Artist Myth #10a: Agents

Myth Ten: If I only had an agent, my worries would be over.

You may have an idea that an agent will finally do all the things that you hate doing – making phone calls, networking, selling. Guess what? It’s not true. Plenty of my performer friends have agents who only get them work once a month. The truth is, with an agent, you may just become just one more client on their relatively long list of clients. Agents will pitch your work and may sell some of your work, but it won’t be the agent who will take your career to the next level, it’ll be you.

In fact, TV Producer, Christina Kolock who books talent for her CBS show "Virginia This Morning"  has this to say in terms of artists and their agents. “If the artist can make the time to communicate with other people, it's so much easier to work directly with them. Adding an agent to the mix just adds one more cook to the kitchen and can slow down the channels of communication."

If you want to find an agent or even if you want your agent to do more for you, you’re going to have to do the work first.

As singer/songwriter Kyle Vincent told me, "I've never had an agent in my life. It's a lot like a real estate agent.One day I saw a house I liked. I went up to the guy in the yard, asked him if he'd ever consider selling it, he said he would, and 2 months later I had a home. No agents, no commission."

Kyle Vincent, is a singer/song writer and the current lead singer of the Bay City Rollers. He is the former lead singer and rhythm guitarist of the teen pop band, Candy. As a solo artist Vincent toured with Barry Manilow. His songs have appeared on MTV's Road Rules, The Real World, Daria, ABC's All My Children, and "Save the Planet: A CBS/Hard Rock Cafe Special". For more visit www.kylevincent.com.