As the Verve talent agency sits on the precipice of its 15th year, managing partner Liz Parker has a mantra: “At Verve, we believe everything is fixable.” It’s an apt sentiment for the midsize firm’s journey over the last decade and a half, surviving industry turmoil and transitions while emerging as a powerful player in a lane of its own.
What began in 2010 as a literary agency across film and television has expanded exponentially to include IP, non-fiction, commercial endorsements and talent, with plans to build new businesses around sports, news, live entertainment and touring as part of a continued strategic growth plan.
It was a rocky start to 2024 for Verve with the February ouster of CEO and founding partner Bill Weinstein, who accused partners Bryan Besser and Adam Levine of “a misguided coup attempt” in a lawsuit that was later dismissed following a confidential settlement.
But that gave way to a prosperous summer, including one proud day when three Verve clients were concurrently at the helm of the biggest TV series and movie in the world, with writer and EP Sara Hess for HBO’s “House of the Dragon” and screenwriter Zeb Wells adapting Rob Liefeld’s comic book for Marvel’s “Deadpool & Wolverine.” Verve closed a massive eight-figure, four-year overall deal with Hess to continue with “House of the Dragon.”
The agency also now boasts a senior operations team made up of entirely women, something Parker says is representative of Verve’s doubling down on its growth trajectory. “The way we hire here at any level is that fit matters above all else,” she says. “With this group of executives, not only is the company running as smoothly as it’s ever run, but it is a really nice way to show the company and Hollywood that women in power is really critical.”
Co-founders Bryan Besser and Adam Levine, partner Adam Weinstein and managing partner Liz Parker joined Variety‘s “Strictly Business” podcast to discuss unpack the agency’s growth, challenges and philosophy.
Listen to the full podcast:
Retaining its independence is of paramount importance to Verve’s leadership team, which co-founder Besser says is the key to their signature adaptability, quality, and collaboration.
“We are an independent agency. We don’t have financial partners. We built the agency on the people within the walls. Over the last 14 years, there have been constant knocks on our door, but we’ve always celebrated our independence. Our independence has fortified this kind of entrepreneurial spirit that we love, that’s been really helpful for our success. It’s also given us a client-first approach,” Besser says. “We’re really excited to be on our road and our path, and it’s not defined by anybody else.”
Other highlights from the “Strictly Business” episode with Verve’s principals:
Bryan Besser: “Storytelling can come and live in any direction, on any format, in any space. Historically, you were a television writer, you were a feature writer or you wrote books. You had a label. And when we started the agency, the idea was, ‘Maybe you could be a storyteller, period.’ We could together figure out where that story lives. It was a terrifying premise, because it’s easier to have a specific direction out of the gate. We wanted to do it differently, because we knew that our clients wanted to tell stories and explore different formats, different platforms, different directions.“
Liz Parker: “We all know how to love and sell every kind of book, and we hang our hat on that, because we want to always be relevant, which means we have to be nimble in what we’re paying attention to. But at the same time, we don’t get too carried away with trends. Yes, horror is huge. Does that mean that we should have an entire team of people focused only on horror? No, it does not. It means we should have an entire team of people focused on the authors and the books that they love, because going back to the beginning of the stability of the industry, trends last two to four years. Books take two to four years to be published. If you chase trends, you are behind before you’ve even started.“
Adam Levine: “We’ve always been and we will always continue to be a ‘voices heard’ company. Something that we learned early on, that I think we continue to strive for every day, is listening. Two ears and one mouth for a reason, right? Whether that is from a client perspective, from the community, from the international community, or from the mail room, or the staff: Whoever has the best idea wins. Something that we really thrive on is listening and then being able to interpret that into action.“
Adam Weinstein: “When you look at the people in this room, Liz Parker is somebody who has an incredibly high IQ, and an even higher EQ, where she understands the business, understands people, and understands the intersection of the different businesses and how it is they all come together as a cohesive unit. When you look at someone like Bryan Besser, he speaks artist and he connects with the clients from a place of artistic integrity, and that manifests itself literally through the halls of Verve, as he helped design the office. When you look at somebody like Adam Levine, he loves money. He’s one of the best deal makers I’ve ever seen, and I often find myself in his office asking for perspective and appreciating it. And he also has the biggest heart.”
(Pictured top, l. to r.: Verve partners Liz Parker, Adam Weinstein, Adam Levine and Bryan Besser)
“Strictly Business” is Variety’s weekly podcast featuring conversations with industry leaders about the business of media and entertainment. (Please click here to subscribe to our free newsletter.) New episodes debut every Wednesday and can be downloaded at Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Spotify, Google Play, SoundCloud and more.
English (US) ·