Story author: Emma Johanna Lepasoo
We met at the beginning of spring in Tallinn to take a peek behind the scenes of the entertainment world. Estonian entrepreneur Danel Kiik is currently developing a new international artist booking platform called Partyfy with his team, aiming to conquer the European market. Previously, he successfully launched the Estonian Artists Agency, which brings the services of freelance musicians, artists, hosts, and many other entertainers much closer to people. He felt a passion for event planning from an early age and has remained true to his craft ever since. Danel Kiik, the founder of the Estonian Artists Agency and the new brand Partyfy, answers our questions.
When did you realize that event planning was your thing?
Definitely in high school—at Arte Gymnasium in Tallinn, Estonia. The school gave me the opportunity to organize events myself—we had our own spaces, a radio room, and I could work there freely. That was a big deal! We could go there before school started, and I really loved being there. In fact, I was already organizing discos for high school classes during middle school—my entire later career started from a fifth-grade disco I put together with my parents’ cassette tapes.
You grew up in a creative environment. Can we then say that your school years had the biggest influence on your later life choices?
Exactly! That time shaped me the most, and I’m grateful to the administration back then who trusted us, allowing me to be socially active: organizing events, running the school radio, and working on the school newspaper. Almost every week, I had a certificate on the wall—“Thank you, Danel Kiik, for your social contributions.” My passion for organizing and connecting with people emerged right there at school.
What else did you experience before the idea of starting your own agency began to take shape?
It came from a combination of many experiences. After high school, I continued with my hobbies; at one point, I launched an online store for used CDs. Later, I was a hobby DJ, playing as a resident in clubs during the week, in smaller venues, and even on a Tallink ship. For a while, I worked in the family business, a so-called family office, but at somepoint, schedules and numbers stopped interesting me. After the 2009 global financial crisis, I wanted to go freelance again. I enjoyed going to the gym and occasionally playing music as a DJ. That gave me a good sense of what freelancers’ lives are like and what their real problems are.
Before we talk about your own companies—you mentioned working in the family business. Please tell us a bit more about that period. What did it teach you, and how have those lessons helped you in launching your own business?
My dad was in the construction supplies business; he had a joint venture with the Swarovski group—not the crystals, but the construction side, with diamond blades. He was very successful. He was actually already a millionaire during the Soviet era, first as a so-called “Viru businessman” and later a shareholder in his own and several other very successful companies. I worked in the family office as an analyst and coordinator, mainly during the 2008–2009 global financial crisis. I saw up close how it all worked, gaining knowledge about economics, entrepreneurship, and financial markets. We were involved in ESG investments even before the term became widely used. For example, at one point, we were among the top 100 largest investors in Trina Solar, one of the world’s most successful solar panel manufacturers. Today, that company’s market value is around five billion dollars. That period taught me to see money as a tool above all else.
What did you learn most from your father?
He taught me that anything is possible. Be bold, confident, and dare to dream big! My dad has definitely been a huge role model for me.
You founded the Estonian Artists Agency in 2017. What was the main push for that, and what problem were you trying to solve?
People constantly talk about how creative individuals struggle. I wanted to solve that problem. To me, that meant creating a platform that would connect artists and clients. In Estonia, there are so many talented freelance musicians, dancers, even magicians—but no one could find them. An artist doesn’t actually want to search for work themselves; they want to be found. I saw that the market was inefficient. I started from scratch, but it began working within the first year. Today, our main portal connects over five hundred musicians, artists, hosts, and DJs, and new talented individuals keep joining us. It’s convenient and easy to join us, and we don’t require exclusivity from artists. There are two simple reasons for that. First, because we want to grow bigger, and second—we’ll start offering more exclusivity when we can genuinely give more in return. (Though we already have a few exclusive contracts today, we’ve only offered this option to a select few so far, as it’s a very time- and resource-intensive extra effort for us.) I think many big players make the mistake of not giving starting or lesser-known artists a chance at all. We’re a great springboard and help artists take a big step forward in their careers. Our portal gets a lot of traffic—at least 50,000 visits a month—and through us, artists get a lot more work. We only require that artists provide quality service and are reliable.
What did you want to do differently compared to what was already available on the market?
There were small agencies, but they either focused on top artists or were primitive. There was no proper system. Some advertised artists
they didn’t even have agreements with—and charged exorbitant commissions. We stand out by offering transparency and back-office
support. We don’t take money from the artists; we earn from booking fees that are reasonable for the client.
