1 / The relationship
What is an artist management agreement?
An artist management agreement records the deal between an artist and a personal manager. It answers practical questions: What help will the manager provide? How will they be paid? How long will they work together? Who approves deals, and how can the relationship end?
The work might include planning releases, coordinating tours and brand work, introducing potential partners, and building a team. Specific responsibilities connect that work to this artist's needs. A broad promise to “manage the career” can leave both sides expecting different things.
A written agreement does not replace trust or good judgment. It gives both sides a record of their expectations before money, workload, or disagreements put that trust under pressure.
From the artist's side
You are describing the help you are paying for, keeping control of final decisions, and setting a clear way to leave if the relationship stops working.
From the manager's side
You are recording the time, relationships, and day-to-day work you plan to invest over the long term, along with how you will be paid.
2 / Timing
Why an early written agreement helps
Management terms matter before the first major payday. Even early work can lead to a later dispute about who arranged an opportunity and whether a commission is owed.
Agreeing on the role and payment before the manager begins significant work, handles money, or negotiates opportunities gives both sides a shared starting point. The written record helps if they later remember the same conversation differently.
It is a sensible time to put the relationship in writing when:
- The manager is regularly handling career plans or deal conversations.
- The artist has started receiving meaningful payments.
- A label, touring, brand, publishing, or distribution opportunity is active.
- The artist is a group and everyone needs to understand how management works across its members.
- Either side is paying money in advance or taking on regular expenses.
- The artist and manager are discussing an exclusive relationship.
3 / Roles
A manager is not the same as a booking agent
A personal manager usually helps with the artist's whole career: giving advice, coordinating the team, choosing opportunities, and supporting negotiations. A booking agent usually finds and arranges live performances and earns a commission from those bookings.
The roles can overlap, but a job title does not settle who does what or who needs a license. Defining the actual work makes responsibilities clearer, including who handles show offers and how the manager and agent are each paid from live income.
4 / Getting paid
A percentage of which income?
A commission is the manager's agreed percentage of income. There is no universal or legally required percentage. The artist and manager negotiate both the rate and the money it applies to.
The work offered, the manager's experience, the artist's career stage, the countries covered, other team members, and the type of income can all affect the deal. The whole calculation reveals more than the percentage alone.
Which payments count?
“Commissionable income” is the money used to calculate the manager's share. It may include recording, live shows, songwriting and publishing, brand work, merchandise, acting, advances, and fees. A category list also explains how payments through the artist's company are treated.
Earlier earnings, existing deals, and collaborators' shares need separate treatment. Otherwise, one side may expect a commission on all money arriving during management while the other expects to pay only on new work or on money that actually belongs to the artist.
Which costs come out first?
“Gross” usually means income before costs. A commission on gross income can be owed even when the artist has substantial bills to pay from the same money.
The deal may allow no deductions, specific deductions, or a different defined calculation. Agent fees, direct taxes, outside costs, refunds, and production expenses come out first only as the agreement allows. “Net income” is not a clear answer unless the deductions are explained.
6 / Records
Who pays expenses, and how can the artist check the numbers?
The manager's normal business costs are different from expenses paid specifically for the artist. The agreement determines which costs the artist must repay; every cost of management is not automatically an extra artist charge.
A budget or spending limit lets the manager work without seeking approval for every small purchase. An advance-approval rule for larger or unusual costs helps the artist avoid surprise bills. Receipts and a clear repayment process support both sides' records.
Expense records
Defined reimbursable costs, approvals, and receipt requirements make charges easier to verify. The deal also determines whether the manager can take repayment directly from the artist's income.
Statements and payments
A reporting schedule explains when income, deductions, commission, expenses, and the balance owed will be reported and paid. Payment of an agreed amount need not wait for resolution of a different, disputed charge.
Checking the books
An audit is a review of financial records. Notice, access, review periods, confidentiality, and record-keeping deadlines affect how useful it is. A correction process identifies how underpayments are fixed and when the manager pays for a review that finds an error.
7 / The exit
How can the relationship end, and what is still owed?
