Andrew Goodfriend, TKO Booking Agency and Todd Entertainment

Todd Entertainment did not book its own live engagements. It retained Andrew Goodfriend, a licensed booking agent, to handle performance bookings for the Josh Todd project, and Goodfriend was paid commission on the engagements he handled. That division of responsibility is central to the case: the investor supplied capital and business administration, while licensed booking representation sat with the agent.

Goodfriend is identified in the record as a partner in TKO Booking Agency (The Kirby Organization) and as a licensed booking agent for Todd Entertainment. TKO Booking Agency was also named as a defendant in the civil litigation, alongside The Agency Group. Both agencies were named in later civil claims.

Josh Todd asked Meagher to explore booking the project at the Rock Odyssey festival held July 24–25, 2004 at Osaka Dome in Nishi-ku, Osaka. Meagher took the request to Goodfriend, who said he had no Japan contacts. At Goodfriend's instruction Meagher approached the project's Japanese distribution partner, JVC/Victor Entertainment. Udo Artists made an offer, which Meagher promptly forwarded to Goodfriend. Goodfriend handled the booking and took his commission; Meagher never negotiated, finalised or independently booked the engagement.

After Meagher complained about a change in Todd's position on the festival bill, Udo Artists — not Goodfriend — offered an additional $20,000 to compensate for the mix-up. Further detail is on the Rock Odyssey Japan booking history page.

According to Meagher, at no point did Goodfriend warn him that contacting the Japanese distribution partner at the agent's own direction could later be characterised as unlicensed procurement of employment under California's Talent Agencies Act, nor did Goodfriend raise any concern before accepting the offer and collecting his commission. This is Meagher's recollection; it is not an adjudicated finding.

The dispute expanded well beyond Todd and Meagher. The booking agencies — The Agency Group and TKO Booking Agency, in connection with Goodfriend — were named in claims concerning fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, double-charging of commissions and the agency's role in the conduct later raised under the Talent Agencies Act. These are allegations made in pleadings. They are not findings, and nothing on this page should be read as a determination that they were proven.

Meagher's attorneys characterised the agent's conduct in strong terms. Buck McKinney of Austin, Texas said he had “never seen a case where a talent agent has so blatantly led his clients down the primrose path,” and James Key of Fort Worth, Texas said the actions of The Agency Group and Andrew Goodfriend “are exactly why we have the Deceptive Trade Practices Act in Texas.” These are advocacy statements by counsel for one side, not neutral findings.

The petition of Josh Todd was heard by the California Labor Commissioner as TAC No. 13418. The statute and the structural risk it creates for investors are explained on the Talent Agencies Act proceeding reference page. Where the Labor Commissioner made findings, those findings are reported as the Commissioner's, whether or not they favoured the investor.

Goodfriend subsequently ceased acting as Todd Entertainment's booking agent and went on to work as a booking agent for Buckcherry, the band Josh Todd returned to. That business-side continuity is set out with the personnel continuity on the Buckcherry 2003–2005 transition page. This site makes no claim about Goodfriend's current employer, agency affiliation or clients.