03/08/2026
Agencies were the initial target when the super conversation begun. Some agencies are now marketing that they don’t adjust talent’s rates like it is an act of generosity.
Hate to be the bearer of bad news but if an agency can absorb it without touching your rate, they had margin to spare you weren’t seeing.
The real shift has actually been toward the government who never consulted talent, and never consulted agencies, before bringing any of this in.
The admin alone is massive. It took us six months to build a system that could actually handle our volume.
This is exactly why some local community events have started cancelling. Picture one running 30 to 50 bands that’s 200 to 300 individual band members, each owed super, each with a different fund, all inside a seven-day payment window. A volunteer-run local event can’t put that admin together in time.
IMO: If you’re earning over $40k a year from your music career, restructuring as a company keeps that money working for you instead of it going straight to super….plus real tax benefits, since the fees to set it up and run it are deductible against tax you’d owe anyway.