Wealth Strategy That Supports Your Creative Life
Your financial journey as an artist or entertainer is anything but typical. Irregular income, intellectual property, royalties, and contracts can make wealth management complex.
At Mercer Advisors, we help creative professionals build long-term financial independence—without sacrificing artistic freedom.
Table of Contents
Why Creatives Need Specialist Financial Advice ↓
Manage Royalty Streams and Creative Income ↓
Specialized Services for Artists & Entertainers ↓
Protect Intellectual Property and Financial Rights ↓
Build a Long-Term Wealth Plan ↓
Plan for Taxes and Irregular Income
Why Creatives Need
Specialist Financial Advice
Artists and entertainers face unique financial challenges: fluctuating income, unpredictable royalties, and protecting intellectual property. Without tailored expertise, you risk tax inefficiencies, undervalued assets, and financial instability.
Mercer Advisors offers specialized wealth planning strategies designed for high-net-worth creatives, helping you protect what you’ve built and plan for what’s next.
Manage Royalty Streams and Creative Income
Tracking and optimizing your royalties is essential for financial stability. Mercer Advisors helps creatives maximize earnings and minimize income gaps with:
- Royalty tracking: Monitor payments from music, film, books, and/or licensing deals
- Cash flow stability: Time distributions and advances strategically, as well as implementing passive income strategies to maintain consistency
- Contract coordination: Align agreements with long-term financial goals
With our royalty management solutions, we help ensure consistent, strategic income.
Specialized Services for Artists & Entertainers
- Integrated wealth management for personal and professional finances
- Royalty income optimization to help provide for more predictable cash flow
- Partnership with attorneys to help safeguard intellectual property rights
- Risk management & asset protection to help provide long-term security
- Investment strategies to help build wealth beyond your career cycles
- Estate planning guidance for helping long-term financial continuity
Mercer Advisors is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice to clients. All estate planning documentation preparation and other legal advice is provided through select third parties unaffiliated to Mercer Advisors, depending on the complexity of the estate, additional fees may apply.
Protect Intellectual Property and Financial Rights
Your creative work is one of your most valuable assets. Securing it is key to building long-term wealth.
Mercer Advisors collaborates with outsourced IP experts to help structure licensing agreements, copyrights, and trademarks to preserve ownership while maximizing financial outcomes. For example, for long-term security, you may want to consider an intellectual property trust. This helps transfer royalties efficiently while reducing tax liabilities, working to ensure steady income distribution for beneficiaries or philanthropic efforts.
Plan for Taxes and Irregular Income
Creative professionals face complex tax scenarios due to fluctuating earnings, lump sum advances, and royalty payments. Smart tax planning helps secure more of your earnings and protects financial stability long term.
We help artists and entertainers minimize tax burdens through strategic planning:
- Tax-efficient royalty structures designed to prevent excessive taxation
- Estimated payments and cash flow modeling to help smooth income fluctuations
- Collaboration with our in-house tax professionals to ensure compliance and optimize deductions
Tax preparation and tax filing are a separate fee from our investment management and planning services.
Additional Solutions
Managing wealth as an artist or entertainer requires more than tracking royalties and contracts. Our specialized planning solutions help you protect what you’ve earned, minimize risk, and grow your wealth—so your financial life supports your creative one.
Build a Long-Term Wealth Plan
Financial success isn’t just about earnings; it’s about creating lasting financial stability beyond your creative career. Mercer Advisors helps artists transition from irregular income to structured wealth accumulation.
From Project-Based Income to Wealth Building
Turn royalties, contracts, and performances into lasting financial security through diversified investments and structured cash flow planning.
Private Wealth Planning Services That Align with Your Goals
Whether you’re preparing for early retirement, expanding your philanthropic efforts, or supporting family needs, we provide a holistic approach to wealth management designed for creatives.
Legacy and Retirement Strategies
Plan for the future with estate planning, family office services, and structured financial solutions that help ensure your wealth supports you and your loved ones long after your peak earning years.Creative Wealth Planning Checklist
Success in the arts can be unpredictable—but your financial strategy doesn’t have to be. Use this checklist to help stay on top of royalty income, tax obligations, and long-term planning, so your creativity and career remain supported by financial clarity and confidence.
FAQs for Artists & Entertainers
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Unpredictable earnings can make financial planning challenging for artists and entertainers. Partnering with a wealth manager allows you to create a structured cash flow plan that accounts for fluctuations in income. This includes setting aside reserve funds to cover gaps between royalty payments, contract advances, and project-based earnings.
A financial advisor can help you forecast expected royalty streams, working to help ensure payments are timed strategically to maintain financial stability. Additionally, leveraging income-smoothing techniques, such as installment payments or deferred compensation, can help reduce tax burdens and create a more consistent financial foundation over time.
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This depends on your goals, but there are a few key tactics to help space out such income. You can negotiate royalty agreements that allow for installment payments rather than lump sums. You could also use intellectual property trusts to help manage earnings and minimize tax burdens.
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Yes, by structuring deferred compensation plans, leveraging eligible deductions, and working with a wealth manager to help optimize income distribution. Spreading payments across tax years helps to mitigate tax spikes – and it’s one of our many specialties at Mercer Advisors.
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Artists and entertainers can establish a trust or designate an estate plan that ensures royalties continue to fund your family or beneficiaries in alignment with your wishes. It’s likely in your best interests to assign financial power of attorney for ongoing management.
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An LLC helps manage tax efficiency and liability protection, while a trust helps secure long-term wealth distribution as a key estate planning tool. Choosing the right option depends on your financial goals and legal needs. Our experienced in-house team can help determine the path that’s in your best interests.
