A manager is the only person on the team paid purely on commission.

Most clients know what their manager takes (20%) but few have worked out what 20% of their income actually gives the manager in return. Take a manager who has worked an artist for two years: making calls, attending meetings, fighting for placements, fielding 11pm texts. What have they actually earned from that artist? And is it enough to cover their own costs?

Hold onto one thing before running any numbers: a manager is paid almost nothing until the artist breaks through, which is why commission-only management is a structural bet on the artist's future, not a fee for this month's work.