Opinion ID: 2519626
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Agents and Managers

Text: In Hollywood, talent agents act as intermediaries between the buyers and sellers of talent. (Regulation of Attorneys, supra, 80 Cal. L.Rev. at p. 479.) While formally artists are agents' clients, in practice a talent agent's livelihood depends on cultivating valuable connections on both sides of the artistic labor market. (Birdthistle, A Contested Ascendancy: Problems with Personal Managers Acting as Producers (2000) 20 Loyola L.A. Ent. L.J. 493, 502-503 (hereafter Contested Ascendancy); Regulation of Attorneys, at p. 479.) Generally speaking, an agent's focus is on the deal: on negotiating numerous shortterm, project-specific engagements between buyers and sellers. (Conflicts in the New Hollywood supra, 76 So.Cal. L.Rev. at p. 981.) 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, American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, Directors Guild of America, Writers Guild of America, and American Federation of Musicians. (Regulation of Attorneys, supra, 80 Cal. L.Rev. at p. 487.) 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 agenttalent contracts. (Conflicts in the New Hollywood supra, 76 So.Cal. L.Rev. at pp. 989-990; Contested Ascendancy, supra, 20 Loyola L.A. Ent. L.J. at p. 520.) Most significantly, those restrictions typically include a cap on the commission charged (generally 10 percent), a cap on contract duration, and a bar on producing one's client's work and obtaining a producer's fee. (Screen Actors Guild, Codified Agency Regs., rule 16(g); American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, Regs. Governing Agents, rule 12-C; Matthau v. Superior Court (2007) 151 Cal.App.4th 593, 596-597, 60 Cal.Rptr.3d 93; Conflicts in the New Hollywood, at pp. 989-990; Contested Ascendancy, at pp. 520-521.) 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. (Conflicts in the New Hollywood, at p. 981; Contested Ascendancy, at p. 503.) Personal managers, in contrast, are not franchised by the guilds. (Conflicts in the New Hollywood, supra, 76 So.Cal. L.Rev. at p. 991; Contested Ascendancy, supra, 20 Loyola L.A. Ent. L.J. at p. 522.) They 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. ( Waisbren v. Peppercorn Productions, Inc., supra, 41 Cal.App.4th at pp. 252-253, 48 Cal.Rptr.2d 437; Cal. Entertainment Com., Rep. (Dec. 2, 1985) p. 9 (hereafter Entertainment Commission Report); Regulation of Attorneys, supra, 80 Cal. L.Rev. at pp. 482-483.) 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. ( Park v. Deftones (1999) 71 Cal.App.4th 1465, 1469-1470, 84 Cal.Rptr.2d 616.) 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. (Conflicts in the New Hollywood, at p. 992; Talent Agencies Act, supra, 28 Pepperdine L.Rev. at p. 383; Contested Ascendancy, at pp. 508, 526-527; Regulation of Attorneys, at p. 483.)