An influencer management agency runs the business side of a creator's career: it finds and negotiates brand partnerships, steers campaigns from brief to invoice, reviews the contracts brands send, and helps plan income beyond any single platform. Agencies are usually paid a commission on the deals they handle, a monthly retainer, or both, and the written agreement decides what you receive, what it costs and how you can leave.
- Disclosure stays your legal job, whoever booked the deal
- Find out whether brands pay you or the agency first
- Commission that outlives the contract needs an end date
This page covers what these agencies take on, the advertising rules attached to paid posts, how money moves, and how to test an offer. Narrower questions have their own guides: what an influencer manager does day to day, how to get one, where the law separates a manager from a talent agent, how much managers take and a clause-by-clause contract checklist.
What an influencer management agency typically handles
No two agencies sell the same bundle. Use this table as a menu to ask about, not a description of any particular agency, and get the parts you pay for written into the agreement.
| Area of work | What it usually involves | Confirm in writing |
|---|---|---|
| Brand partnerships | Sorting inbound requests, pitching suitable brands, negotiating fees, deliverables, usage rights and exclusivity | Whether it pitches for you or only handles what arrives, and who approves each deal |
| Contract review | Checking brand agreements for usage periods, exclusivity windows, approvals, payment dates and penalties | Whether a qualified lawyer ever reads your contracts, and who pays for that |
| Campaign delivery | Schedules, draft approvals, revision rounds and the screenshots or metrics brands request | Who speaks to the brand when a draft is rejected |
| Invoicing and collections | Raising invoices, tracking due dates and chasing late payers | Whether brands pay you or the agency, and how fast your share reaches you |
| Media kit and rates | Packaging audience data, past campaigns and a rate card for pitches | That you keep the kit and its figures if you part ways |
| Platform deal tools | Answering inquiries that arrive through TikTok One or YouTube Creator Partnerships | Whether commission applies to deals the agency did not work on |
Some work stays yours whatever the agreement says: disclosing paid posts, keeping the logins and recovery details for your accounts, paying tax on your income, and deciding which brands appear on your channels unless you have signed that choice away.
Agency, manager, talent agent or marketing agency?
Two questions sort most of the businesses between creators and brands: who pays them, and do they find you paid work? A firm paid by brands to run campaigns works for the brand, however friendly it is to you. A firm that books paid work can need a licence: California's Labor Commissioner requires a talent agency licence from anyone arranging entertainment work for an artist, and UK guidance for entertainment and modelling agencies bars fees or deductions from a performer's earnings until the performer has agreed to the agency's terms.
| Type of business | Works for | Usually paid by | Watch for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Influencer management agency | The creator | Commission, a retainer, or both | A share of deals you found yourself |
| Individual talent manager | The creator, within a small roster | Commission, sometimes with a monthly minimum | What happens if that one person leaves |
| Licensed talent agency | The creator, for booked work | Commission within licensing rules | Whether it holds the licence your location needs |
| Influencer marketing agency | The brand that hired it | The brand | Usage and exclusivity terms drafted for the brand |
| Platform deal marketplace | Both sides, under platform terms | Typically nothing from the creator | Eligibility rules and branded content policy |
Platform marketplaces are worth trying before you pay anyone. TikTok's help centre says creators must be at least 18 and follow its Community Guidelines and Branded Content Policy to join TikTok One, where taking part in brand projects needs at least 1,000 followers plus requirements that vary by project. YouTube's Creator Partnerships makes eligible Partner Program channels discoverable to brands and lets you add a manager's or agent's address to be copied on inquiries. The guide to influencer marketplaces compares the options.
Disclosure rules that follow every paid post
An agency can negotiate the deal, but the post goes out under your name. The FTC's Disclosures 101 for Social Media Influencers puts the duty to disclose on the influencer and warns against counting on anyone else to do it. The 2023 revision of the Endorsement Guides adds that ad agencies, PR firms and similar intermediaries can be liable when they hire and direct endorsers who skip a required disclosure, so a careful manager writes the label into every brief.
