A manager's commission in Nigeria typically runs between 10 and 20 percent, and the percentage matters far less than the list of income it applies to.
Most artists negotiate hard on the number and sign whatever definition of commissionable earnings sits underneath it. That is backwards. Twenty percent of a narrow definition beats fifteen percent of everything.
It is also a separate document from the one most people worry about. The terms a label agreement locks you into get scrutinized because the stakes look obvious. The management agreement gets signed on trust, often first, and frequently governs more of a working life.
What that percentage attaches to is where the money moves. Commissionable income normally covers streaming net of distributor fees, sync placements, live payouts, merchandise, brand partnerships, label advances, and touring sponsorship.
Now the exclusions, which are the part worth arguing over. Writer-side publishing royalties, meaning your share of mechanicals and performance income, are normally carved out unless the manager is also acting as your publisher.
Tour support funds are excluded. So are recording costs, producer and songwriter fees passing through you to somebody else, income from before the agreement started, and gifts or awards.
Read that list against a real year and the difference is enormous. An artist who lets tour support and pass-through production fees fall inside the definition is paying commission on money that was never theirs to keep.
Songwriter performance royalties are the subtle one. They usually become commissionable only where the manager secured the opportunity, which is a clause that needs to be written down rather than assumed.
The standard shape now runs 24 months and tapers. Full rate for the first twelve months after termination, half rate through months thirteen to eighteen, a quarter rate through months nineteen to twenty-four, then nothing.
That taper exists for a reason. A manager who spent two years building a touring base should not lose all of it the week a relationship sours, and an artist should not pay somebody a full share forever on deals they had no hand in.
Sliding scales apply to the live relationship as well. One common structure runs 20 percent in year one, 17.5 in year two and 15 from year three, rewarding an artist whose income grows.
Another version steps down by income band rather than time, taking 20 percent of the first tranche of gross, 15 percent of the middle band and 10 percent above the top threshold.
There is also an entirely different model for artists who cannot yet support a percentage manager. Project-based work is priced by day rate, roughly 500 to 1,000 dollars for junior or specialist help, 1,000 to 1,500 at mid-level, and 1,500 to 2,500 for someone with a track record, typically across engagements of five to thirty days.
For an artist with one campaign that needs running properly, buying twelve days of senior attention can cost less than surrendering a fifth of everything for three years
Which means the ordinary requirements apply. Offer, acceptance, consideration, intention to create legal relations, certainty of terms, and legal capacity of both parties.
The warning attached to that framework is unambiguous. Freedom of contract governs, and courts will not rewrite an agreement simply because one side later decides the terms were unfavorable.
So the protection is procedural rather than judicial. Define the manager's authority in writing, set reporting obligations, fix the term, and specify termination conditions before anything is signed.
Structure the dispute route as well. Nigerian practice favors a tiered clause requiring negotiation, then mediation, then arbitration before litigation, which keeps a disagreement confidential and keeps a working relationship survivable.
None of that is expensive to do. It is an afternoon with a lawyer against a percentage of everything you earn for years, paid for out of a livelihood the music does not have to fund while the career is still being built.
Most artists negotiate hard on the number and sign whatever definition of commissionable earnings sits underneath it. That is backwards. Twenty percent of a narrow definition beats fifteen percent of everything.
It is also a separate document from the one most people worry about. The terms a label agreement locks you into get scrutinized because the stakes look obvious. The management agreement gets signed on trust, often first, and frequently governs more of a working life.
The exclusion list decides more than the percentage
Current practice puts standard commission at 15 to 20 percent of gross, with most new agreements landing at a flat 20 or on a sliding scale that starts higher and falls.What that percentage attaches to is where the money moves. Commissionable income normally covers streaming net of distributor fees, sync placements, live payouts, merchandise, brand partnerships, label advances, and touring sponsorship.
Now the exclusions, which are the part worth arguing over. Writer-side publishing royalties, meaning your share of mechanicals and performance income, are normally carved out unless the manager is also acting as your publisher.
Tour support funds are excluded. So are recording costs, producer and songwriter fees passing through you to somebody else, income from before the agreement started, and gifts or awards.
Read that list against a real year and the difference is enormous. An artist who lets tour support and pass-through production fees fall inside the definition is paying commission on money that was never theirs to keep.
Songwriter performance royalties are the subtle one. They usually become commissionable only where the manager secured the opportunity, which is a clause that needs to be written down rather than assumed.
Sunset clauses keep paying after the relationship ends
Understanding how a manager's cut is actually structured means understanding what happens after somebody walks away, because that is where most disputes start.The standard shape now runs 24 months and tapers. Full rate for the first twelve months after termination, half rate through months thirteen to eighteen, a quarter rate through months nineteen to twenty-four, then nothing.
That taper exists for a reason. A manager who spent two years building a touring base should not lose all of it the week a relationship sours, and an artist should not pay somebody a full share forever on deals they had no hand in.
Sliding scales apply to the live relationship as well. One common structure runs 20 percent in year one, 17.5 in year two and 15 from year three, rewarding an artist whose income grows.
Another version steps down by income band rather than time, taking 20 percent of the first tranche of gross, 15 percent of the middle band and 10 percent above the top threshold.
There is also an entirely different model for artists who cannot yet support a percentage manager. Project-based work is priced by day rate, roughly 500 to 1,000 dollars for junior or specialist help, 1,000 to 1,500 at mid-level, and 1,500 to 2,500 for someone with a track record, typically across engagements of five to thirty days.
For an artist with one campaign that needs running properly, buying twelve days of senior attention can cost less than surrendering a fifth of everything for three years
Nigerian courts will not rescue a bad signature
Nigeria has no unified entertainment statute. These agreements sit on ordinary contract law, supported by the Copyright Act 2022, the Trade Marks Act, the Companies and Allied Matters Act 2020 and the Arbitration and Mediation Act 2023.Which means the ordinary requirements apply. Offer, acceptance, consideration, intention to create legal relations, certainty of terms, and legal capacity of both parties.
The warning attached to that framework is unambiguous. Freedom of contract governs, and courts will not rewrite an agreement simply because one side later decides the terms were unfavorable.
So the protection is procedural rather than judicial. Define the manager's authority in writing, set reporting obligations, fix the term, and specify termination conditions before anything is signed.
Structure the dispute route as well. Nigerian practice favors a tiered clause requiring negotiation, then mediation, then arbitration before litigation, which keeps a disagreement confidential and keeps a working relationship survivable.
None of that is expensive to do. It is an afternoon with a lawyer against a percentage of everything you earn for years, paid for out of a livelihood the music does not have to fund while the career is still being built.
