The “Big 4” Agencies
The agency world, like the label ecosystem, has its “majors”; global players with large rosters & dominant market-share. Below we list the companies often referred to as the “4 majors”.
Founded in LA in 1975 by 5 WME agents, CAA’s music artist roster combined have 1.3B more listeners on Spotify than the next agency on this list. Over 100 agents work in the music department.
Roster Size: 1,600+
Total Audience: ~5B Spotify Listeners / 3B IG Followers
Average Artist Size: ~3M Spotify Listeners
Top Artists: Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande, Dua Lipa, Jason Derulo, Cardi B
William Morris Endavor (WME)
Arguably the first global talent agency, WME started out in 1898 as the William Morris Agency. A 2009 merger with Endeavor Talent Agency formed WME. After another merger with IMG, WME-IMG became Endeavor.
Roster Size: 1,000+
Total Audience: ~3.5B Spotify Listeners / 2B IG Followers
Average Artist Size: ~3.2M Spotify Listeners
Top Artists: The Weeknd, J Balvin, Dua Lipa, Drake, Marshmello
Founded by Sam Gores as SGA Representation in 1986, Paradigm’s large music roster is partly the result of a series of acquisitions & mergers over the years including AM Only, CODA & The Windish Agency. UK based X-ray Touring are partners.
Roster Size: 2,300+ (largest)
Total Audience: ~3.5B Spotify Listeners / 1B IG Followers
Average Artist Size: ~1.6M Spotify Listeners
Top Artists: Ed Sheeran, Billie Eilish, Shawn Mendes, SIA, David Guetta
United Talent Agency (UTA)
Founded in 1991 after the merger of the Bauer-Benedek Agency & Leading Artists Agency. Acquisitions of The Agency Group & dance focused Circle Talent Agency bolstered their music department.
Roster Size: 1,400+
Total Audience: ~2B Spotify Listeners / 1B IG Followers
Average Artist Size: ~1.5M Spotify Listeners
Top Artists: Bad Bunny, Jason Derulo, Halsey, Post Malone, iann dior
The Data
The chart below (from Summer 2020) shows how the various agencies stack up against each other. The higher a dot, the larger the roster. The further to the right a dot is, the larger their average artist audience size is.
