Artist management agreement under Dutch law

An artist management agreement determines what your manager earns commission on, who receives the money and what is left of the arrangements when you part ways. One Dutch court allowed an artist to end the relationship with immediate effect because the manager’s accounts were not in order. Another held a DJ liable for the old agency’s loss after a switch to a new manager within eighteen months.

An artist management agreement is the arrangement under which an artist pays a manager commission to run the business side of their career. Under Dutch law it is usually a contract for services (overeenkomst van opdracht) and not a commercial agency agreement, even when the manager books shows.

We draft artist management agreements for artists and for management companies. If you have worked on unwritten arrangements for years, we work out what applies between you.

Is there a management contract on the table? Call 020 675 88 21 or send a message.

Commission in a music management contract: gross, net and the moment of payment

The difference between gross and net weighs heaviest in a distribution deal, because you then bear the cost of recording and promotion yourself. Commission on the full amount then also runs on money that never stays with you.

In 2021 the Dutch rapper Lil Kleine signed a distribution agreement with Sony worth €3 million, payable in five instalments (ECLI:NL:RBAMS:2026:10613). Of the first instalment of €1 million, €450,000 went to his manager: 15% of the full deal value, withheld straight after signing. He took the view that the manager was only entitled to 15% of the net amount. Earlier deals with Talpa and RTL had been handled in exactly the same way, including where payment came in instalments. The Amsterdam District Court did not consider a difference of opinion on the interpretation of the arrangement unlawful in itself and did not decide whether the parties had meant gross or net, because the artist claimed damages for an unlawful act rather than performance of the agreement.

It can be far more precise. In another Amsterdam case the contract provided for 20% of the net fee, defining net as the performance fee after deduction of invoiced costs for transport and for sound and lighting (ECLI:NL:RBAMS:2025:8067). A definition like that for each type of income avoids the dispute altogether.

Also record whether commission is due on signing or only when the money comes in, because the Sony deal was paid in instalments. Agree as well what happens if a deal stops halfway.

In its checklist for management and booking agreements, the Kunstenbond (in Dutch), the Dutch union for the arts and creative sector, treats net income as the basis as a good sign. It regards a management fee of more than 25% of net income as a reason to negotiate. There is no authoritative Dutch source for a fixed percentage that an artist’s manager ought to receive.

When a booking agency handles your shows and your manager takes a share

If an external booking agency handles your shows, set out in the management agreement whether the manager still earns commission on that income and how much. In the case over the Sony deal, the manager received 15% on shows that someone else had booked.

Double payment can come about another way too. A DJ left management and bookings to a single agency. It withheld a 20% management fee from the DJ’s performance fee and charged promoters a 15% booking fee on top. The DJ sought to annul the management agreement but lost before the Oost-Brabant District Court, because the agency had mentioned the extra fee in an email beforehand and the promoters paid it, not the DJ (ECLI:NL:RBOBR:2014:3162). If one party does both, agree that it receives no more than the agreed percentage. The Kunstenbond recommends the same.

Commission on deals that continue after the relationship ends

In the 2025 case a sunset clause gave the manager commission on shows booked during the relationship but played afterwards. When the artist rescinded the management agreement, the court awarded the manager commission on shows confirmed before the rescission, but struck out two invoices for bookings that were only finalised afterwards.

According to the Kunstenbond checklist, you should not sign if the manager keeps sharing in all your income after the term ends. The union calls it a point to negotiate if the manager continues to share in deals concluded during the term. It sees a clear arrangement for what is still paid after the end as a good sign.

Who receives the money and why your manager’s accounts matter

If your manager receives the money from your deals, Dutch law requires the manager to report to you on it and to render accounts of everything received and spent on your behalf. That applies even if the management agreement says nothing about it.

The 2025 case showed how much weight that carries. The management agreement required the manager to keep proper accounts that the artist could have checked at any time. The manager’s bookkeeper gave two statements that contradicted each other, advanced costs were missing from the accounts and the documents only arrived months later. The court treated the duty to keep accounts as a core obligation and upheld the artist’s rescission.

So agree which account the money is paid into, how often you receive a statement and that you may inspect the underlying contracts and invoices. For a manager, accounts that can be shown at any moment are the best defence when an artist leaves.

