In just four months since joining Facebook, I’ve connected with so many wonderful colleagues and new business partners! Entertainment attorney Robert Pafundi is no exception. What follows is a fantastic breakdown of the differences between agents and managers.
Entertainment Law 101
In order to protect yourself and get ahead in the entertainment business, you need to truly understand the difference between talent managers and talent agents. Even agents and managers have difficulty agreeing among themselves on who does what, and whether both representatives are necessary to an actor. If you’re seriously interested in developing a career in the entertainment business — whether in television, feature films, commercials or live stage — you’ll need to fully appreciate the legal and practical, day-to-day differences between a talent agent and manager.
Fortunately, the California Supreme Court, in a case brought by Marathon Entertainment, Inc. against Strong Medicine star Rosa Blasi [Marathon Entertainment Inc. v. Blasi, (2008) 42 Cal.4th 974, 70 Cal.Rptr.3d 727.], articulately distinguished between agents and managers:
“In Hollywood, talent… is represented by two groups of people: agents and managers. Agents procure roles; they put artists on the screen, on the stage, behind the camera; indeed, by law, only they may do so. Managers coordinate everything else; they counsel and advise, take care of business arrangements, and chart the course of an artist’s career.
This division largely exists only in theory…. The line dividing the functions of agents, who must be licensed, and of managers, who need not be, is often blurred and sometimes crossed. [Emphasis added.] Agents sometimes counsel and advise; managers sometimes procure work. Indeed, the occasional procurement of employment opportunities may be standard operating procedure for many managers and an understood goal when not-yet-established talents, lacking access to the few licensed agents in Hollywood, hire managers to promote their careers.”
More about Agents
Some say agents are the foot soldiers who daily slog through the muddy trenches of Hollywood. Agents are responsible for sending clients on auditions and generally representing opportunities that will hopefully lead to work. An agent’s job is three-tiered:
- Keep tabs on trends and developments in the business.
- Present actors to people who can make a deal.
- Negotiate the main points of actors’ contracts.
Agents in a Nutshell
- Under California law, talent agents must be licensed and bonded by the state. The license application process is complex and elaborate. It requires substantial personal information, references, FBI fingerprinting, a background check, payment of annual fees, and the securing of a $50,000 renewal bond.
- All talent agents in California are regulated by Labor Code Sections 1700 through 1700.47, commonly known as The Talent Agencies Act of California — the TAA.
- Many talent agents also operate under the SAG franchise agreement, utilizing Screen Actors Guild contracts, while others are members of the breakaway Association of Talent Agents (ATA).
- Talent agents earn a commission if their client is booked as a direct result of their submission, pitch, or meeting with a casting director or producer. Commissions are up to 10% on work an actor books on union TV, film, and commercials, and up to 20% on print work. Although fees for nonunion projects are unregulated, it’s rare for commissions to exceed 20%.
- Talent agents typically ask an actor to sign a one-year contract, which often includes a 91-day performance-based “bailout” clause for the actor.
- Talent agents have input on an actor’s headshots, but rarely have the time to work through hundreds of shots from your photography session.
- Good agents submit and pitch to get you in the door with casting directors.
- Talent agents, by definition, negotiate deals when an actor books the part, which includes trying to augment and improve most of the primary deal points.
Here’s what our Supreme Court said about how talent agents are regulated:
“Agents are effectively subject to regulation by the various guilds that cover most of the talent available in the industry: most notably, the Screen Actors Guild [SAG], American Federation of Television and Radio Artists [AFTRA], Directors Guild of America [DGA], Writers Guild of America [WGA], and American Federation of Musicians [AFM]. Artists may informally agree to use only agents who have been ‘franchised’ by their respective guilds; in turn, as a condition of franchising, the guilds may require agents to agree to a code of conduct and restrictions on terms included in agent-talent contracts. Most significantly, those restrictions typically include a cap on the commission charged (generally 10%), a cap on contract duration, and a bar on producing one’s client’s work and obtaining a producer’s fee. These restrictions create incentives to establish a high-volume clientele, offer more limited services, and focus on those lower risk artists with established track records who can more readily be marketed to talent buyers.”
More about Managers
Managers, by contrast, are completely unregulated. They can choose to become members of private organizations like Talent Managers Association (TMA) or the National Conference of Personal Managers (NCOPM) and abide by their specific codes of ethics or conduct. However, even some of Hollywood’s top talent managers choose not to join these organizations, so membership is not a true guarantee of credibility or ability.
And, as recognized by our Supreme Court, talent managers offer a broad range of marketing-related services:
“Personal managers… typically accept a higher-risk clientele and offer a much broader range of services, focusing on advising and counseling each artist with an eye to making the artist as marketable and attractive to talent buyers as possible, as well as managing the artist’s personal and professional life in a way that allows the artist to focus on creative productivity. Personal managers primarily advise, counsel, direct, and coordinate the development of the artist’s career. They advise in both business and personal matters, frequently lend money to young artists, and serve as spokespersons for the artists. Given this greater degree of involvement and risk, managers typically have a smaller client base and charge higher commissions than agents (as they may, in the absence of guild price caps); managers may also produce their clients’ work and thus receive compensation in that fashion.”
