Membership & Activities

The WJPN’s primary function is to coordinate jazz touring throughout the Western region of North America. Members of the WJPN are in communication throughout the year via the network’s email listserv and in regular Zoom meetings and also meet twice a year in person for block-booking and professional development. These biannual meetings, typically held in New York in January and in San Francisco in March or April, bring presenters together to discuss plans for presenting jazz artists in upcoming seasons and to work together with artists and their managers or agents to create feasible tours.

For information on upcoming meetings please contact the Executive Director, Daniel Atkinson, at datkinson@wjpn.org.

Block-Booking Process

The WJPN does not accept direct solicitations from artists or their managers and agents. Proposals must be put forward by a member organization of the WJPN. A member suggests an artist they believe will interest other members either by sending an email to the WJPN listserv or by presenting the artists for consideration at a block-booking meeting. Any group of four or more presenters who are interested in a particular artist will then work together to determine the dates and fees that will work for each organization. One member of the group is chosen to communicate with the artist or the artist’s agent or manager to negotiate the tour. This is beneficial to all concerned. The artists get more work, the agents are able to create tours with much less effort, and the presenters can bring artists to their audiences whom they might otherwise not have been able to present.

Membership

To be considered for membership or renew your membership, please email the Executive Director, Daniel Atkinson, at datkinson@wjpn.org.

Dues are on sliding scale based on an organization’s total annual artist fees. Dues levels are as follows:

$90 – annual artists fees $30K or less
$150 – annual artists fees $31K-$75K
$210 – annual artists fees $76K-$150K
$270 – annual artists fees $151K and above

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I become a member?

All jazz presenters in the western United States, western Canada, and northern Mexico are eligible for membership. Any presenter in the West who books two or three touring jazz artists a year will benefit by joining the WJPN. Only non-profit presenters may be voting members of the WJPN or be eligible for fee support. For-profit presenters may join as non-voting affiliate members. To join or renew, please email the Executive Director, Daniel Atkinson, at datkinson@wjpn.org.

How do I propose myself or my artist for a WJPN tour?

The WJPN does not accept direct solicitations from artists or their managers and agents. Proposals must be put forward by a member organization of the WJPN. A member will suggest an artist they believe will interest other members either by sending an email to the WJPN listserv or by presenting the artist for consideration at a block-booking meeting. Artists or their representatives may consult the list of WJPN member organizations to get in contact with a WJPN member that may elect to propose them for consideration of a WJPN tour.

Does the WJPN provide fee support or other kinds of funding for artists?

Financial support for tours to member sites is sometimes available via the WJPN though it is usually reserved for specific artists or groups of artists as specified by the guidelines of the original funding agency. More often the WJPN acts in the role of facilitating the coordination of touring dates within the Western region, providing additional performance opportunities for artists and decreasing the overall expenses associated with touring.