yes it was a huge success. However, that wasn't the problem; see post #20 for details. The Jacksons made a lot of money and so did Don King; Sullivan got left behind paying the bills.

 

[Dr Pain]

I was in Hollywood and Beverly Hills today and it was nuts with all the Michael Jackson stuff going on. I had to think of his roll in the Patriots. I also saw Tom and Giselle’s new house going up on Sunset. It was big and nice but I’m not so sure I'd be living on a public main street if I were them.

 

[Triumph]

All that M Jackson merchandise is worth a fortune now.

How do I contact C Sullivan to invest and strike while the iron is hot?

$75.00 for a lunch box sounds about right.

 

[TrueBeliever]

Not so the MIT folks I worked with who mostly were the cream of the crop.

My personal favorite is Tom Scholz:

 

[TrueBeliever]

I know this is pretty much the same article, but thought I'd post it anyway:

How Michael Jackson helped start the Patriots dynasty - Shutdown Corner - NFL - Yahoo! Sports

 

[Bella*chick]

I know this is pretty much the same article, but thought I'd post it anyway:

How Michael Jackson helped start the Patriots dynasty - Shutdown Corner - NFL - Yahoo! Sports

I was pretty startled to see that as a Yahoo headline and of course, ran right over here.

 

[jmt57]

I know this is pretty much the same article, but thought I'd post it anyway:

How Michael Jackson helped start the Patriots dynasty - Shutdown Corner - NFL - Yahoo! Sports

I was pretty startled to see that as a Yahoo headline and of course, ran right over here.

Though Michael Jackson gets the "credit" for the domino effect that led to Robert Kraft becoming the owner, it was really Don King who put the wheels in motion, not Jackson.

 

[Gwedd]

Though Michael Jackson gets the "credit" for the domino effect that led to Robert Kraft becoming the owner, it was really Don King who put the wheels in motion, not Jackson.

Or stripped the wheels off of Sullivan's financial wagon, and left it up on blocks, if you prefer...

 

[farn]

New topic : where woul MJ be best suited to line up on the gridiron ?

I say CB. He'd get burned on every play, but he'd at least avoid destruction.

 

[Deus Irae]

New topic : where woul MJ be best suited to line up on the gridiron ?

I say CB. He'd get burned on every play, but he'd at least avoid destruction.

He did have a great backpedal....

 

[farn]

He did have a great backpedal....

Nice. I could see him moonwalking a few steps before getting tampled by the smaller 170 lb WRs. The high-pitch squeal would be in full force.

 

[Tunescribe]

New topic : where woul MJ be best suited to line up on the gridiron ?

His plastic mouth and nose would make a good kicking tee.

 

[efin98]

He did have a great backpedal....

He's only 5'10", might be too short to play there...

 

[Deus Irae]

He's only 5'10", might be too short to play there...

That's taller than Hobbs and Wheatley, and the end zone celebration after a pick-6 would be worth the price of admission.

 

[efin98]

That's taller than Hobbs and Wheatley, and the end zone celebration after a pick-6 would be worth the price of admission.

Tongue in cheek mention of height "problem"

 

[Deus Irae]

Tongue in cheek mention of height "problem"

I just used it as a springboard for the "celebration" comment. Seems we both had agendas.

 

[jmt57]

One more article related to how Jackson's Victory Tour affected the Pats: Bedroom Eyes by Mark Farinella of the Attleboro Sun Chronicle

I've experienced some of everything in my 30-plus years of covering the New England Patriots, but for sheer shock value, nothing will ever match the day 25 years ago when I walked into what I thought was the media workroom at the old stadium and found instead the boudoir of Charles W. "Chuck" Sullivan, then the executive vice president of the team.

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