What should be in a music management contract?

At minimum: the term and how it can end, the commission rate and what income it applies to, a sunset clause for after the term, which costs are excluded, an expense approval limit, who the key person is, and who collects the money. Have your own music lawyer review it before signing.

How long is a typical music management contract?

In general practice a few years, often tied to album cycles or with performance targets that let either side end it if the career is not moving. Very long terms with no exit are a warning sign.

What is a key person clause in a management deal?

It names the individual manager you are signing with. If that person leaves the company or stops working on your career, you can end the agreement. It stops a company from signing you with a senior manager and handing you to someone else.

What to look for in a music management contract

A management contract is short compared with a record deal. It is still the document that decides who gets paid on your career for years, so it deserves a slow read. Here are the parts I would look at first if I were the artist.

Everything here is general industry practice. It is not legal advice. Have your own music lawyer, not the manager's, review any agreement before you sign it.

Term

How long the agreement lasts. In general practice it is a few years. Some contracts tie the term to album cycles, so the deal runs through a set number of releases and the campaigns around them.

What to check:

Is there a trial period at the start? A short first term, with an option to continue, gives both sides a way to see if it works.
Are there performance targets? Some agreements say that if the artist does not reach a certain income level, or sign a record deal, within a set time, either side can end it.
Can it renew automatically? If yes, what has to happen for it to stop renewing?

Very long terms with no way out are the thing to push back on.

Commission

The rate is usually 15 to 20 percent in general practice. I wrote a full post on [what managers charge and what is commissionable](/blog/music-manager-commission-and-fees/), so here are the short points.

Is the commission on gross or net income? If gross, which costs come off first?
Is touring treated differently? It often should be, because tours have large costs.
Is income from before the manager arrived included? It often is not, or is at a lower rate.

Exclusions

Write down what the manager does not commission. Common exclusions are recording costs, producer fees, tour support and money that passes straight through to other people, like opening act buy-ons. If the contract is silent on exclusions, ask why.

Sunset clause

This sets what the manager earns after the agreement ends on deals made during the term. A sensible one pays the manager fairly for work done and steps down to zero over time. Without one, you can owe a former manager full commission on old deals indefinitely while paying a new manager too.

Key person

If you are signing with a company, the contract should name the person who will actually manage you. If that person leaves or stops working on your career, you should be able to leave too. This protects you from signing with the senior name and getting handed to an assistant.

Scope

What does the agreement cover? Music only, or acting, hosting, books, brand deals and anything else in entertainment? Worldwide or one territory?

That last point matters a lot for international artists. Many artists who come to me already have management or a label at home. A US manager working in one territory, next to the home team, needs a contract that says so. When I worked with BTS from 2016 to 2018 I was the US managing partner, working alongside Big Hit Entertainment. The label stayed the label. The scope was the American campaign. That kind of clarity keeps everyone on the same side.

Expenses

Who pays what. The normal split is that the manager covers their own office and staff, and the artist reimburses costs spent specifically on the artist. Look for:

A cap on single expenses without written approval
A monthly cap
A requirement for receipts

Money and accounting

Who collects the income? Best practice is that a business manager or accountant collects it, pays commission and expenses, and sends statements. If the manager collects the money directly, the contract should give you the right to see the books, often called an audit right.

Power of attorney

Some contracts let the manager sign on the artist's behalf. If yours does, it should be narrow. Small things like routine show confirmations, maybe. Recording, publishing and long-term deals, no. You sign those yourself.

Termination

How either side can end it. Look for:

Termination for cause, with a notice period to fix a problem
What happens to commission after termination (the sunset)
Whether the manager can stop you from signing with someone else during a notice period

Red flags

An up-front fee or a monthly retainer called management
No sunset, or a sunset that lasts longer than the term itself
Commission on recording costs or tour support
A broad power of attorney
A request that you use the manager's lawyer
Pressure to sign quickly

The part that is not in the contract

A contract protects you if things go wrong. It does not make them go right. Before signing, look at what the manager has actually done with artists like you, talk to artists they have managed, and ask how they would spend your first year. If you want the baseline first, here is [what a manager actually does](/blog/what-a-music-manager-does/), and for artists outside the US, [what US management involves](/us-management-for-international-artists/).

General practice, not legal advice. Your lawyer reads it first.

Eshy Gazit is a US music manager for international artists. US managing partner for BTS 2016 to 2018, manager of Monsta X since 2018, partner at Maverick Management, founder of EG Management, Intertwine Records and LUSIVEX. Billboard International Power Player 2021 and 2022. Contact.