From our President:
We know that this is a stressful time and things are changing daily. To keep you in the loop and everyone on the same page, we have created the following guide to help you make the best informed decision you can, whether you’re planning a wedding or a corporate event. Remember, we are all in this together. There isn’t a single industry in the world that is not affected by these trying times. Together we’ll get through this. I promise. Take a deep breath and rely on your event industry pros. All will be back to normal soon.
TEAM CMG
Our staff is here to help on the daily. We are working hard to keep our hands clean and our inbox empty. Even if we are not allowed to be physically in our offices, we are all working from home to take care of YOU, our valued clients. We’re taking the necessary measures to ensure our staff and talent is ready to go when you are. We are committed to providing you and your event the best we have to offer. We are here to serve, to help fulfill your dreams as we always have been.
Our focus right now is taking care of our clients. This is a tough time for all of us. Emotions are running high. I’m sure you’re worried if your event is happening, needs to be postponed, or who knows what else. We’ll help you navigate that. One day at a time.
MOVING FORWARD
If you find yourself in a position that you need to postpone and reschedule your wedding or event, we can help. Here’s the process at CLE Music Group.
1. Take a deep breath. You can do this.
2. Reach out to your Talent Specialist here at CLE Music Group (Scott, Erin, or Eric). If you worked with anyone else at CLE Music Group please contact Scott.
3. They will work with you on providing some open dates for the talent & services you have currently contracted.
4. Once we have confirmed a new date together, we’ll issue a revised contract for you to sign off on, officially changing the date.
5. You’re done. It’s that simple. Trust us, we’ve got your back.
ADDITIONAL / RANDOM (YET, VERY IMPORTANT) THOUGHTS (please keep reading)
DEPOSITS
These are incredibly challenging times for the Event Industry. We are unique businesses that rely on retainers and deposits to properly function throughout the year. They’re a necessary part of our workflow and business models. As you know, we work with our clients on securing services typically 1-2 years out from any given date. This adds to the unique way our system works. The deposits received are truly retainers, collected to secure a particular talent to a particular date – thus, telling anyone else shopping that this particular talent is no longer available on said date. There are only so many dates!
Moving forward, we will be doing everything in our power to help our clients POSTPONE their events rather than cancel. Per our contract, a cancellation of our services results in a loss of the deposit paid.
We will work with you. Any deposit that is paid is 100% transferable to your new date without penalty. Your remaining balance (which is normally due 14 days prior to your event) will be due 14 days prior to your new event date.
Due to these uncharted waters and the mass quantity of events being moved, changed, postponed and cancelled, should you have to cancel our services (on any event that is currently affected by the State of Ohio Guidelines on Weddings), in certain circumstances, we may be able to provide a 50% refund of the total deposit paid (25% total of the contract price).
CHOOSING YOUR NEW DATE
Our industry thrives because there are 52 Saturdays in the year. Please be flexible and consider the other 104 (Fridays & Sundays) throughout the year. They would make great wedding dates too!
We encourage you to consider selecting dates that you may have not considered before. For instance, if your wedding falls on a popular Saturday in May, maybe consider a Friday in the fall. This will help make it easier to secure all your vendors on your new date (not just the Talent here at CLE Music Group).
Please consider Fridays, Sundays & Off-Season Dates as well (January-April). It will make the process so much easier, I promise, and your friends and family that would attend your wedding on a Saturday in May will also come to your Friday wedding in January! They love you. They’ll understand.
With so many adjustments and changes currently happening with our clients, we are unable to put soft-holds on any dates as a back-up. Only weddings and events that are 100% certain they are going to change will be able to secure the new date.
Additionally, due to the volume of events that CLE Music Group produces every year, we are giving our clients closest to today’s date (the date you’re reading this) priority.
Because moving your event to a new date means that we will be unable to book new events or business for that Talent/Artist on the new date, CLE Music Group reserves the right to reserve popular dates in 2021 for new bookings, making certain dates ineligible for postponed events. Inquire with your Talent Specialist first.
Should you select a Saturday in 2021 that falls between May 1st and December 31st, there may be an additional charge to meet the 2021 rates of the artist or talent you have contracted. This additional cost would be added to your balance due. Please ask your Talent Specialist for details. If you select a Friday or Sunday (non-holiday weekends) as a replacement date, the 2020 rates will not change in 2021.
IN CLOSING
CLE Music Group stands by our talent and amazing customer service. Please be patient with us as we navigate these uncharted waters to find solutions that work best for your event. We’re taking it one day at a time, one e-mail at a time, and one phone call at a time even if we can’t be in our offices. We’ll get through this together. Please don’t hesitate to contact us.
Scott E. Jones: (o) 216-986-1808 | (m) 216-262-3179 | scott[at]clevelandmusicgroup.com
Erin Rossi: (o) 216-986-1808 | (m) 216-633-9869 | erin[at]clevelandmusicgroup.com
Eric Smith: (o) 216-986-1808 | (m) 216-952-6032 | eric[at]clevelandmusicgroup.com
Be safe, Stay Healthy, Be Positive.
Sincerely,
Scott E. Jones
President – CLE Music Group