Most agents will represent artists on an exclusive basis. This means that anyone who wants to engage the artist must negotiate with the agent. This also means that the agency may be entitled to a commission derived from virtually all of artist's employment in the entertainment industry. Generally, talent agency agreements have an initial term of one to three years. Additional one year options are possible, sometimes based on certain specified levels of income having been achieved during the term.
Agents generally receive a commission which ranges between ten and twenty percent.
The artist should always limit the commisionable income to live performance monies and exclude any recording and publishing income. Furthermore, unless the artist is signed to one of the big agencies which puts together package deals in a variety of media, the artist will not want the music agent to be commisioning income derived from acting gigs. Except for the provisions relating to commisions, agency agreements, unlike management agreements, tend to be non-negotiable. Furthermore, it is important to note that some states, such as California, require that talent agencies be licensed by the State Labor Commission. As a result, in the State of California, a non-licensed individual, including a manager, may not secure employment for an artist.