Ending management and ending commission payments are not always the same thing. A manager may have helped arrange deals that pay later. The agreement needs both a workable way to leave and clear limits on any payments that continue.
Some deals also include a conduct or “morals” clause, allowing action over specified behavior. It is a negotiating choice, not a requirement. Its effect depends on the conduct covered, evidence, written notice, chance to respond, and consequences. Protection may cover the artist, the manager, or both.
An exit for misconduct may affect final statements and later commissions, depending on the wording. Ending the working relationship over an allegation does not, by itself, settle those financial questions.
Notice and a chance to fix problems
Termination means ending the agreement. A breach is a broken contractual promise; a cure period is time to fix it. Exit terms distinguish problems requiring notice and time to fix from serious events allowing an immediate exit. Some deals also allow either side to leave without giving a reason.
If the chosen manager leaves
An artist may hire a company because of one particular manager. A key-person clause names that person and explains the artist's options if they stop doing the agreed work. The result may depend on whether the company can offer a replacement and whether the artist must accept them.
Commissions after leaving
A sunset clause sets the manager's commission rights after the deal ends. Covered deals or income, duration, any falling percentage, and the final cutoff determine its reach. Renewals and later changes to earlier deals need clear treatment to distinguish payment for earlier work from a claim on unrelated future opportunities.
8 / Practical review
Questions to answer before signing
Read the full agreement, its attachments, and any policies it makes part of the deal. Try three situations: a payment arrives, the manager wants to approve a deal, and one side wants to leave. Can you find a clear answer for each without relying on an earlier conversation?
- Who is signing: the artist, individual group members, or a company? Does the agreement cover the business that receives the income?
- What work will the manager do, in which countries, and toward which priorities? Does exclusivity prevent the artist from hiring anyone else?
- Which income earns a commission, at what percentage, and when is it counted?
- Which earlier deals, collaborators' shares, costs, or refunds are excluded? Can both sides calculate the same payment?
- When does the agreement start and end? Who can extend it, by what deadline, and after meeting which conditions?
- Which decisions stay with the artist? Is any permission to sign or act for the artist limited to a necessary, specific task?
- Which expenses must the artist repay, which need advance approval, and what receipts must the manager provide?
- When are statements and payments due? How can records be checked and mistakes corrected?
- How can either side leave? Check notice, time to fix a broken promise, protection if the named manager leaves, and any later commissions.
- Has an independent entertainment lawyer reviewed the important terms and any local licensing requirements before signing?
Sources and further reading
Quick answers
Frequently asked questions
Does an artist management agreement need a morals clause?
No. A morals clause sets consequences for specified behavior, and including one is a negotiating choice. If proposed, say what conduct is covered, what evidence is needed, how notice and a chance to respond work, and what happens next. Consider protection for both sides. Also explain whether ending the deal under that clause changes final payments or commissions that would otherwise continue.
When should an artist sign an artist management agreement?
Agree on the terms when deciding to work together, before the manager begins significant work, handles money, or negotiates opportunities. Waiting for a major payday can leave both sides disagreeing about payment for earlier work. If the manager will find or arrange jobs or performances, check the licensing and talent-agency rules that apply to that activity and location.
Is a 15% or 20% management commission required?
No. Those percentages are examples often discussed in music-industry materials, not required or recommended rates. Negotiate the percentage together with the income it applies to and any costs deducted first. A lower percentage of all income may cost more than a higher percentage of a narrower amount. Compare the actual work and payment calculation for this relationship.
Can a manager sign contracts for an artist?
A manager needs legal authority to commit the artist to a contract; the job title alone does not supply it. Permission to discuss a deal is different from permission to sign it. The agreement can reserve final approval and signing to the artist while allowing the manager to handle specific tasks. Review any power of attorney separately and limit its scope and duration.
What should a sunset clause explain?
A sunset clause governs commissions after the management agreement ends. There is no single fair version for every relationship. Identify the deals or income covered, how renewals and later changes are treated, how long payments continue, whether the rate falls, and the final cutoff. That lets both sides distinguish payment for earlier work from a claim on unrelated future opportunities.
Ready to put the core business terms in writing?