- Well the question is
are there any pitfalls
any things to look out for
in working with an agency?
Well, there are in every business.
We're a little bit lucky in art music
in that
we have
very few
sharks,
in that particular part of the business.
The income isn't large enough,
sad to say.
And um,
the people that practice our form of music
tend to be a little more aware,
a little bit more educated,
a little more sophisticated,
and as I said, word of mouth travels fast.
There are a couple of things to look for.
For example, a standard booking agreement,
a standard booking contract,
an agent
generally takes
10 to 15 percent
for a, for an engagement,
and 20 percent,
as high as 20 percent for a casual engagement.
Which, which it's nice,
that's nice language for a one night stand,
or in our parlance, a concert.
But uh, so I would say that
certainly a red light would go off
if a commission of more than 20 percent
were to be asked for,
particularly if it was not in conjunction
with a one night stand,
a casual engagement.
And if that wasn't a very high paying one, as well.
Sometimes an agent,
and again this is rare in our field,
but sometimes an agent will feel
that if they've booked a musician
into a very lucrative position,
that they should,
perhaps, get a higher percentage.
But mathematically that's nonsense,
because the higher the fee,
that they are able to get,
the higher the real value of the percentage
would be, anyway.