Business and Financial Operations · Holland code ESC

Agents and Business Managers of Artists, Performers, and Athletes

Represent and promote artists, performers, and athletes in dealings with current or prospective employers. May handle contract negotiation and other business matters for clients.

Also called: Agent, Booking Agent, Talent Agent, Theatrical Agent, Athlete Marketing Agent, Booker, Entertainment Specialist, Literary Agent.

O*NET 13-1011.00

At a glance

US median annual pay: $82,890; Middle half earn $63,670 to $146,430. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
Most common education: Bachelor's Degree; 41% of workers surveyed by O*NET report this level.
Preparation needed: Job Zone 4 of 5; Considerable preparation. Zone 1 is little or none; zone 5 is graduate-level.

What the work involves

The tasks workers in this occupation rate as most important, from the O*NET survey.

Collect fees, commissions, or other payments, according to contract terms.
Send samples of clients' work and other promotional material to potential employers to obtain auditions, sponsorships, or endorsement deals.
Keep informed of industry trends and deals.
Conduct auditions or interviews to evaluate potential clients.
Negotiate with managers, promoters, union officials, and other persons regarding clients' contractual rights and obligations.
Confer with clients to develop strategies for their careers, and to explain actions taken on their behalf.
Develop contacts with individuals and organizations, and apply effective strategies and techniques to ensure their clients' success.
Schedule promotional or performance engagements for clients.

Skills and knowledge it leans on

Skills

Reading Comprehension4.0 / 5
Active Listening4.0 / 5
Speaking4.0 / 5
Critical Thinking3.8 / 5
Writing3.6 / 5
Active Learning3.5 / 5

Knowledge areas

Customer and Personal Service4.4 / 5
Sales and Marketing4.0 / 5
English Language3.9 / 5
Administration and Management3.8 / 5
Fine Arts3.7 / 5
Communications and Media3.7 / 5

Importance ratings on O*NET’s 1 to 5 scale. Higher means the occupation depends on it more.

Who tends to enjoy it

How strongly this occupation draws on each of the six Holland interest types, which is the same profile the career interests test compares you against.

Realistic0
Investigative13
Artistic43
Social52
Enterprising91
Conventional46

The same work abroad

Other countries classify jobs differently, so these are the closest matches through the international ISCO-08 standard, not exact equivalents.

European occupation titles (ESCO)

artistic director · DE Künstlerischer Leiter/Künstlerische Leiterin · FR responsable de la programmation
sales account manager · DE Verkaufsleiter/Verkaufsleiterin · FR directeur ventes et relations clientèle/directrice ventes et relations clientèle
advertising media buyer · DE Mediakäufer/Mediakäuferin · FR acheteur d’espaces publicitaires/acheteuse d’espaces publicitaires
art director · DE Art-Direktor/Art-Direktorin · FR directeur artistique/directrice artistique
casting director · DE Casting Director · FR directeur de casting/directrice de casting
producer · DE Produzent/Produzentin · FR producteur/productrice

Closest UK occupation groups (SOC 2020)

Senior officers in fire, ambulance, prison and related services (1163)8,000 employed
Managers and directors in retail and wholesale (1150)299,300 employed
Events managers and organisers (3557)95,000 employed

Employment is the UK Annual Population Survey for April 2025 to March 2026, all workers in the group, which can be broader than this one occupation.

Pay across Europe, for the whole group

Median annual earnings of all employees in “Professionals”. This is the broad ISCO group this occupation falls in, not the occupation itself, so treat it as context for the wage level, not as a salary for this job.

Median annual earnings, Professionals, by country
Country	Median pay
Belgium	€61,714
Germany	€59,529
Ireland	€56,877
Austria	€55,374
Netherlands	€53,595
Sweden	€43,567
France	€41,515
Spain	€35,735
Italy	€33,649
Portugal	€26,072
Poland	€14,380

Eurostat Structure of Earnings Survey, businesses with ten or more employees outside public administration, in euro and not adjusted for the cost of living. Reference years differ between sources: the US, Japan and Europe figures on this page come from different survey years, so compare them as rough levels, not to the euro or yen.

Exposure to AI

This occupation sits in the higher third of the 774 occupations scored, with an exposure score of +1.07. The scores are standardized across those occupations, so 0 is the average and a score of 1 is about one standard deviation above it.

Our note on reading it: the dataset links AI applications to the abilities that occupations require, so the score reflects overlap between the two. It is a comparison between occupations, not a forecast about jobs. It does not say whether exposure means tasks are replaced or workers get more done with the tools, and it says little about one employer or one role.

Source: Felten, E., Raj, M., & Seamans, R. (2021). Occupational, industry, and geographic exposure to artificial intelligence: A novel dataset and its potential uses. Strategic Management Journal, 42(12), 2195-2217. Matched to this page by 6-digit SOC code (13-1011).

Is it a fit for you?

Interest is one input, alongside ability, pay and what is hiring near you. The career interests test takes about thirteen minutes and ranks occupations by how closely their profile matches yours.

Take the career interests test