[Capt.FlushGarden]

Hello!

My question is: How many % of the income should a manager have? If you are a freelancer that have a manager that finds jobs for you, how much money should he have?

I hope my english isgood enough for this stupid question...thank you and goodbye!

[quaternius]

capt. -
I think you're referring to an "agent"? At least that's what I think you're asking about.
Here's what I know through colleagues that have told me: those of you with agents are welcome to correct me. I haven't wanted to go that route...

Fee % is variable depending on a number of factors, including your marketability, reputation, what area of illustration you are concentrating on, how experienced and connected your agent is, how much work your agent will contract to do for you, etc.

I've had people tell me numbers anywhere from 15% to 50%. 30% seems to be fairly common, but it's a bit more complicated than a simple %. Your country and the EU may have quite different customs and laws than the U.S. about this kind of thing.

[Lunatique]

I had one when I was in my early days of illustration. If I remember correctly, it was around 10 to 15%. That's about standard.

[Sumaleth]

In the world of writing (novels, books, scripts etc), the official Agent cut is 10%. If they are officially registered agents, this is what their cut will be.

Managers have no official nature - no union guidelines - and they usually charge more. 15% is the typical number, but it goes up to 25%. Managers are typically a little more personal which is why they appartently charge more.

But that is for the writing industy, I don't know about art. Also keep in mind that in the writing world, they get their 10%-15% for all money you make from writing, regardless of whether they set it up.

One last thing; there is a scam which has been around as long as agents and managers. They'll say something like;

"We think your prospects are great and we're very excited about signing you on. There's just a small fee of $200 to cover the costs of administration and reproduction."

Thats the scam. These people live off those $200 fees and very rarely get work for their clients. It is NOT common for agents/managers to ask for up front fees; if they sign you on, they make money when you make money.

Row.

[immi]

Ah, Captain, we talked about this earlier. Well, I think your prospects are great and I'm very excited about signing you on. There's just a small fee of $200 to cover the costs of administration and reproduction. Please send ASAP.

Dave

[Capt.FlushGarden]

Thank you !
Pardon my english, yes I meant agent...(guy who fixes jobs for ya)
Immi:Hahahaha, I hope you don't think I was thinking of you when I wrote this...or maybe you wanted me to think of you when I wrote this...hmmm

[Loki]

Sumaleth - these numbers are quite right for the vfx business too.

One thing is, you might have to invest in your career by paying a higher percentage first. It also depends what the agent does for you - if it's just putting your image up on an online portfolio, anything over 5% is a waste.
If they're building your career, advise you, try to get you known and are massively connected, a higher price is worth paying in the beginning.

My agent is great - quite well connected and lives about 5mins from my apartment - that's ideal for me.

Oh, you also want an agent that's tough and knows the business. Try to get someone that has been around for quite some years. They might not be easy to get on board to, but it's worth trying.

If you're signing a contract, give it a good read before you do so. May save you headaches later (no - didn't happen to me, hehe - yet!).

That's all,

Loki

[quaternius]

Capt. - kept thinking about this and had to add another comment.

Many people also refer to agents as "reps" (short for representative). I also checked my Graphic Arts Guild Handbook - [shoulda done that first]. It indicates "reps" usually receive a commission of between 20% and 30% with the big majority around 25%.
Higher commission % are requested by U.S. reps for representing an artist outside the U.S.

Great book to have - get it through Amazon.com
try this link - http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0932102115/o/qid=990651977 /sr=8-1/ref=aps_sr_b_1_1/107-7993436-8823712


(From all the responses above it sounds like my friends that were paying over 25% were getting badly taken advantage of. Geez - at 15%-20% I might start thinkin' about this myself! Painting time minus accounting/marketing/client hand-holding = more painting time)

[ May 23, 2001: Message edited by: quaternius ]

[Capt.FlushGarden]

Tank you everyone!

I am fortunate to know a very good agent/rep, he's been around for many years and he's a tough son of a gun! He worked at our company but he's starting his own and he wanted to help me to get started...I'm very nervous, should I go for it ? please? anyone...Do I have the stuf for becoming a freelancer?

[Loki]

Well, Cap, that guy sounds good - because you guys worked together before you know who you're dealing with.

As for you being good enough - what do you want to hear? It's your decision - are you ready for it?

Cheers

Loki

[Sumaleth]

Flush; honestly, you probably don't have the experience to make a killing in the freelance market yet, but clearly you have the potential to get there. But that will only come through practice and experience working on -real- projects as much as possible. you might need to work cheaply to begin with, but I'm sure you'll develop quickly and become quite good at which ever fields you work at.

But real experience is the key. Freelancers would usually have started out gaining experience through working inhouse, and then once they had enough experience they switch to freelance.

Row.

[ May 24, 2001: Message edited by: Sumaleth ]

[Joachim]

capt, yes, you DO have the stuff to become a freelancer. Ofc. if you are going to offer all sorts of illustrations it needs a lot of hard work and devotion to give a consistent quality in every style and asignment. But, that comes from lots of experience, and the only way to get that is to jump into it. So, don't hesitate, go for it.
ofc, It can be good to work inside a company with other talented people first, to get support, others opinions and some internal competition before you start to compete with "the whole world" so to speak...-then you get a safer income and maybe a "healthier" springboard to personal "success" (atleast I'm very happy that I started that way).
But, still, if freelance is what you really want, it don't hurt to try...you are still young, full of potential and can try out plenty of things without loosing too much.

[Capt.FlushGarden]

Thanx D0oDz!

I'm scared...but why don't give ita try, or maybe it's not so good being 20 when you start freelancing. Maybe I'm not mature enough =/ How old where you when you started?...I can always give up and start working at my old place again (or acclaim entertainment, they wanted a telephone interview wohoo!)
Dammit where's nirvana, that place would be veeery comfy right now...

[ May 24, 2001: Message edited by: Capt.FlushGarden ]

[immi]

John...can u not do it part time? Instead of making the leap to doing freelance full time, can u not try doing it in addition to your current job and see how thing work out?

I definatley think you have the skills to do freelance work, so if this guy can bring you the clients, by all means, you should go for it man!

[quaternius]

Capt. - with my comments I've already passed the 2-cent mark, but for what it's worth -
and there's a lot of great comments here -

if I hadda do it all over I'd probably have jumped out on my own younger, rather than older. Younger, you can afford to starve a little at first and have the time to focus exclusively on work AND work your buns off helping to make your reputation. When you're older you start to have to be concerned about little things like wife and family - that sort of thing. Making the jump then can be harder.

Awww... Immi and Sumaleth make good points too. But with a good agent that's willing to work hard for you, you do have an advantage.
Just make those deadlines you agree to.
Good luck!