An agent works for the artist, not the venue. The job is a pipeline: enquiries in, confirmed dates out, and a diary that has to make geographic sense.
What the job covers
- Fielding enquiries from promoters, festivals and other agents
- Pricing the show and placing a hold on the date
- Negotiating the fee and the deal structure
- Sending the offer, then the deal memo
- Chasing the deposit and checking the settlement afterwards
How agents are paid
Almost always a percentage of the fee, not a retainer. In Europe 10 to 15 percent is normal for club and festival work, with 10 percent the common figure in the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany. See Commission.
Territory
Few agents cover the world. An artist often has one agent for Europe, another for North America and a third for Asia. The split is written into the agency agreement, so a promoter in Spain and a promoter in Japan may be talking to different people about the same artist.