djfrosty

When Marshall Betts and Avery McTaggart first began sketching ideas for what would become TBA Agency, live music had all but vanished. The touring world was at a standstill, and hundreds of agents—including the pair and their future partners—had just been laid off from the now-shuttered Paradigm Talent Agency in March 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. What began as a few late-night phone calls between friends became a bold bet on the future of live music at a time when there was no live music at all.

Both Betts and McTaggart had followed parallel paths through the agency world. After early stints at The Windish Agency, they joined Paradigm when Windish was acquired, helping to expand the company into one of the dominant forces in touring. “Paradigm was acquiring half a dozen agents every quarter,” Betts recalled. “It was rapid expansion—and then, in March 2020, everything stopped.” The demands of social distancing and stay-at-home notices paused the live music world for more than a year. Within weeks, entire departments at agencies like Paradigm were laid off or suspended. “No one even knew what the next week would look like,” he said.

By that Friday, Betts and McTaggart were on the phone. “We thought, let’s get the group together on Monday,” Betts said. “Everyone was just trying to figure out what was happening, calling clients to ask if they’d stick with them even though none of us had jobs. Luckily, most of them said yes.”

Those conversations quickly turned into strategy sessions. “We asked ourselves: what worked at Paradigm, what didn’t, what worked at Windish—and how could we build something better?” Betts said. Within three and a half months, TBA was born.

Launching a live-touring agency during a global shutdown was an audacious move, but the partners saw opportunity amid chaos. “We were pitching a live touring business in the middle of a pandemic,” Betts said. “But there was a real appetite for something independent. People understood that artists didn’t need a thousand-person corporate structure to succeed.”

For McTaggart, who had long envisioned a more personal and flexible model of representation, the pandemic was the catalyst. “I’d always thought there was room for a new kind of independent agency,” he said. “The business had become so consolidated—independents being absorbed by larger firms. There hadn’t been a major new agency launch in over a decade. I felt there would always be an appetite for something that operated differently, that treated both artists and employees like humans, not cogs.”

Between May and August 2020, the founding team worked nonstop to build the company from scratch. They handled everything from corporate structure and health insurance to web design and branding. “The pandemic forced us to slow down and think through every detail,” McTaggart said. “We weren’t booking tours, so we had the bandwidth to really build the foundation.”

The final phase of planning took place on the road. “Marshall and I rented an RV with our partners and spent a month driving around the country, finalizing the business plan,” McTaggart said. “We’d work during the day, park at campgrounds, and sleep under the stars. Honestly, it was one of the best months of my life.”

The First Call Sheet

When TBA officially launched on September 1, 2020, the industry was still largely dormant. Yet the agency started strong—with a roster of roughly 200 artists, including Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Jungle, Bob Moses, Hot Chip and Mura Masa, most of whom had followed McTaggart and his partners from Paradigm.

“I basically told my clients, ‘I’m building something new. Give me time, and I’ll show you who’s involved,’” McTaggart said. “It would’ve been the easiest time in the world for them to drop me—but they didn’t. Every single one of them came along for the ride.”

TBA launched fully staffed—with agents, assistants, coordinators, tour marketing, and brand partnership departments already in place. “We wanted to do it properly,” McTaggart said. “Even with no touring revenue, we made sure our employees had health insurance. We believed that if we treated our people right, everything else would follow.”

From the start, Betts said, TBA prioritized experience and personal connection over rapid expansion. “We wanted people who could have meaningful conversations with artists—not just about booking, but about their careers,” he said. “It was always quality over quantity. We built a strong foundation, and that’s paid off. We’ve tripled in size since day one, and most of our staff are still here.”

That foundation also created a culture of collaboration and transparency among other independents. “In the early pandemic, with NITO and NIVA forming, there was this sense of unity,” Betts said. “Independent agencies started talking and helping each other. It was a period of peace and cooperation we’d never seen before. Now it’s more competitive again, but those walls have come down a bit. It’s healthier.”

Five years later, the bet on independence has paid off — not only for TBA but for the entire ecosystem of agencies launched in that same window. “The success of independent companies isn’t a threat to the big agencies,” McTaggart said. “It’s good for the business. There’s more choice for artists, for agents, for employees. Healthy competition means a healthier live industry overall.”

He points to sectors like ticketing as a cautionary tale: “The parts of the music business that are least healthy are the ones with no competition. On the live side, the rise of independent agencies has made things stronger.”

Both Betts and McTaggart believe the model has lasting power. “Artists have learned they don’t need the biggest name or biggest Rolodex to reach their goals,” Betts said. “Sometimes, it’s actually better not to have that. What they do need is people who care, who move quickly, and who understand their vision.”

As the agency marks its fifth anniversary, its founders are mindful of the challenges ahead — rising touring costs, economic uncertainty, and the pressures facing both artists and promoters. “Every side of the business is grappling with higher costs and more unpredictability,” McTaggart said. “We’re more involved than ever in tour budgeting, in understanding what things really cost. You can’t just book a tour and walk away anymore. You have to build sustainable growth.”

For Betts, the past five years are proof that independent doesn’t mean small — it means intentional. “We didn’t need a thousand-person payroll to make an impact,” he said. “We just needed the right people, the right artists, and the right values.”