I've got to point out that, in the UK, being an agent for folk musicians is rarely a full-time occupation, and rarely repays the effort put into it. I've been watching the scene for over thirty years, and it is currently very difficult for a lot of very good performers to make a living. Those people acting as agents are mainly just friends who are better at promoting than the performers themselves are. I know a couple of people who have tried to do it for the money, and they've packed it in because there are easier ways to make a living. The fact that it is the agent who is asking in the example given doesn't mean the whole thing is commercial.