Agents and Business Managers of Artists, Performers, and Athletes
Represent and promote artists, performers, and athletes in dealings with current or prospective employers. May handle contract negotiation and other business matters for clients.
What it pays
Agents and Business Managers of Artists, Performers, and Athletes earn a median of $39.85/hr — about $83,000 a year. The lowest-paid 10% earn $23.08/hr; the top 10% earn $136.81/hr. (Annual figures are approximate: hourly × 2,080.)
Agents and Business Managers of Artists, Performers, and Athletes earn a median of $39.85/hr — about $83,000 a year. The lowest-paid 10% earn $23.08/hr; the top 10% earn $136.81/hr. (Annual figures are approximate: hourly × 2,080.)
What you'd actually do
- Collect fees, commissions, or other payments, according to contract terms.
- Send samples of clients' work and other promotional material to potential employers to obtain auditions, sponsorships, or endorsement deals.
- Keep informed of industry trends and deals.
- Conduct auditions or interviews to evaluate potential clients.
- Negotiate with managers, promoters, union officials, and other persons regarding clients' contractual rights and obligations.
- Confer with clients to develop strategies for their careers, and to explain actions taken on their behalf.
How you get there
Typical entry-level education: Bachelor's degree. Overall preparation: considerable preparation (Job Zone 4 of 5).
The feel of the work
The work is mostly indoors; you're around people constantly; time pressure is a real part of the job. (Compared against the other 818 careers in the guide.)
Working for yourself
About 26.1% of agents and business managers of artists, performers, and athletes are self-employed.
Who it tends to fit
This work tends to fit people who are take-charge, people-focused and organized and detail-focused.
Work a simulated shift in this job — freeMake the real decisions this job involves, then see what your choices say about you.Related careers
- Business Operations Specialists, All Other
- Logisticians
- Credit Analysts
- Accountants and Auditors
- Insurance Underwriters
- Financial Specialists, All Other
Quick questions
- How much does a agents and business managers of artists, performers, and athlete make?
- The median pay is $39.85 per hour — roughly $83,000 a year, with the real range running from about $23.08/hr (10th percentile) to $136.81/hr (90th percentile). Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
- Do you need a degree to be a agents and business managers of artists, performers, and athlete?
- The typical entry-level education is: Bachelor's degree. Overall preparation level: considerable preparation (Job Zone 4 of 5).
- What does a agents and business managers of artists, performers, and athlete actually do all day?
- Collect fees, commissions, or other payments, according to contract terms. Send samples of clients' work and other promotional material to potential employers to obtain auditions, sponsorships, or endorsement deals. Keep informed of industry trends and deals.
Wages: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS. Tasks & interests: O*NET. Career pathways shown in the app are draft archetypes — verify before relying on them. Trailhead is a free career guide for students — honest numbers, no hype.
Trailhead is operated by FLEXVermont LLC. It is intended for high-school students age 13 and older, and the educators and families who support them, and is not directed to children under 13. Trailhead is provided for general informational and educational purposes only. It does not offer professional, financial, or career advice, and its wage figures and pathways are estimates that may not fit your situation — they should not be relied on as the sole basis for any decision.
Trailhead is operated by FLEXVermont LLC. It is intended for high-school students age 13 and older, and the educators and families who support them, and is not directed to children under 13. Trailhead is provided for general informational and educational purposes only. It does not offer professional, financial, or career advice, and its wage figures and pathways are estimates that may not fit your situation — they should not be relied on as the sole basis for any decision.