How else do you support artists?
We’re their support structure. We offer a guarantee—if something goes wrong, we solve the problem. For example, if an artist has to cancel a gig, we quickly find a replacement for the client. Everyone who joins us starts getting more work. We also help them, for instance, by taking professional photos so they’re better represented. All payments can be handled through us; if needed, we provide transport, equipment, stagedesign, etc. We also offer artists reliability and assurance, ensuring they get their performance fees and reducing their risks.
The COVID-19 pandemic left its mark on society and especially the economy. You were still in the early stages with your company then. How did you manage to survive that tough time?
It was brutal. We had launched the agency just three years earlier, growing nearly 50% a year. Revenue dropped to zero; December revenue was just 160 euros—compared to 80,000 euros before. Support measures from the Ministry of Culture and EIS helped us stay alive. Though they only compensated a tiny fraction of our previous revenue, I think we probably wouldn’t have survived that time without it. I can honestly say that EIS is a trump card for our economy, and we should be grateful for them. (The Enterprise Development Foundation—EAS—and KredEx merged in early 2022, and the new organization’s legal name is the Enterprise and Innovation Foundation, or EIS—ed.)
So, your company barely survived. How did you manage to support the artists in your portfolio during that phase?
At that point, my earlier experience and lessons from the 2009 global financial crisis, which I witnessed up close, came in handy. I knew what the so-called “Fed put” (central bank support for markets—ed.) was and had an inner conviction that crisis compensation measures were coming and recovery would be sharp. During COVID, we were especially helpful in getting artists who were in our catalog back to the market faster. We helped them reschedule performance dates. Concerts and events were moved to new times. We offered that support to both clients and artists. At one point, when musicians couldn’t perform at all, many went abroad or temporarily
switched professions. Our entire sector suffered heavily. Fortunately, many have since returned to their field.
Danel Kiik: "booking market worth at least ten billion euros".
You’ve now established yourself in Estonia. Where do you aim to go from here?
We want to grow to a European level. We have a new brand, Partyfy, registered in Europe. If we get investor support, we’ll expand the platform across the European Union. 450 million people, at least half of whom celebrate birthdays, and many of them hire a performer—or even several—for their event. If I predict that, say, 100 million people spend a hundred euros a year on booking fees from our perspective, that makes the booking market worth at least ten billion euros—a massive market! In Estonia, tinkering on a small scale, we’ve achieved nearly half a million euros in annual revenue. With investor help, we could grow at least a hundredfold and aim for annual revenue of at least fifty million euros in the near future. Today, there are nearly 30 million freelancers in the EU, and that number is growing fast because people increasingly value the freedom to work when they want. Plus, AI’s rapid rise is threatening many existing jobs. If we used a modest twentyfold revenue multiple for our company’s valuation, we’d achieve unicorn status. The diamonds are on the ground; now we just need to pick them up.
What else do you dream of?
One of my dreams is to collaborate with a major Japanese artist agency or a big label to offer our Estonian artists much better contract terms both in our region and globally. We have a lot to learn from Asia’s big markets and, for example, South Korea’s music industry, which
successfully brought K-pop to the world. Also, one of the most famous companies in our field—Sony Music—is actually a Japanese company. Right now, we have a big problem because the regional headquarters and offices of these big labels are closing down here. Just recently, in 2024, Warner Music ceased operations in Estonia, laying off 30 people in the region. Then our local artists move to offices in other countries, signing contracts with much worse terms. The local artists in those specific countries are still in a preferred position. In their eyes, we’re like a distant periphery where everything can be had cheaply—just luring talent away without offering much in return. Unfortunately, this is a common practice among the Nordic branches of big labels. Of course, there’s a lot of good there too—just not for our local artists. I’ve seen contracts with our top artists where there’s no signing bonus for the artist, and the label takes on no obligations. That situation needs to change by creating more competition.Overall, I think the era of big record labels is over—they feel like dinosaurs. We need to start cultivating new business models. At the same time, there’s still a lot to learn from international music producers.
How do you listen to music the most these days? Do you still buy CDs sometimes?
When I was a DJ, I used to order CDs by the kilograms from Germany—definitely over three thousand of them. At some point, I had them digitized. Today, I mostly buy and consume music digitally. To be honest, I’ve even started appreciating silence more—I don’t even listen to the radio in the car anymore, which is a bit funny considering what I do.
Reach out to danel@partyfy.eu for collaboration opportunities or to explore investment in Partyfy.