Emma, do the contestants have to sign a contract with Syco to appear on the show? And if Susan Boyle did turn out to be a runner-up in the finals, could she then sign with someone else after three months?

Really good agent-managers don't charge the client. They get their money from a percentage (usually 10%, sometimes 15% with a really good one, e.g., the late Sol Hurok, for example) of the client's earnings.

I worked with an agent for several years, and other than 10% of what I got for a singing engagement, I didn't have to pay him anything. It was in his interest that I was doing well. If not, he didn't get paid. And he kept me working pretty steady without my having to go out and beat the bushes. I was not his only client, of course.

I don't know how things work in the British Isles. Maybe the system is different there. But considering the splash that Susan Boyle has already made and the fact that, even though she may not be Maria Callas or Natalie Dessay, the lady is a pretty darn good singer. I would imagine that there would be agents jostling each other to get at her.

The trick is for her to get one who realizes that her interests and well-being are in his interests as well.

Don Firth