FLi Artists

What FLi Artists does

FLi Artists (legal name Folklore, Inc.) is a privately held, family-owned boutique talent booking agency founded in 1957 by Manny Greenhill and currently stewarded by his son Mitch Greenhill. Headquartered at 3010 7th Street in Santa Monica, California, the agency represents a curated roster of 100+ performing artists across American Traditions (Americana, Bluegrass, Blues, Gospel, Soul, Jazz, Louisiana), Global Roots (Africa, Asia, Middle East, Celtic, Europe, Indigenous, Klezmer, Latin America/Caribbean), and Family & Special Projects categories. The agency books these artists for live performances at festivals, performing arts centers, theaters, clubs, and educational institutions worldwide, serving festival presenters, venue programmers, and educational outreach partners.

FLi Artists generates revenue through three primary streams: artist booking commissions earned when representing artists in engagements with venues and festivals; music publishing royalties through its Folklore Productions publishing division managing rights to musical works; and physical/digital recording revenue via its independent label, FLi Records. The technology infrastructure is intentionally lightweight — a WordPress-based website with genre/geography roster categorization, intake forms for booking inquiries, and Google Drive for distributing promotional assets and technical riders to presenters. Pricing is opaque and negotiated individually rather than published, consistent with a relationship-driven sales motion targeting enterprise presenters (Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Hollywood Bowl, Montreal Jazz Festival) and educational institutions.

The agency's 6-person team is being deliberately expanded, with 2023 hires Flynn Cohen and Summer McCall joining the booking team alongside administrative assistant Gabrielle 'Gabby' Néla. In the same period, FLi completed two inter-agency acquisitions — ALIA Prod (Sep 2023) and Eleven Suns (Dec 2023) — extending global representation into Latin American and European touring circuits. Long-tenured industry relationships since the folk revival era and a roster stacked with Grammy winners, IBMA Momentum honorees, and UN Goodwill Ambassadors form the core of a relationship-based GTM that relies on industry referrals, festival presence, and professional network reach rather than technology-led acquisition channels.

Name

FLi Artists

Legal name

Folklore, Inc

Website

https://fliartists.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1957

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

FLi Artists is a boutique talent booking agency founded in 1957 that represents 100+ world-class folk, roots, and global music artists, booking them at festivals, performing arts centers, and educational institutions worldwide while operating integrated music publishing and record label divisions.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Artist 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 (71141)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYMPAIAGAB

Talent Booking Agencies (Live Performance)

Media, Entertainment & Sports/Music & Audio (Recording, Publishing, Streaming)/Artist Management & Agencies

SECONDARYHSACAHAK

Talent Agency & Representation Services

Home & Personal Services/Event & Personal Concierge Services/Entertainment Booking & Talent Management

SECONDARYMPAIAGAA

Full-Service Artist Management

Media, Entertainment & Sports/Music & Audio (Recording, Publishing, Streaming)/Artist Management & Agencies

SECONDARYMPAIABAB

Publishing Administration (Catalog Admin, Global Subpublishing)

Media, Entertainment & Sports/Music & Audio (Recording, Publishing, Streaming)/Music Publishing (Songwriting, Rights Administration, Licensing)

Keywords

• Artist booking agency
• Talent management services
• Music publishing
• Live music booking
• World music agency

Headquarters

HQ city

Santa Monica, California

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

Revenue model

1. Artist Booking Commissions: FLi Artists acts as a booking agency representing performing artists, earning commissions on bookings for venues, festivals, and events worldwide.
2. Music Publishing: FLi Artists operates a music publishing division under 'Music Publishing' section on their website, managing rights to musical works.
3. FLi Records: Independent record label operation under 'Fli Records' section, releasing recordings of roster artists.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

FLi Artists is a boutique talent booking agency that represents and books world-class performing artists in folk, roots, and global music traditions for live performances at venues, festivals, performing arts centers, and educational institutions worldwide. The agency also operates a music publishing division for rights administration and a record label (FLi Records) for releasing recordings of roster artists, providing an integrated artist representation package.

Product overview

FLi Artists is a boutique talent booking and artist management agency founded in 1957, representing world-class performing artists specializing in folk, roots, and global music traditions. The company operates as a unified booking service with an artist roster spanning American Traditions (Americana, Bluegrass, Blues, Gospel, Soul, Jazz, Louisiana), Global Roots (Africa, Asia, Middle East, Celtic, Europe, Indigenous, Klezmer, Latin America/Caribbean), and Family & Special Projects. Core offerings include Artist Roster and Booking Services, Music Publishing through Fli Records, and artist-specific promotional assets. The company connects artists with audiences worldwide through venues, festivals, and symphonic collaborations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Artist Roster and Booking Services

Quantifiable outcome

• 100+ artists represented across multiple continents

Named customers8 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• Eleven SunsminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 18 December 2023Inter-agency collaboration between FLi Artists and Eleven Suns, founded by Constanza Lovitz. Focuses on bringing world music and jazz artists to venues and festivals in the Americas and Europe, fostering global cultural connections.
• ALIA ProdminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 18 September 2023Boutique booking agency founded by Alison Loerker in 1997, joining forces with FLi Artists for global talent representation. Represents artists across multiple music genres.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• William Morris Endeavor (WME): Global talent agency representing artists across all genres, including world music. Represents the scale incumbent FLi competes against for major festival headliners and Grammy-tier artists.
• United Talent Agency (UTA): Major global talent and entertainment agency with a music division representing world and folk artists. Represents the integrated-platform competitor that FLi cannot match in infrastructure or cross-genre deal-making.
• Creative Artists Agency (CAA): One of the largest global talent agencies with a dedicated music division representing artists across genres including world/roots. Competes with FLi for roster signings and presenter deals at the upper end of the market.
• Paradigm Talent Agency: Full-service talent agency with a roster spanning music, literary, and speaking engagements. Comparable as a competing representation partner for artists FLi currently books.

Direct peers

• Ground Control Touring: Independent booking agency working with roots, folk, and Americana artists for North American touring. Comparable to FLi in boutique positioning and presenter relationships.
• Fleming Artists: Independent talent agency representing folk, bluegrass, Americana, and roots musicians. Closely matches FLi's genre focus and boutique agency model, with overlapping festival and performing arts center customers.
• Monterey International: Boutique booking agency focused on folk, Celtic, world, and roots music. Directly comparable to FLi in roster scope (celtic/folk/world), boutique scale, and presenter/festival customer base, making it one of FLi's closest competitive analogs in North America.
• Palladia Entertainment: Independent booking and artist management firm specializing in world music, jazz, and global roots. Operates at similar boutique scale with overlapping artist and presenter base.
• Concerted Efforts: Roots and world music booking agency representing touring artists to festivals, performing arts centers, and clubs. Directly comparable in scale, repertoire, and target customer profile.

Emerging players

• The Roots Agency: Booking agency focused on roots, Americana, and folk artists for live performance circuits. Comparable niche positioning though likely smaller scale than FLi, making it an emerging competitive entrant rather than a direct peer.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/fli-artists

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 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 FLi Artists