KEVIN SHIVERS

Agent (Partner)
William Morris Endeavor
kshivers@wmeagency.com

Interview

• Where are you originally from?
  Waco, Texas

• Where do you currently reside?
  Los Angeles, CA

• What prompted you to get into the entertainment industry?
  I fell in love with movies when I was young. My mother loves movies and would drag my brother and I to movies every weekend. We saw many of the classics from Color Purple to Do the Right Thing and Brewster's Millions. I went to University of Texas and majored in film. I had a great experience at UT then moved to LA to make movies as I wanted to be a producer. After interning and working at a few companies I realized I just liked movies and making them wasn't for me. The first day I walked into WME I knew I was in the right place. Music is my love and being an agent is the greatest job in the world.

• Please outline the services you provide for clients and any specialties.
  Most of my clients are in the music space but I do work with a few clients who work in sports and politics. My job is providing strategy to my clients at the agency. When I sign someone I'm their point at WME. I help them figure out their touring plan for the globe with the other agents on the team. Then I'm usually the person the artists says I have an idea for fashion or film then I build a team around them of specialists who put the artist in the right rooms to carry out their dreams, goals and vision.

• What type of clients do you typically represent? What factors do you consider when deciding which clients to take on?
  The majority of my clients are people of color. I seek out clients that have a unique voice, who understand who they are as artists, who are fearless and have a great team around them.

• What is one thing people would be surprised to know about your profession? What is one of the biggest misconceptions?
  To properly represent someone it takes a lot of people. When we sign an artist at WME we have 100 or more people working on their behalf across the company. We are constantly discussing the artists in meetings, looking for opportunities and have many people coming up with ideas and strategy to help grow the client. It takes a team to bring forward all the opportunities and the agent has to know which ones fit the strategy.

• What are some challenges or obstacles you have faced as an African-American in this profession?
  The lack of Black leadership in entertainment makes it harder to find a path to leadership and senior positions. I'm someone who has dreams of being a CEO of an agency or a media company so not being able to see someone that looks like me makes the unchartered road unclear and uncertain at times. We need more black leadership across the entertainment industry to diversity at all levels and to provide more black mentors.

• What do you think can be done to improve diversity with regards to representation?
  Artist have to be more vocal about wanting people to represent them that look like them. The industry as a whole must do a better job of recruiting black people, mentoring them so they stay at their companies and last we need more black leaders. Leadership is key to improve diversity from top to bottom.

• What advice would you have for other African-Americans looking to enter this profession?
  My advice to other African- Americans looking to be agents is to do it. Move to LA or NYC, be fearless, be bold and be brave. Feel free to reach out to me for advice before you move and during your time in LA or NYC. I love being an agent. I think you should dream the big dream and go for it. I think you should say yes more than you say no and look to lift people up around and below you.

• What is the best way for people to get in touch with you?
  Email: kshivers@wmeagency.com