Jeff Roberts & Associates

What Jeff Roberts & Associates does

Jeff Roberts & Associates (JRA) is a privately held Christian music booking agency founded in 1985 by Jeff Roberts in Nashville, Tennessee. The agency represents a roster of more than 75 Christian music artists spanning gospel, worship, contemporary Christian, country Christian, and hip-hop genres — including marquee acts such as Casting Crowns, CeCe Winans, for KING + COUNTRY, Tenth Avenue North, and Sandi Patty — and books them for live performances at churches, concert tours, festivals, venues, and nonprofit benefit events across the United States, Canada, and internationally. The company also operates JRA Speakers, a complementary division that books Christian speakers for conferences and ministry engagements. Operationally, JRA runs a 15–16 person team structured around senior agents, booking coordinators, contracts management, and a controller, with the Roberts family and a COO (Tony Espinosa, joined 2021) providing executive leadership.

The business operates on a transaction-based booking commission model. Pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed; deal structures include flat fees, guarantee versus gross, guarantee plus net, guarantee versus net, percentage of net, or no-fee arrangements, with a typical 50% deposit due within two weeks of contract execution and accepted via check, wire, or credit card (with a 3.99% card fee). The booking workflow is agent-mediated: event organizers submit offers through an online Offer Form or contact agents directly by phone or email, agents confirm availability, negotiate terms, route to artist management, execute contracts, and support event promotion. Agents report a combined 85+ years of Christian touring experience, which is treated as a core competency.

The company has no proprietary technology platform — its website functions as a directory of artist profiles, a lead-capture surface (Offer Form, Talk to an Agent, email newsletter signup), and a basic contact channel. Distribution is direct: enterprise buyers (churches, promoters, venues, festivals) and international buyers engage agents in person or via phone/email; there is no self-serve marketplace, API, or app. Customer acquisition relies on SEO, organic social, and the agency's longstanding reputation in the Christian music industry rather than paid performance marketing.

Name

Jeff Roberts & Associates

Legal name

Jeff Roberts Corporation

Website

https://jeffroberts.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1985

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Jeff Roberts & Associates is a privately held, Nashville-based Christian music booking agency founded in 1985, representing 75+ artists for live events at churches, concert promoters, venues, and festivals across the US, Canada, and internationally, earning commissions on negotiated booking deals.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Christian Music Booking Agency

NAICS

Agents and Managers for Artists, Athletes, Entertainers, and Other Public Figures (7114), Agents and Managers for Artists, Athletes, Entertainers, and Other Public Figures (711410)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Talent Booking Agencies (Live Performance) (MPAIAGAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Live Music Booking (Bands, Soloists, DJs) (HSACAHAA), Speakers, Hosts & MC Talent Management (HSACAHAC)

Keywords

• Christian music booking
• Talent booking agency
• Artist representation
• Concert booking services
• Speaker booking

Headquarters

HQ city

Hendersonville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Booking Commissions and Service Fees: JRA earns revenue through booking commissions as the representative agency for Christian music artists. The company facilitates event bookings and charges fees based on negotiated deal structures including flat fees, guarantee vs. gross arrangements, guarantee plus net splits, or percentage-of-net backend splits.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Jeff Roberts & Associates is a Christian music booking agency that represents a roster of more than 75 artists (including Casting Crowns, CeCe Winans, for KING + COUNTRY, and Sandi Patty) for live performances at churches, concerts, tours, and festivals. The agency handles end-to-end booking services including artist availability confirmation, offer negotiation, contract execution, financial deal structuring (flat, guarantee vs. gross, guarantee plus net, percentage-of-net), and event coordination support. It also operates a complementary JRA Speakers division for booking Christian speakers.

Product overview

Jeff Roberts Agency operates as a single unified talent booking and management service for the Christian music industry. The core offering is artist booking agency services, representing a roster of over 70 Christian music artists for live performances, concerts, and events. The agency also operates JRA Speakers as a specialized division for Christian speakers, provides tour coordination services, and offers agent consultation services. The company connects event promoters, churches, and organizations with artists through an online offer form system and direct agent communication.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• JRA Speakers: A speakers division of Jeff Roberts Agency representing Christian speakers, accessible at jraspeakers.com.

Products and services

• Artist Booking Agency Services Full-service talent booking agency representing a roster of more than 75 Christian music artists (including Casting Crowns, CeCe Winans, for KING + COUNTRY, and Sandi Patty) for live events, concerts, tours, and performances booked by event organizers, churches, promoters, and venues.
• JRA Speakers

Quantifiable outcome

• Agents respond to inquiries typically within 48 hours

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• JRA SpeakerscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorJRA Speakers is a related division of Jeff Roberts Agency that represents speakers in addition to music artists. The division operates at jraspeakers.com and is led by Tony Espinosa as COO - Principal, JRA Speakers. This represents a complementary talent booking service under the same corporate umbrella.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Creative Artists Agency (CAA): CAA is one of the world's largest talent agencies, representing artists across music, film, sports, and speaking. It overlaps with JRA in music booking and event talent representation, but operates at vastly broader scale across genres and geographies.
• WME (William Morris Endeavor): WME is a global talent and literary agency representing musicians, speakers, and performers across all genres. It competes for high-grossing Christian touring acts and competes in the broader booking space where JRA's roster overlaps with mainstream touring talent.
• United Talent Agency (UTA): UTA represents artists, speakers, and entertainers across music, comedy, film, and literary. It is a broad incumbent competitor for premium touring acts and corporate speaker engagements, the same buyer pool JRA serves.
• Paradigm Talent Agency: Paradigm is a full-service talent agency with music, literary, and speaking divisions. It overlaps with JRA in artist representation and offers speaking booking services through its talent roster, comparable in business model to JRA Speakers.
• Agency for the Performing Arts (APA): APA is a talent agency representing artists across music, comedy, theater, and speaking. It serves the same broad event-purchaser ecosystem as JRA but at greater scale and across multiple verticals beyond Christian music.

Direct peers

• The Relevant Group: The Relevant Group is a booking and management agency focused specifically on the Christian and faith-based music market, directly competing with JRA for artist representation and promoter relationships within the same niche buyer segment.
• Pamplin Entertainment: Pamplin Entertainment operates in the Christian music space with artist management, booking, and label services, directly competing with JRA for Christian music artist representation and event promoter relationships.

Emerging players

• International Booking Group (IBG): IBG is a boutique Christian music and speaker booking agency with a smaller roster but similar faith-based buyer focus. It competes with JRA in the worship and Christian touring segment and shares the same agent-driven, commission-based model.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/jralive
• Facebookfacebook.com/jrabooking
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/jeff-roberts-and-associates

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles15 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Jeff Roberts & Associates