A good talent manager can make a significant difference in the development, growth, and maintenance of an actor’s career. Both new and seasoned actors can and have benefitted from such a manager. The key words, however, are “legitimate” and “professional.” Since talent managers — unlike talent agents — are not regulated, there’s more room for the unscrupulous. A few telltale signs to help identify a legitimate manager in California:
- Legitimate managers will never sell you acting classes, workshops, or coaching sessions, though they’ll likely recommend such options for you.
- Legitimate managers will never refer you to classes or workshops in which they have a financial interest.
- Legitimate managers will never sell you photography packages, though they’ll likely recommend photographers who they believe will be best for you.
- While legitimate managers will offer you their professional guidance and services, you’ll only pay them based on a percentage of what you actually earn.
Managers in a Nutshell
- Talent managers invest a great deal of time and energy in an actor’s potential, long before the actor has a track record of consistent bookings.
- Managers are largely unregulated, but can elect to be members of the TMA or NCOPM, both of which have specific codes of conduct for members.
- Some managers earn 15% commission on all work booked.
- Because their role in an actor’s career is more personal, talent managers typically request a longer contract term — up to three years. Consequently, they expect to work for quite some time before seeing any return at all on their investment.
- Managers will advise actors on their image, resume format and content, headshots, acting classes, demo reels, websites, personal appearance, and overall career direction.
- Managers make sure that actors are accurately listed on IMDb, Actors Access, and LA Casting, and that an actor’s membership is current with SAG, AFTRA, and other collective guilds or unions.
- Managers determine an actor’s most marketable type and kinds of projects on which an actor is most likely to find work.
- Talent managers help an actor find an agency when the time is right — usually as soon as possible.
Generally speaking, as close as the client-agent relationship is, the client-manager relationship should be even closer.
Do You Need an Agent and a Manager?
This is an important consideration which raises several questions. Are you focused on one aspect of the business (i.e., commercials) or are you multi-faceted (i.e., TV, film, commercials, modeling, dance, and hosting)? Are you starting out, experienced, or an established name?
The Role of the Entertainment Lawyer
Even if you have an agent and/or manager, when it comes time to close any major motion picture role, series regular role, or meaningful deal, you’re going to need an experienced entertainment lawyer to go head-to-head with the studio, protect your interests, and finalize the deal, because these deals are negotiated with lawyers from the studios’ legal affairs departments. This is particularly important in projects involving children since there are special laws which uniquely apply to any contract involving a minor, and parents must also be advised of any potential liability they may bear — all of which depends on the specific language of the contract. A talent manager can recommend an entertainment lawyer when it comes time to nail down a contract and protect both parent and child.
Talent Agencies Act “Procurement” Violations
One of the most significant practical differences between agents and managers relates to the issue of procurement. The Talent Agencies Act (TAA), which regulates talent agents, is a remedial statute, with the primary goal of protecting artists from exploitation. Because of its protective purpose, “the Act strictly regulates a talent agency’s conduct.” Under the TAA, talent agents may “procure” work, but talent managers are forbidden from doing so.
The Bottom Line
Both talent agents and talent managers can be very important to the success of your career in entertainment. An important step to building a healthy and successful career is to understand the difference between the two.
I totally agree with Robert about the importance of understanding the difference between the roles an agent and a manager play in an actor’s career. So many actors hit town and say, “I need an agent! I need a manager!” and there’s not a whole lot of thought behind why an actor would need these members of the team — much less what each does (and what each does not do). Part of creating a team that will support your career goals and help you to thrive in this business includes being keenly aware of what your team members’ jobs encompass. Thanks for the wonderful contribution, Robert.
About Robert Pafundi
Robert N. Pafundi, Esq., has more than 25 years experience as an attorney and is head of the Entertainment Law Section of McCorriston Miller Mukai MacKinnon LLP in Los Angeles. He is also a talent manager and the owner of MGA Talent, which specializes in children and young adults. Robert has represented more than 1000 children and young adult actors, and currently represents iconic personalities such as Lou Ferrigno. As an attorney, Robert has addressed many of the most important and recurring issues relating to children and young adults in the entertainment industry. In 2007, Robert represented a series regular on the hit Fox series Malcolm in the Middle in the successful appeal of a trial court judgment, which ordered almost $600,000 in commissions to be paid to the actor’s talent manager. In this landmark decision, the Court of Appeals for the Second District reversed, holding that the child actor had the right to void or “disaffirm” the management contract as to the child star because a Guardian ad Litem had not been appointed, and the manager had failed to have the contract approved by a court, as required by California law.
Further details on the topics covered here are available at mgatalent.com. Please feel free to contact Robert regarding any entertainment-related dispute or transaction at 310.201.7477 or at rob@m4law.com.
This contribution originally ran at Bonnie Gillespie’s online column on February 1, 2009.