Set the ground rules for talent management clearly

It becomes particularly important when a manager is sourcing work, negotiating opportunities, handling brand relationships, or taking a commission from the talent's earnings. Without a clear written agreement, there can be confusion about what the manager is authorised to do, whether the arrangement is exclusive, how commission is calculated, and what happens to deals introduced before the relationship ends. Those issues can become contentious quickly in creative industries, especially where image rights, approvals, and ongoing commercial opportunities are involved.

A talent management agreement often covers the manager's role, the talent's obligations, commission percentages, payment timing, exclusivity, approval rights, term length, termination, use of the talent's name or image, confidentiality, and ownership or licensing of content created during the relationship. Some arrangements also need clauses about expenses, conflict management, social media activity, brand approvals, or post-termination commission on deals introduced during the term. The right drafting depends on whether the relationship is broad career management or limited to certain channels, campaigns, or territories.

The drafting usually depends on who the parties are, what type of work the talent does, whether the manager has exclusive rights, how commission is calculated, and how much control the talent keeps over approvals and brand alignment. We also look at whether the manager can sign deals, whether there are minimum performance expectations, and how intellectual property or image rights are handled in connected campaigns. If you already have a proposed agreement, we can review it for clauses that create imbalance, such as broad exclusivity or unclear commission entitlements after termination.

A template may not reflect the way the relationship actually works. Talent management arrangements can vary significantly depending on the industry, the talent's profile, the manager's authority, and whether the work involves endorsements, appearances, content creation, or long-term career development. Generic wording can leave important questions unanswered, including who approves opportunities, what counts as commissionable income, and whether the manager has rights after the relationship ends. A tailored draft or review helps test those points against the real commercial arrangement rather than an abstract example.

Timing depends on whether you need a fresh agreement or a review of a draft already provided by the other side, and on how complex the arrangement is. A straightforward manager-talent relationship with settled commercial terms is usually quicker than a deal involving multiple revenue streams, layered approval rights, or detailed exclusivity provisions. Once we have the relevant information or the existing document, we can indicate likely turnaround. If negotiations continue after the document work is completed, any extra support can be scoped separately.

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Your consultant will then email you a fixed-fee quote setting out the cost, scope and timing. If you're happy with it, you can accept the quote and sign our engagement letter online.

Once you've accepted, one of our Australian-qualified lawyers will work with you to complete your project. They'll contact you by email or phone if they need anything.

Sprintlaw works on fixed-fee pricing wherever possible, so you can review the scope and cost before you decide whether to proceed. For the Talent Management Agreement service, pricing starts from $900.00.

After you enquire, a legal consultant will confirm what is included, the expected timing and whether any extra work is needed before you engage us.

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