words that SPEAK

Blue Man Group's Art of Entrepreneurship

Clark GSOM alumni, faculty, and friends were jolted out of last winter's doldrums by a performance of Blue Man Group in New York City's Astor Theater. A special reception for Clark attendees preceded the show and featured Group co-founder Matt Goldman, MBA '84. The February 19 event drew one of the biggest crowds of alumni yet, said University President John Bassett, noting that Clark also had just received the largest number of applications in its history. The reception highlight was a Q&A session in which Goldman answered questions about the business aspects of Blue Man Group posed by Clark's entrepreneur-in-residence, George Gendron.

Gendron: The Blue Man Group's spectacular success is widely recognized. What can you tell us about the business aspect of the production?

Goldman: With shows now in New York, Boston, Chicago, and Las Vegas, the Group has about 500 employees. Each show has 80 to 120 people on staff. And Blue Man Productions, the umbrella organization that oversees everything we do, employs about another hundred. Gross revenues are about $100 million annually.

It's been 15 years since the concept really crystallized, so we think we've reached a key point in the organization's life. Now we're looking at the next 15 years and thinking about where it will lead us. One new step we're taking is venturing overseas. We recently licensed the concept to an Amsterdam group that plans to open a Blue Man show in Germany.

Gendron: Do you see yourself as an artist or business manager?

Goldman: When we first opened, neither the press nor the public could put a label on us. Until then, there hadn't been stage shows entirely without language. Not fitting an existing label made it difficult for the press to write about us. And, within the Group, we avoid labels. We think that what occurs backstage and in the office is also an artistic endeavor. But, as artists, we're very realistic. Many in the organization receive vacation, insurance, and other benefits. And, we're a completely artist-owned organization with no managers, agents, or others who earn a commission on our work. This differentiates us from almost everyone in the entertainment field.

Gendron: Generally, the success rate of business partnerships seems no better that of marriages. What makes Blue Man Group work?

Goldman: Well, [co-founder] Chris Wink and I started grade school together, and [co-founder] Phil Stanton has been with us for 17 years. If Phil stays three more, we may give him keys to the office. So the three of us go way back. We also devoted a lot of time to working on our relationship during the Group's early years. At times it was a real struggle. But we had to take time to understand each other's thought processes and value systems. Doing that hard emotional and psychological groundwork made the going much easier later. We also operate as a partnership, meaning we all must agreeÑthere is no such thing as a vote.

Gendron: People say you can tell a lot about an organization by what it chooses to do. I think you can tell by what it chooses not to do. What is something Blue Man Group decided not to do?

Goldman: We've been fortunate in having many opportunities come our way - Blue Man on Ice, being the spokesmen for blue M&Ms, and such. One day, the phone rang, and it was an executive assistant to Jeff Katzenberg, then head of Disney Studios. The assistant said Mr. Katzenberg wanted to fly us to the West Coast to discuss his idea for a Blue Man movie. I explained that we were open to talking and loved flying, but were committed to producing a special event on which we were already behind schedule. He eventually visited us in New York and, after he quickly agreed to grant us creative control, we inked a contract. Later that day, he left Disney over a dispute with its chairman. Fortunately, a clause in the contract enabled us to let it expire. Not having outside influences on our creative work for 15 years has been extremely important.