Agents based in foreign countries - Authorization to operate in France
Tuesday, 17 August 2004
The practice of the profession of agent in France is strictly regulated.
These regulations apply in particular to those who, under the title of impresario, manager, or any other title, receive during the course of a calendar year a mandate from more than two entertainment artists to seek engagements for them.
Nb > Art. L. 762-1 : Entertainment artists notably include the following : opera artists, dramatic artists, choreographic artists, variety artists, musicians, singers, accompanying artists, orchestra conductors, arrangers, and for the physical execution of their artistic creations, directors.
The agent is notably in charge of seeking out and negotiating engagements for entertainment artists. The agent does not pay a salary to the artists. The company which signs the contract through the intermediary of the agent is the employer of the artist.
Attention >
The activity of an agent must be clearly distinguished from that of a tour promoter. The tour promoter ensures the commercialization of entertainment :
These regulations apply in particular to those who, under the title of impresario, manager, or any other title, receive during the course of a calendar year a mandate from more than two entertainment artists to seek engagements for them.
Nb > Art. L. 762-1 : Entertainment artists notably include the following : opera artists, dramatic artists, choreographic artists, variety artists, musicians, singers, accompanying artists, orchestra conductors, arrangers, and for the physical execution of their artistic creations, directors.
The agent is notably in charge of seeking out and negotiating engagements for entertainment artists. The agent does not pay a salary to the artists. The company which signs the contract through the intermediary of the agent is the employer of the artist.
Attention >
The activity of an agent must be clearly distinguished from that of a tour promoter. The tour promoter ensures the commercialization of entertainment :
> either he pays the artists and assumes the totality of costs for organizing and carrying out tours ; in this case he is the stage employer and must hold a category 2 entertainment promoter license ;or, he commercializes the entertainment for a producer who pays the employees. In this case he does not assume the responsibility of stage employer : this is the role of the producer. In this case the tour promoter must hold a category 3 entertainment promoter license (see the file Entertainment promoters based in foreign countries – Authorization to operate in France, formalities ).
Only physical persons or legal entities which hold an agent’s license issued by the French Ministry of Labor can practice this profession (see the file Artist’s agents – Professional regulations, licenses, compensation, etc. ).
The labor code forbids foreign agents to procure work for their artists in France without using the intermediary of a French agent.
However, the ordinance of February 22, 2001 opened the profession of agent to citizens of member states of the European Union.
Nb > European Union member states : Germany, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Spain, Finland, France, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, United Kingdom, Sweden (for the ten new member states of the European Union - Cyprus - Estonia - Latvia - Lithuania - Hungary - Malta - Poland - Slovenia - Slovakia - Czech Republic - see the « News » section) + the three member states of the European Economic Area (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway) + Switzerland, in accordance with appendix I of the agreement on the free movement of citizens signed by the European Union and Switzerland published by the Council and the Commission decision of April 4, 2002.
Therefore, agents based in a member state of the European Union or in a state which is part of the European Economic Area (EEA) can exercise their profession in France under the following conditions:
Only physical persons or legal entities which hold an agent’s license issued by the French Ministry of Labor can practice this profession (see the file Artist’s agents – Professional regulations, licenses, compensation, etc. ).
The labor code forbids foreign agents to procure work for their artists in France without using the intermediary of a French agent.
However, the ordinance of February 22, 2001 opened the profession of agent to citizens of member states of the European Union.
Nb > European Union member states : Germany, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Spain, Finland, France, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, United Kingdom, Sweden (for the ten new member states of the European Union - Cyprus - Estonia - Latvia - Lithuania - Hungary - Malta - Poland - Slovenia - Slovakia - Czech Republic - see the « News » section) + the three member states of the European Economic Area (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway) + Switzerland, in accordance with appendix I of the agreement on the free movement of citizens signed by the European Union and Switzerland published by the Council and the Commission decision of April 4, 2002.
Therefore, agents based in a member state of the European Union or in a state which is part of the European Economic Area (EEA) can exercise their profession in France under the following conditions:
> they must either obtain a license under the conditions stipulated by French law (see the file Artist’s agents – Professional regulations, licenses, compensation, etc. ) ;
>or they must produce a license issued in one of the countries of the EEA under conditions which are comparable to those stipulated by French law.
On the other hand, agents who are based in other foreign countries remain obligated to use the intermediary of a French agent to procure engagements for entertainment artists.
Nb > Art. L. 762-9 : Artistic agents who are citizens of a Member State of the European Community or of a State which has signed the European Economic Area agreement can exercise their activity in France if they obtain a license under the conditions stipulated by article L. 762-3 or if they produce a license issued in one of these States under equivalent conditions. Except in the case of reciprocal agreements, artistic agents who are citizens of other States may not seek engagements for artists in France without using the intermediary of a French artistic agent.
Practicing the profession of agent in France without holding a license is punishable, in the case of repeated offences, by a 6-month prison term and a fine of € 3,750 or only one of these two penalties.
Nb > Article L. 796-2 of the labor code
See also :
the file Entertainment promoters based in foreign countries – Authorization to operate in France, formalities and the file Foreign artists hired by companies based in France .