| Where | Rule or guidance | What it means for a sponsored post |
|---|---|---|
| United States | FTC Endorsement Guides and Disclosures 101 | Disclose any financial, employment, personal or family tie, free products included, in the post or video itself; repeat it during live streams; a platform label is an extra, not a substitute |
| United Kingdom | CMA guidance for content creators, the ASA/CAP influencers' guide and the CMA's April 2025 powers | Label incentivised content as an ad from the first moment someone sees it; a brand tag, discount code or affiliate link is not a label; the CMA can now fine businesses directly for consumer-law breaches, up to 10% of global turnover |
| Australia | ACCC influencer sweep and AANA Code of Ethics section 2.7 | Make the commercial relationship obvious, gifts included; the ACCC found 81 per cent of the 118 influencers it reviewed in 2023 had posts that raised concerns |
| Canada | Competition Bureau guidance | Disclose every material connection, on each platform where the content appears |
| Instagram and Facebook | Meta Branded Content Policies | Use the paid partnership label and tag the business partner, who has to approve the tag |
| TikTok | Branded Content Policy, revised version in force from 31 August 2026 | Switch on the commercial content disclosure setting; some industries, including adult products, multi-level marketing and weight loss, cannot be promoted at all |
| YouTube | Paid promotion setting | Select paid promotion so a label shows at the start of the video; YouTube says you and your brand partners stay responsible for the law |
Where the sources disagree: the FTC lists “sponsored” among words that can disclose clearly, while the UK's CMA puts “#sponsored” on its list of unclear terms and asks for “ad” or “advert”. For an audience that includes UK viewers, “Ad” placed first in the caption, or said at the top of the video, is the safer choice.
Country detail sits in the guides to FTC disclosure rules, ASA and CMA rules and Australian disclosure, and the brand deals and UGC hub collects the rest.
How the money works: commission, retainer and who invoices the brand
No regulator or platform publishes a standard commission for influencer management, so this page quotes none; percentages on agency websites are those agencies' own pricing. The structure decides more of your income than the headline rate.
- Commission: a percentage of the deals the agency handles. Settle which deals count, what the percentage is taken from and for how long it applies.
- Retainer: a fixed monthly fee whether or not deals close. It suits steady, defined work, but you carry the cost of a quiet month.
- Hybrid: a smaller retainer plus a lower commission, or a monthly minimum that commission counts against.
- Share of a wider business: a percentage of a product line, course or platform income. Name every revenue line included, and every one excluded.
Who invoices the brand matters as much as the rate. Either the brand pays you and the agency invoices you for its commission, or the brand pays the agency, which deducts its share and passes on the rest. In the second set-up your money sits with someone else for a while, so ask for itemised statements and a payment deadline. Some places regulate it: NSW Fair Trading says a performer representative who does not pay a performer straight away must hold the money in trust and pass it on within 14 days, where the state's entertainment industry law covers the work.
Brand contracts set the payment terms, so read them before the campaign starts. Agree what happens when a brand pays late, pays part of the fee or withholds payment over a missed deliverable, and whether commission waits until the money has arrived. Reversals need the same care: affiliate and shop commissions can be cancelled after returns or chargebacks, and platforms often report income after refunds and chargebacks, as Twitch's Monetized Streamer Agreement does when it defines net revenue. Commission should follow the money you keep.
Commission worksheet for a single deal
| Line | What to enter | Check it against |
|---|---|---|
| Brand fee | The total the brand agreed to pay | The signed brand contract |
| Agreed deductions | Costs you carried that the agreement lets you subtract first, such as production or travel | The management agreement and your receipts |
| Commission base | Brand fee minus agreed deductions | Your own calculation |
| Agency share | Commission base multiplied by your agreed rate | The agency's statement |
| Paid to you | Money received minus the agency share, by the agreed date | Your bank record |
If a statement line cannot be traced to these documents, ask before you pay. The guide to how influencers get paid for brand deals covers payment structures, payment terms and late payers.
Questions to ask an influencer management agency before you sign
Ask these in writing and keep the answers with the contract; vague replies are information too.
| Question | Why it matters | A clear answer looks like |
|---|---|---|
| Which deals carry commission? | Some agreements claim every deal, including brands you already worked with | A written definition, with existing brands named or excluded |
| What is commission taken from? | Gross fees, fees after costs and fees after tax differ | A formula for the commission base |
| Does the brand pay me or you? | Money held by the agency is money you are waiting for | A named payee, statement format and payment deadline |
| How will you access my accounts? | Shared passwords and changed recovery emails are how accounts are lost | Platform permission tools, with your passwords and two-factor codes kept by you |
| How do I end the agreement? | Long terms without a performance exit can trap you | A notice period and a way out if agreed work is not done |
| What commission survives the end? | Open-ended post-term clauses can run for years | A fixed tail limited to deals signed during the term |
| What exactly is exclusive? | Broad exclusivity can block all other work | Named services, platforms and regions only |
| Do you take money from brands in my deals? | Fees from both sides create a conflict of interest | Written disclosure of any brand-side payment |
| Do you need a licence where we work? | Booking paid work without a required licence can be unlawful | A direct yes or no, with licence details where one is held |
Red flags in influencer management offers
- Money before any work. A joining fee, a portfolio charge or payment to be “considered”. The FTC's advice on modelling scams tells people never to pay an agency up front to be represented, and NSW rules for performer representatives prohibit joining, audition and retention fees.
