Learn — By WATMM Desk —
Manager, agent or lawyer? Who does what for a musician, and how each gets paid
A manager runs your career, a booking agent sells your shows and a lawyer protects you in contracts. They are paid in different ways, and in some places the law limits who can do what. This guide sets out each role, the commission figures we could tie to a published source, and the order we think most independent artists should hire them in. Sources checked on 26 Oct 2026.
Key facts
- Music Week, reporting on the Music Managers Forum Management Deals Guide (Nov 2024), describes default manager commission as "typically around 20% of artist income, plus sunset clauses".
- New York General Business Law § 185 caps a theatrical employment agency's fee at 10% of the pay for a single engagement, and 20% for orchestras and the opera and concert fields.
- California Labor Code § 1700.5 bars anyone from acting as a talent agency without a licence from the Labor Commissioner.
- California Labor Code § 1700.4(a) says procuring recording contracts does not by itself make someone a talent agency.
The people around an artist get lumped together as "the team". Their jobs are different, and so is how they get paid. Mixing them up is how artists end up paying two people for the same work, or signing a commission deal with someone who is not allowed to do half of what they promise.
Short version: a manager runs the whole career, a booking agent sells live shows, and a lawyer reads and negotiates contracts and acts for you if there is a dispute. If you are deciding whether you need a lawyer yet, our guide to hiring a music lawyer goes deeper on that. This page compares the three roles side by side.
The three roles at a glance
| Manager | Booking agent | Lawyer | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Job | Plans and runs the career, picks the team, handles day-to-day business | Finds and negotiates live engagements | Drafts, reviews and negotiates contracts; acts in disputes |
| Usual pay | Commission on your income | Commission on show fees | Hourly, fixed fee or a percentage of a deal, agreed in writing |
| Rules in some places | Can be caught by agency laws if they book work (California) | Licensing and fee caps in some US states | Professional conduct rules set by the bar where they practise |
Managers
A manager is your business partner in practice, though not in law. They plan releases, bring in and coordinate the agent, label, publisher and lawyer, and make sure the money arrives.
How they are paid. Commission on what you earn. Reporting on the Music Managers Forum's Management Deals Guide in November 2024, Music Week describes the default as commission "typically around 20% of artist income, plus sunset clauses". A sunset clause keeps paying the manager some commission on work from their time with you after the deal ends. The same report lists the alternatives the guide covers: fixed minimum fees, commission on gross live income, retainers, co-management and joint ventures.
Before you sign, find out what the 20% is a percentage of. Gross or net? Does it include a recording advance you will spend on the studio? Does it include live income before or after touring costs? Those questions change the real number more than the headline rate does.
Booking agents
An agent sells your live dates: they pitch you to promoters and festivals, negotiate the fee and issue the contract.
The law can matter here. In California, Labor Code § 1700.5 says no one may act as a talent agency without a licence from the Labor Commissioner. § 1700.4(a) defines a talent agency as anyone who procures, offers, promises or attempts to procure "employment or engagements" for an artist. It adds that procuring recording contracts does not, on its own, make someone an agency. So in California, a manager who books your gigs without a licence is doing the agent's job without the legal right to do it. A record-deal hunt is a different matter.
Fee caps exist, but only in some places. New York's General Business Law § 185 caps a theatrical employment agency's fee at 10% of the pay for a single engagement, and 20% for orchestras and the opera and concert fields. We found no published cap that applies to every booking agent, so treat any figure beyond these statutes as something to negotiate, not a standard.
In the UK, the Conduct of Employment Agencies Regulations 2003 add a protection for musicians and other performers: an agency charging to include you in a publication (such as a casting or talent book) may not charge for the first 30 days, during which you can cancel. If the publication does not come out within 60 days of payment, you get a full refund.
Lawyers
A lawyer is the only one of the three whose job is to protect you in a contract, including from your own manager or agent. They are paid in whatever way you agree in writing: hourly, a fixed fee per contract, or sometimes a percentage of the deal. How they may charge depends on the bar rules where they practise. Our lawyer guide covers that in more detail.
One practical rule: the lawyer who reviews your management agreement should not be your manager's lawyer. Conflict rules exist for this reason, and it is the cheapest protection you will ever buy.
What we think
Most independent artists hire these roles in the wrong order. Usually a manager comes first, and the manager then picks the lawyer. We would reverse that.
- Lawyer first, per contract. Pay a fixed fee for a review the first time someone hands you anything with a term of years, including the management agreement itself. That is a one-off cost, not a share of your career.
- Agent when there is demand. An agent sells demand that already exists. If promoters are not asking for you yet, a commission deal will not create the gigs.
- Manager when the admin costs you music. A 20% share of income is a lot to hand over when the income is small. Bring in a manager when coordinating releases, shows and partners is eating your writing time, and agree in writing what the percentage is calculated on and how long the sunset clause runs.
The headline percentages are the least interesting part of these deals. Where real money changes hands is the base each one is calculated on, and the post-term tail.
Sources
- New York General Business Law § 185: Fees, New York State Senate (primary source). Accessed 26 Oct 2026.
- California Labor Code § 1700.4, California Public Law (primary source). Accessed 26 Oct 2026.
- How to Obtain a Talent Agency License, California Department of Industrial Relations, Labor Commissioner (primary source). Accessed 26 Oct 2026.
- Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003, regulation 26, legislation.gov.uk (primary source). Accessed 26 Oct 2026.
- As deal structures evolve, MMF publishes guide for music managers on new commercial models, Music Week. Accessed 26 Oct 2026.
Researched with AI assistance, written and checked by WATMM Desk.