Exclusive agency is rare. When I was a musician, the union requirement was that they had to guarantee you 40 weeks work a year. Of course, magicians are not often in a union.

For years I owned an agency. Agents work exclusively on results oriented pay. Therefore, their fear is that they will do all the work to get the booking and then the act goes around them to book the gig. Agents talk and share gigs with each other. Be guilty of that once and the good agents will not work with you period! Be fair!

Good agents have talent buyers at important places that depend on them. There are plenty of acts available. Agents like consistency and knowns. That is probably the toughest part about getting agents to help you. Proving that is what you offer is the act's job not the agency's. Selling the agency is a sales job too. That is where personal managers earn their keep.

Today most acts beginning have nothing to show an agent. Recognize that need and provide for it.

Most new acts really have no choice about having to secure their own bookings. (That does not make them an agent by the way. By definition, an agent acts for another.) Self-representation is not easy. The first problems are lack of credibility and lack of successful relationships with talent buyers. Good agents have invested in building those things. It takes time, money and work. That is what they sell. It's their borrowed image that gets you the booking. Without them, you'll have to build your own. Remember that you only have one act to sell. Big talent buyers can use many at the same time all the time. Big talent buyers may not want to deal with one act at the time any more than a restaurant is willing to buy salt and pepper from individual suppliers.

We have all done our share of self-representation. It is a tradeoff. The question is what is the final value? What are you trading in for what you get? Practice time? Travel? Props? Show time? Missed contacts?

Bob
Magic By Sander