In illinois, talent agencies are required by law to be liscensed as employment agencies. The law stipulates a range of details regarding record keeping as well as disclosing where the fiduciary responsibility lies--to the artist or to the buyers. Most, but not all, states have similar laws. They are easy to research. Just go to the website of your state's department of labor.

In my experience, these are some of the most frequently ignored laws in the world. I've encountered lots of people who operate as agencies without obtaining a license or even having the slightest idea of what the law requires of them. I've never heard of anybody facing any legal consequences for this.

In the college market many agencies will sign contracts with artists which spell out the various obligations of each party. These contracts usually overwhelmingly favor the agency over the artist. Typically if you ask the agent whom do you work for, they will answer "the artist." Realistically they leave off the rest of the sentence, which should be, "to the extent that it's in my best interest. "