Over half of Indian influencers are losing brand deals because of fake managers

Mint

25-05-2025

For India's content creators chasing deals with brands, imposters posing as their managers are becoming a big risk.
India's over four million influencers lost about ₹350 crore worth of brand deals in 2024 because unauthorised managers tried negotiating deals for them but failed, according to a report by Hashfame, a networking platform for creators and marketers, exclusively shared with Mint.
'More than 55% of Indian content creators are losing brand deals not because of poor performance or content misalignment, but due to misrepresentation and the lack of direct access caused by unverified or fake talent managers," read the report that surveyed over 32,000 content creators across India.
Imposters inflate charges
India's influencers industry, estimated to touch ₹3,375 crore by 2026, according to EY, is shadowed by talent management businesses. These agencies negotiate endorsement deals from brands for influencers in exchange for a commission.
Read more: India's influencers confront a harsh reality: more views don't mean more subscribers
However, since the industry is nascent with no formal setup, some agents with no professional and contracted association with creators try to take advantage of it. When brands are hunting for creators for campaigns, these middlemen respond to their queries, claiming to manage creators and negotiate deals on their behalf, often bypassing actual managers.
Such imposters usually quote inflated charges that are much higher than the influencer's charges.
'This has happened to me more times than I can count," travel creator Anunay Sood with over 1.3 million followers on Instagram said in the report. 'There have been people in the industry claiming to be my manager and quoting inflated prices to brands without my knowledge. I ended up losing deals I didn't even know existed."
This is particularly worrying for agencies managing such influencers.
'Every time a brand picks the wrong contact, a creator loses money and an agency loses trust. Fake managers are a dime a dozen now. They are circling deals they didn't build and hijacking relationships they've done nothing to earn," said Viraj Sheth, chief executive officer and co-founder of influencer talent management agency Monk Entertainment. 'It's time the industry stopped enabling them by being careless with point-of-contact verifications."
Agencies that officially represent creators negotiate deals with brands. However, when an agent directly brings a deal to an influencer, the marketing firm representing a creator is, at times, required to be looped in. In such cases, both charge separate commissions, spiking the costs and making brands less likely to sign that deal.
'When multiple agents mediate between brands and creators, it creates a murky pricing system. Each agent adds their margin, jacking up costs for brands and reducing the chances of getting the deal sealed," comedian Mallika Dua, who has over a million followers on Instagram, told Mint.
Read more: Gen Z wants more than just cricket from sports entertainment, looks for authentic athlete engagement
This multilayered setup hurts bigger creators the most, Dua said, as they already command higher fees than their emerging counterparts, ultimately making them appear hard to get. "A direct channel of communication between creators and brands involving only one legitimate agency taking care of all logistics is the key to successful campaigns leading to transparency and possible opportunities for future collaborations as well."
The problem is, however, also rooted in influencer marketing becoming overcrowded.
"In any fragmented high-demand market without clear ownership or infrastructure, misrepresentation becomes inevitable," said Anirudh Sridharan, co-founder of HashFame. Citing LinkedIn data, he said, there are over 12,000 agencies operating in this marketing domain.
'Influencer marketing in India is exactly that. Too many agencies. Too little accountability. No system of record," Sridharan said. 'So when everyone's selling the same asset, whoever lies first often wins."
For someone negotiating such deals, it becomes a game of luck. If the deals go through, everyone profits, but if it doesn't, all stakeholders take the blow, not just the creator.
"Cutting a deal in this industry is all about relationships with the stakeholders involved. If you come across a client from the brand side looking for a particular creator or celebrity and you have good relationships with the talent, you can negotiate and close the deal for them at better commercials, which is a win-win for all," said Udit Juyal, brand partnerships manager at IOS sports and entertainment, a marketing agency.
Juyal highlighted that after securing the deal with the brand, the middleman's profitability depends on convincing the influencer to do the campaign at a lower cost.
"If the deal doesn't go through, it is a loss for all the stakeholders involved, in terms of time and missed opportunity, not just the influencer," said Juyal, who has negotiated over a hundred deals with brands on behalf of influencers without directly representing them.
Ramya Ramachandran, founder of influencer marketing agency Whoppl, said, 'The best solution to this issue is that talent managers should ensure influencers clearly disclose their agency representation in their profiles. This way, all official brand inquiries can be directed through the agency, streamlining communication."