Talent agents serve an essential function in the entertainment industry by helping artists and performers secure employment and negotiate contracts. However, many states regulate talent agents to protect artists. In California, agents are regulated by the Talent Agencies Act (TAA). While on its face, the TAA is focused on licensing agents, it has had a significant impact on the activities of other parties, including artists, managers and attorneys. As a result, anyone helping an artist find work – even incidentally – should seek legal advice regarding whether and how the law may apply to them.
The law requires that talent agents be licensed by the California Labor Commissioner. The TAA does not set commission rates but does require that every licensed talent agency must file a schedule of fees to be charged and collected from artists with the Labor Commissioner. A talent agent's form agreements with artists must be approved by the Labor Commissioner.
A talent agent is defined in the TAA as "any person or corporation who engages in the occupation of procuring, offering, promising or attempting to procure employment or engagements for an artist or artists." This definition deliberately does not strictly define what actions constitute "procuring employment," but the concept has been given a very broad reading by the Labor Commissioner and California courts.
"Procuring employment" encompasses not...
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