Unwritten arrangements with your manager and the practice that grows from them

In the case over the Sony deal, artist and manager worked for ten years without a written contract, the Dutch DJ Afrojack and his manager for six. Dutch law prescribes no form for a management agreement, so even then there is a contract.

The difficulty lies in proof. Without a contract, the court looks at the practice that has developed over the years: the invoices, the emails, what happened with earlier deals. In the Sony deal it counted that the manager had withheld 15% of the gross amount in the same way on every earlier deal and that the artist had never objected. If you work like that for years and then want something different, you have to explain why something different should have applied.

The practice grows stronger with every statement you accept without comment. If something is wrong, say so straight away, in writing.

How to end an artist management agreement

Because a management agreement is usually a contract for services, as the artist you can terminate it at any time under Dutch law (Article 7:408 of the Dutch Civil Code). A manager acting in a professional capacity can only terminate if the agreement is for an indefinite period, unless there are serious grounds. The management agreement can depart from your freedom to terminate, because you too contract in a professional capacity.

That does happen in practice. A DJ had committed to a management agency for five years and moved to a new manager after less than eighteen months, after which the Oost-Brabant District Court held the termination to be wrongful and the DJ liable for the agency’s loss.

It went differently for Afrojack’s manager. Their unwritten agreement was for an indefinite period and the manager had breached the duty of care, so the artist could stop without notice and without paying damages (ECLI:NL:RBAMS:2018:3658). In the 2025 case, a spoken message that the artist wanted to stop was enough to count as notice. During the six-month notice period the manager remained entitled to commission.

The Kunstenbond recommends a short notice period in the first six months and advises against signing a contract without a clear end date or an open-ended contract without a reasonable notice period. Look at exclusivity too, and agree whether you may work with another manager on a project abroad.

Want to end your management agreement or is the relationship with your manager stuck? Call 020 675 88 21 or send a message.

When your manager sits on both sides of the deal

According to the Amsterdam District Court, a manager must put the artist’s interests first and subordinate their own financial interest to them. Some conflict is always there, if only over the level of commission, but the court drew the line at a manager who also wanted to become the artist’s business partner.

Afrojack’s manager wanted to take a half share in a new company of the artist. Afrojack in turn was to buy €1 million of shares in the manager’s company. No independent adviser was present at the meeting. The manager thus became business partner and counterparty at once, but did not point the artist to the importance of independent advice. In doing so, the court held, the manager breached the duty of care.

It gets harder when your manager is also your label or publisher, or works for one. Your negotiator then also sits on the other side of the table. Read more about this under the publishing deal and 360 deals. Ronnie Flex signed his record contract with his later manager beside him and could not get out of it afterwards. Our article on Ronnie Flex and Top Notch explains what that case means.

Why an artist management agreement is usually not a commercial agency agreement

A commercial agent negotiates, for remuneration, the conclusion of agreements on behalf of someone else (Article 7:428 of the Dutch Civil Code). A manager does more. The Oost-Brabant District Court found that booking shows in principle meets the criteria for agency, but that the booking formed part of a broader management contract. Taken as a whole, that was a contract for services. The Amsterdam District Court reached the same conclusion in October 2026, because the manager provided a complete package and the shows were booked by someone else.

The difference has consequences. A commercial agent can claim a goodwill indemnity when the relationship ends and is entitled to statutory notice periods. A manager is not, unless the contract provides otherwise. An agency that only books shows can, however, be a commercial agent.

More on the commercial agency agreement →

For managers and management companies: a contract that holds up

A management contract has to protect the manager’s work, even if the artist leaves before the investment has been earned back.

Define the basis for each type of income, with the costs that may be deducted. Set out when commission is due, what post-term commission you receive and for how long. If you opt for a fixed term, an artist who leaves early may be liable for damages. Keep accounts you can show at any moment, because in the 2025 case it was sloppy accounts that gave the artist the right to rescind.

The same rules apply to anyone representing presenters, writers or other talent.

Having your artist management agreement drafted or reviewed

Management contracts are part of our music law practice, for artists and for managers. For artists, we review the contract before you sign and work out what applies if you have worked on unwritten arrangements for years. For management companies, we draft contracts that hold up when an artist wants to leave. If a relationship breaks down, we first work out what was agreed between you and what that means in money. Then you decide whether to negotiate or litigate.

Would you like your artist management agreement drafted or reviewed? Call 020 675 88 21 or send a message.