Signing with a talent agency or manager: what Canadian creators should check first

Once a creator’s brand deals turn into steady income, an agency or manager often appears. A good one brings deal flow, pricing knowledge and brand relationships. The management agreement you sign with them, though, is one of the most important contracts in your business, and it deserves the same attention as any brand deal.

This post is general information, not legal advice.

You’re running a business

The Canada Revenue Agency’s guidance for social media influencers says income must be reported, including non-monetary income such as products received for promotion and trips. If your taxable supplies go over $30,000 in four consecutive calendar quarters, you’re no longer a small supplier and generally must register for GST/HST.

At that point, many creators also ask whether to incorporate. That depends on income, liability and tax planning, and it’s worth discussing with an accountant as well as a lawyer. See federal or Ontario incorporation.

What an agency does, and doesn’t do

In Ontario, section 26.1 of the Law Society Act says that, subject to limited exceptions, no person other than a licensee may practise law or provide legal services. When a manager says “we reviewed the contract,” they checked the commercial terms. Nobody has assessed enforceability, regulatory risk or what happens if the deal goes wrong.

Agency interests can also differ from yours without anyone acting in bad faith. The agency is usually paid when a deal closes. It depends on repeat business from the same brands you’re negotiating with. Some agencies represent talent and also run campaigns for brands. A lawyer, by contrast, owes duties of confidentiality and loyalty to the client under the Law Society’s Rules of Professional Conduct, and can’t act where there’s a conflict except as the rules allow.

What to check in a management agreement

• Term and renewal. How long it lasts and whether it renews automatically.
• Exclusivity. Whether every brand deal must go through the agency, including inbound offers you find yourself.
• Commission base. Gross or net, and whether it applies to platform payouts, affiliate income, merch, courses or speaking.
• Post-term commissions. How long the agency keeps earning on deals after you leave, and whether that covers renewals with the same brand.
• Payment flow. Whether brand money goes through the agency first, how quickly it reaches you, and whether you can see the brand’s invoice.
• Signing authority. Whether the agency can sign deals on your behalf. Most creators should keep that themselves.
• Accounts and content. Written confirmation that your handles, audience data and content stay yours.
• Ending it. How either side can end the relationship, with what notice, and what happens to deals in progress.

Platform terms shape your business too

Your business runs on platforms you don’t control. Instagram, TikTok and YouTube set the rules in their terms and community guidelines, and they can restrict an account or change a feature with little notice. A suspended account can mean missed deliverables under several brand contracts at once. Your brand deals should say what happens if a platform removes a post, limits reach or changes a feature, and that you’re paid for work already delivered.

AI likeness and voice clauses

This is the fastest-moving part of creator contracts. Watch for grants of your “name, image, likeness and voice in any media now known or later developed,” rights to create “derivative works,” or permission to use content “to develop or improve technology.” Read together, those phrases could let a brand train an AI model on your content or produce a synthetic version of you.

Canadian law offers some protection. Ontario courts recognize a claim for misappropriation of personality, and British Columbia, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Newfoundland and Labrador have privacy statutes that address unauthorized use of a person’s name or likeness. These protections turn largely on lack of consent, and a signed contract can amount to consent. Ask for:

• no synthetic voice or likeness without separate written consent and separate payment;
• no use of your content as AI training data;
• approval of any AI-altered, dubbed or translated version of your content;
• removal of AI-assisted assets when the usage term ends.

See our guide to creator and brand agreements and the glossary entry on usage rights.

Do you need a lawyer for every deal?

Usually not. Many creators have a standard agreement prepared or reviewed once, then get legal input only for long terms, exclusivity, large fees, equity, or AI and likeness rights. The management agreement itself is worth reviewing before you sign, because it shapes every deal that follows.

We review and draft brand deal contracts and content licensing agreements at fixed fees, listed on our fees page. If you’re about to sign with an agency or a major brand, book a free 15-minute consult.