For music tours, Beyonce spurns ICM, signs for CAA

LOS ANGELES: Beyonce has moved her touring business from ICM Partners to CAA, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

For her acting contract, she shall remain with ICM.

The superstar would be an instant signature client for any agency, and her partial departure is a blow for ICM, whose music department is one of its strengths. Her 2014 On the Run stadium tour with husband Jay Z grossed more than US$100 million in ticket sales over 19 North American dates.

Beyonce initially came to ICM in 2006 from CAA, when she followed her longtime motion picture talent agent Andrea Nelson Meigs.

As an actress, her credits include “Dreamgirls” and “Obsessed.”

Her return is a refreshing piece of good news for CAA, which suffered multiple client losses earlier this year with a mass exodus of agents to rival UTA.

In addition to the departure of a group of senior agents — Jason Heyman, Martin Lesak, Greg Cavic, Nick Nuciforo and Gregory McKnight — CAA also high-profile clients including Chris Pratt, Will Ferrell, and Adam McKay.

In addition, Kanye West dropped his longtime CAA agent Cara Lewis in March and made the move to UTA. An individual with knowledge of West’s agency move told newsmen at the time that West felt CAA wasn’t delivering for him in areas outside of touring, which represented the agency’s best chance to generate income for the outspoken musician.

Jay Z and Beyoncé’s entrepreneurial streak seems to have struck a sour chord. In the latest instance of branding backlash, Good Morning America teased that Beyoncé had an “amazing” announcement to share. When that news turned out not to be an album but a pre-recorded monologue about a plant-based diet that the starlet occasionally favours, mayhem ensued.

One fan was even quick to post photographic evidence of the starlet chomping on a burger.