Building Your Team: What is the Role of the Personal Manager, Talent Agent, and Entertainment Attorney?
One of the most common things I hear from artists is that they wish that they could just focus on creating their art and not have to worry about all the “business stuff.” This line of thinking is not new and is the reason why the positions of personal managers, talent agents, and entertainment attorneys exist. However, often times people do not understand what the difference between these roles actually is. Building a strong team is vital to an artist’s success, so we are going to break down the differences of these roles and talk about what they each bring to the table.
Personal Manager
TL;DR: Personal Managers help shape the career of the artist.
The main job of the personal manager is to help maintain and shape the career of the artist. Personal managers are often the most involved in the life of the artist and tend to have a smaller book of clients because of this. A good personal manager is going to recognize the artist’s talents and help them flex those in a way that can expand their career to heights that they have always dreamed about. They help make major business decisions such as choosing which label to sign with when that time comes. They often help the artist in the creative process by helping them connect with other artists, producers, photographers, etc. A personal manager should be hyping the artist up, spreading the word of the latest project, and coming up with the best ways to promote the artist.
Personal managers are the right-hand man, the buffer from the real world, and the facilitator of the artist’s career. Because of this, it is key to have a good personal manager. This seems like an obvious statement, but it has to be said. It is all too common that artists choose a friend from their clique to represent them as their personal manager and while this is a nice gesture, it is almost always a bad business decision. Barring the occasional exception, the friend generally does not have the knowledge of the entertainment industry that an experienced personal manager does.
Talent Agent
TL;DR: Talent Agents find work for the artist.
The role of the talent agent varies depending on what industry they work in, but when it is all boiled down, the talent agent is the person on the artist’s team who helps them find work. Talent agents also commonly procure sponsorship and endorsement deals on behalf of their clients. In the music industry, a talent agent’s job is generally helping the artist book shows. In film, television, theater, and publishing, the talent agent has much more bargaining power, but their job is still to procure employment for the artist. The talent agent is not as hands on with the artist, and often will have a large book of clients that they procure employment for. While the artist will likely have an exclusive deal with a talent agent, if they are creating in multiple spaces they would have more than one talent agent. For example, Miley Cyrus likely has multiple agents because she is both an actress and a singer.
Entertainment Attorney
TL;DR: Entertainment Attorneys structure and negotiate deals for the artist.
The role of the entertainment attorney is to provide legal services for the artist, go figure. However, the attorney is often the first person that the artist should add to their team because they are going to review the artist’s contracts with their personal manager and talent agent. The entertainment attorney should have a strong foundation in intellectual property rights and contract law at a minimum since they will be reviewing any potential deals that come the artist’s way (read about publishing contracts for composers and songwriters here). I advise against hiring your parent’s estate attorney to do the work of an entertainment attorney simply because they are a family friend. While the estate attorney could likely provide some good insight, it is important that the artist get an attorney who understands the industry that they are working in so that the attorney can negotiate better deals for the artist. For the same reason you should not go to a foot doctor for a brain tumor, you should not go to a non-entertainment attorney for entertainment needs.
Final Thoughts
Overall, the artist should choose a personal manager, talent agent, and entertainment attorney that they vibe with. They are going to be working for the artist which means the artist should choose someone who works well with them. A good team can make or break an artist’s career, so take care in selecting them. Ask around about their reputation or ask to speak with a current or former client of theirs. Finally, make decisions based upon business, not emotion.
Please feel free to reach out with any questions or comments.
Photo by Ryan Quintal on Unsplash