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How much a booking agent should get


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Agents traditionally get 15%.

 

In some states, a manager can not serve as both your booking agent and your manager. California is such a state. I believe TN allows that though - it does vary from state to state.

 

As far as what a manager normally takes, it depends on the deal - 25% of gross is not uncommon.

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So, if one had a manager and a booking agent, they could take 40%? Or the manager gets 25% of 85%? I had no idea a manager would get 25%. That calls for some serious managing.

> > > [ Live! ] < < <

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The average in The Netherlands is around 20% max for a manager/ booking agency but I only would pay that if they work as hard as the band does.

If the manager is not the one who actually directly booked the gig, he won't make anything off it, unless he's there and takes care of the usual things.

 

steelandre.

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Originally posted by LiveMusic:

So, if one had a manager and a booking agent, they could take 40%? Or the manager gets 25% of 85%? I had no idea a manager would get 25%. That calls for some serious managing.

From my experience (which may not be the norm), the booking agents are taking 10% off the top.

 

Management (which in 99.99% of the instances do ZERO) get 20%. For the most part, the bulk of work is done by the tour or road manager. "Managers" review the contracts, or make career decisions for the act.

 

In some instances, there are clauses in the contracts where the mgmt company cannot earn more than the artiste - which is entirely feasible.

 

Say the act gets an advance of $675k for a album. The management co sees $130k +.

 

Or, if the artiste is getting $25k for a single show. Rehearsals, band salary etc can easily knock the artiste's take home to less than $5k (management take).

 

Then, if the business is really complicated, the management company may also do the payroll for the tour (bad idea), or the accounting (worse idea).

 

Some acts have business managers, tax attorneys, booking agents, personal managers, tour managers, road managers etc etc.

 

No wonder they get such a small piece of the pie. I call it the Mike Tyson syndrome.

 

NYC Drew

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Some acts have business managers, tax attorneys, booking agents, personal managers, tour managers, road managers etc etc.

 

No wonder they get such a small piece of the pie. I call it the Mike Tyson syndrome.

 

Indeed. :(

 

I wouldn't recommend a young band rush out and hire a manager first thing... IMO, an ATTORNEY should be your first stop. They can represent you. They can review any contract offers and negotiate on your behalf. They can (assuming they have the proper connections and prestige) get you attention from labels, negotiate with publishers, etc. etc. IMO, they're FAR more valuable to an artist than a traditional "manager" is.

 

If you're out doing a tour - a significant tour, a tour manager is a must have.

 

Good luck getting any kind of legit booking agent unless you're already signed and / or already moving significant unit quantities and have a serious reputation independently. At that point, you probably need one.

 

But like trying to get a loan from a bank, it's a LOT easier to get assistance from any of these people (labels included) if you DON'T NEED THEM.

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