- Exclusivity with no edges. Every platform and category, worldwide, for years, with no exit if little or no work arrives.
- Control of your accounts or name. Requests for passwords or two-factor codes, a new recovery email, or an agency-owned trademark on your handle.
- Commission that never ends. A share of all future income from any brand the agency ever introduced, with no time limit.
- Your money with no paper trail. Brand payments routed through the agency without itemised statements.
- Pressure and promises. A deadline to sign today, pushback when you want a lawyer, promised deal counts or income, or a suggestion to drop the ad label.
If an offer arrives with a login link or an onboarding charge, read the guide to fake brand deal scams first. If an agency owes you money, the guide to recovering unpaid agency fees sets out the steps.
How influencer management with SirenCY begins
SirenCY, a creator management agency in Melbourne, works with influencers and social media creators as well as OnlyFans and Fansly models and webcam models. For influencer work the route in is the same as for any creator: an application, a conversation, and a written document you read before anything begins.
- Apply through the creator application with your handles, your platforms and the help you want.
- Talk through fit: what you want to grow, the work you want to keep doing yourself, and anything already signed with brands or other representatives.
- If both sides want to go ahead, you receive a written proposal or agreement covering services, fees and terms.
- Read it, ask questions and get independent advice, putting the questions table above to SirenCY as you would to any agency.
Fees and terms are set out in each creator's written proposal or agreement, so this page does not quote them.
Influencer management FAQs
Do I need an influencer management agency?
Not necessarily. If brand inquiries are rare, a media kit and your own outreach may serve you better than giving up a share of each deal. Management starts to earn its cost when inquiries, negotiation and admin eat time you would rather spend creating. The readiness guide has a fuller self-check.
How many followers do you need for influencer management?
No official threshold exists. Each agency sets its own criteria, which may weigh engagement, niche and how often brands already approach you as heavily as follower counts.
Is an influencer manager the same as a talent agent?
Not always. Managers usually coordinate the whole business, while agents concentrate on booking paid work, which some places license. Some agencies do both, so ask which activities they actually perform.
Can an agency take commission on deals I find myself?
Only if your agreement allows it. Some agreements cover every deal signed during the term; others exclude deals you source or brands you worked with before. Get the rule in writing, ideally with examples.
Can I leave an influencer management agency early?
That depends on the term, notice period and exit clauses you signed. Before signing, ask for a way out if agreed work is not delivered, and check what happens to deals in progress when you leave. The contract checklist lists the clauses to examine.
Who owns the content I make for brand campaigns?
Usually you do, with the brand licensed to use it for a set period and purpose, but the brand contract decides. Watch for usage terms that never expire or extend to paid ads, and read the guide to content usage rights first.
More reading: the influencer business hub covers media kits, rates and business setup, and the platform hubs for Instagram, TikTok and YouTube cover each platform's creator programmes and commercial rules.
Limitations and sources
This page is general information only and not legal, tax or financial advice. It cannot tell you whether a particular agency is licensed, solvent or good at its job, and laws and platform policies change, so check the official pages below and speak to a qualified local professional before signing a long or exclusive agreement.
Reviewed 2 October 2026. Official pages used for the rules and figures above:
- FTC: Disclosures 101 for Social Media Influencers
- eCFR: 16 CFR Part 255, Endorsement Guides, for intermediary liability
- CMA: Social media endorsements, guidance for content creators
- CMA press release, 7 April 2025, on fining powers
- ASA/CAP influencers' guide, third edition of March 2023
- ACCC media release, 7 December 2023, on its influencer sweep
- Ad Standards: Distinguishable advertising
- Competition Bureau Canada: Influencer marketing and the Competition Act
- Meta: Branded Content Policies
- TikTok: Branded Content Policy, with its prohibited industries
- YouTube Help: branded content disclosure labels
- TikTok: How creators can sign up for TikTok One
- YouTube Help: Get started with YouTube Creator Partnerships
- California Labor Commissioner: Talent Agency License
- GOV.UK: entertainment agency fees for performers and workers
- NSW Government: performers and performer representatives
- FTC Consumer Advice: Modeling Scams
- Twitch: Monetized Streamer Agreement, for its net revenue definition
Talk to SirenCY about influencer management
Send your handles and goals through the application. If there is a fit, the next step is a conversation, then a written proposal you can take away and check.
Apply to SirenCY →- Looking for a job rather than management? See careers at SirenCY.
- Brands, partners and press: start with partnerships at SirenCY, or email anyro@sirency.com.
- Anything else: contact SirenCY.