“My average fee is £X." “That’s a lot of money for an average fee.” “Well, you are the first who has reached the average.”
When booking direct with an after dinner entertainer, price is a matter of negotiation with that individual act. A professional act should have a set fee: it may fluctuate depending on the time of year (for some acts December is a busy month and they can afford to push their fees up). But by and large it should remain broadly consistent. Having said that most acts will be prepared to accept a lower payment from time to time; so it’s certainly worth trying to negotiate a reduced fee if the amount quoted exceeds your budget.
The same basis of negotiation will work with agents. However you should be aware how agents operate. Agents pay acts in one of two ways. Either on a ‘buy sell’ basis; or commission.
Under the commission basis, whatever the agent charges you they will take a commission – normally around 15%: and pay the net figure to the act. You pay £X, the agent takes 20% of X and the act gets £X less 20%. In this type of deal, the contracts to both you and the act will clearly state the commission the agent is receiving. This is clearly more transparent as all parties know how much they are paying and receiving.
The ‘buy sell’ method means the agent will ‘buy’ the act for a certain price (whatever it is that the act charges) and ‘sell’ the act onto you (whatever price you are prepared to pay). The difference between the buy and the sell price represents the mark up for the agent. In this type of deal the act will not be aware of how much you are paying for them; and you will not know how much they are being paid.
Although the vast majority of agents are honest and fair in their dealings, there are some around who might be tempted to take a disproportionately large mark up under the ‘buy sell’ arrangement. If you are at all concerned that you are being substantially overcharged for an act, then it might be worth asking the act directly what they are receiving. Or alternatively ask another agent to check out the act’s price. Of course this should be done before contracts are signed and exchanged.
By going to an agent you are getting their professional expertise in recommending the right act for your event. And for this service it is right they should earn a fee. Do not assume that just because you go to an agent you are always going to pay more for the act than you would if you booked them direct. This is because:
- Some acts deliberately offer a discount to the agent; so that the price charged by the agent after their mark up, is similar to what the act would charge direct.
- Agents have more clout in asking an act to accept a reduced price than perhaps you do. If an act regularly works for an agent, they are more likely to accept a reduction in their usual fee.
