This content was created by Aaron Marcus. This content was uploaded by Aaron Marcus. This is a YouTube advice video titled "Are Actors Wasting Money On Managers" (published 2024-06-18) hosted and presented by Aaron Marcus. It is a solo, instructional/presentation-style video for actors about the difference between managers and agents, typical commission rates (managers ~15%; non-union agents ~20%; SAG‑AFTRA agents 10%), when a manager may be helpful (career planning, relocation, larger markets), issues around exclusivity and multiple agents by category, and practical considerations for part-time vs. full-time actors. The host invites viewer comments and promotes related content on his Acting and Modeling Quick Tips channel. Thumbnail URL and metadata are provided in the excerpt metadata.
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Are actors actually wasting their money with managers? In this video, I'm going to explain this to you and a whole lot more about both agents and managers. If you watch this to the end, I've got a great bonus video for you. Have you ever taken a bad acting class? I have. And if you have, next time ask this question. Okay, let's get started. Hi, I'm Aaron Marcus, and welcome to the Acting and Modeling Quick Tips channel and the Actor Career Center. So a lot of times people are wondering about agents and managers. So before I go into the explanation of are you really wasting your money with a manager, let me first explain to you very specifically what a manager does, what an agent does. So a manager is like having a great parent. They are— and by the way, Managers only manage a small amount of talent. An agent could have hundreds of people in their files. But managers, if it's an individual manager, they might have up to 15 people that they manage. And what they do is they are like a great parent. They are really looking out for your career. They're looking long-term. They are building plans for you, figuring out what kind of roles are right for you, what classes you should be taking. They can also connect you with an agent. Perhaps there's an agent they have a good relationship with, and they will try to make that happen. Now, managers are not Supposed to submit you for jobs. Having said that, I know they do it all the time, but that is supposed to be the agent's job. But a manager will also, if you're moving to, let's say, LA or New York, they can help find you housing. They can help find you the right teachers to study with. They are really mapping things out for your career. Now, agents, on the other hand, who are also very important, they're trying to get you work on a regular basis. They are the ones who submit you. They are the ones who will negotiate on your behalf. They are the ones to make sure that the job is legit. They are the ones that will help you get paid. Now, just so you know, if you are Being managed, typically you're going to be paying a 15% commission fee for any job that you book. If you are working with an agent, it's going to be— if you're non-union, you're not a member of SAG-AFTRA, typically you're going to pay a 20% commission fee, whether it's for an acting or modeling job. If you are a member of SAG-AFTRA, As of today, we are only allowed to pay our agent a 10% commission fee. So they, they have very different job descriptions. Now, if you are living in a small market, you know, does it really make sense to have a manager? This is what I found, is that in smaller markets and for agents You know, have a smaller group of talent that they're working with. You know, sometimes they can almost work as a manager. Sometimes it's a little bit easier to have a more personal relationship with the agent in what we call secondary markets. And I really don't know if it's absolutely necessary. Now, if you're trying to get work in bigger markets— and look, by the way, with, with today's Today's time period, your local agent can get the breakdowns for projects anywhere. So just because you live in a secondary market doesn't mean you can't work in major markets. But I just don't know if it's really necessary. Will it hurt you to have a manager? Can't imagine. Because the nice thing is you're not paying the manager anything except for a percentage. Now I have heard actors say, well, if I'm working with a manager and an agent and I'm in the union, that means I'm giving up 25% of my income. And that doesn't even— that's just gross income, that's before taxes and stuff— for every job that you book. Which is true, you'll pay 10% to your agent, 15% to your manager. Another way to view it is Yeah, but you're going to make 75% of a job you never would have gotten. So to me, that, that makes sense. I can tell you that once again, as of today, don't have a manager. But, you know, I'm also probably in a different place than people who are just getting started in the industry, and I'm very happy with my agency representation, and I do have a good relationship So anyhow, it's, it's completely up to you to decide whether you want to seek a manager. The other thing to also keep in mind is what is your life like? Do you have a full-time job? Are you a full-time student? Are you trying to work full-time as an actor? Are you trying to get work in distant markets? Those are really serious questions to think about and to answer because you might not have the the time to work with both a manager and an agent. You know, maybe this is just a very part-time kind of job for you, in which case your local agent might be submitting you for everything that you can handle at this point. And something else that just popped into my head— sometimes people ask, well, can I have more than one agent? So it's a complicated question. Let me just try to give you a short version of it. If you're living in LA, then you can only have one agent per category. You could have multiple agents, but you can only have one agent for TV commercials. You can only have one agent for legit projects, film and TV. You can only have one agent for voiceover work, but you could have multiple agents, but they just have to be in different categories. You can have an exclusive contract with an agent But it also depends on how the contract reads. You might be able to have agents in other markets. Maybe that exclusivity is only for your particular city. So those are things you would need to check out. But once again, a lot of it will be dependent on your life and how much time you are looking and have the ability to work as, as an actor. So anyhow, I hope this was helpful to you. If You have any thoughts? Do you have a manager? Do you have a manager and an agent? Please share, share with us. And you don't have to give us the names of people, but what's it like? You know, do you find it helpful to have both a manager and an agent? Are you very happy with just one agent? Do you have multiple agents? Share that information here on the channel so that way we can learn from you as well. If you haven't done this yet, Don't forget, subscribe, click the notification bell so you always know when a new video has been uploaded. And if you like it, give it a thumbs up because that's actually very helpful and lets other people know the value of the video. I did mention I've got another great bonus video for you, and you can find it right up here. And if you've ever taken a bad acting class, make sure you ask this question because it did happen to me. And if you took a bad acting class, please share that information as well. You don't have to Name the teacher or the school or anything. It's not necessary. We just want to learn what your experience was like. I'm Aaron Marcus, and I can't wait to talk with you again soon. See ya.
