Lights! Camera!! So Tell Me, You Really Want to be a Model?
!!!
If you are reading this page it probably is because you are interested in becoming a model. There are many kinds of models:
fashion,
commercial and
glamour
are the major divisions. These pages will not discuss glamour models
in detail – that is a topic best left to others who deal in that
specialty.
We will focus here only on the majority
of models in the United States: commercial models and, to a lesser
extent, fashion models.
What does it take to be a model? Please follow the links below, where each highlighted concept is explained in more detail.*
1. Location. If you aren’t where the market is, you won’t get work.
2. Investment,
of both time and money is needed. Becoming a model isn’t free,
although it may be affordable. At a minimum you will have to have the Required Marketing Materials.
3. Height and Body Type. It’s a lot harder if you are 5’2” tall or not slim.
4. Attitude. Can make or break your career. Usually it breaks it.
5. Looks. Sure, they are important, but look where they are on the list.
6. “Being Discovered”. You think this is how it works?
And after all that, if you get to be a
model it may not be what you think. Before you make all that investment
you need to know all about the reality of
Your Role as a Model.
* - “Agency” doesn’t always mean exactly that. See “A note on Terminology”for an explanation.
If she is a model and you know her name
or you recognize her face, she is an "editorial fashion model." Seems
simple enough, but it isn't.
"Editorial fashion models" work in New
York City (in this country) for the simple reason that very, very little
editorial fashion work is booked out of anywhere else. There are
exceptions, of
course: Miami in winter (but often
using New York models), and sometimes Los Angeles or Chicago, but these
are just that: exceptions. If you want to be a fashion model, you go
to New York.
There are lots of opportunities abroad
as well (Paris, London, Milan, Tokyo . . .), but only one real one in
the US.
For women, if you want to be seen on the
cover of a national fashion magazine, to sign a lucrative national ad
contract, to become a "supermodel", or even to be a "fashion model", you
need the following when
you start:
1. Be between 15-19 years old.
2. Be between 5'9" and 6' tall.
3. Be thin. Really, really
thin. Something like 105-115 pounds, except for Plus models, who can be
dress sizes 10-20 or so, depending on the market.
4. Don't have especially large
breasts (34C is generally the upper bound of acceptable), lots of
stretch marks, tattoos, piercings or highly tanned skin. Dark skin is
fine, lots of tan is not
fine.
5. Be beautiful. Not
necessarily pretty, but beautiful. An interesting, beautiful face is at
least as good for a fashion model as is an "all American" look.
6. Have the right personality
for it: a strong commitment to modeling (not just an interest in it),
an ability to take rejection (something most beautiful girls aren't good
at), a thick skin, not
a lot of modesty (nobody cares
what you don't want someone to see, we have a fashion show to put on . .
.) and a lot of self confidence.
7. Be willing to relocate to a major market, with New York City strongly preferred.
8. Be willing to travel to
strange locations with no friends there to support you, little money,
little help, lots of opportunity for both good and bad things to happen
to you.
If you have all of that, you are a very,
very rare person, and you have one chance in a hundred of becoming an
editorial fashion model. No more than that. If you are anything else,
you need to think about
some other kind of modeling.
Requirements for men are a little less
stringentand have been changing in recent years. Depending on the market
city, men need to be 5'11" (6' strongly preferred) to 6'2" (in some
cities, 6'3") tall. The traditional male
model is slim: size 40 jacket, 30-32 waist. However, in the last
few years there has been a strong movement in Europe, now reflected in
the major American markets, for much slimmer men.
While in smaller cities, the traditional male model can still be
successful, in New York especially, jacket sizes of 36 to 38 are now
generally preferred by many agencies, with waists proportionately
smaller as well.
Men can be older to start. Age 18-25 is fine.
Editorial fashion jobs are booked almost
exclusively through "editorial fashion agencies" - and those hardly
exist outside New York.
Most agency models are "commercial"
models - meaning that they appear on local or national print ads or
television shows, in catalogs, work in local fashion shows and trade
shows and similar kinds of
work. They don't get huge fees
(although pay can be very good indeed), national recognition or
lucrative national ad contracts, but they are the backbone of the
modeling industry.
Fashion models
also work as commercial models, although the reverse is rarely true. In
smaller market cities in the US, most agencies concentrate on "fashion
print" or "commercial fashion" models,
who tend to be tall, slim and beautiful
in a more mainstream way. This is "commercial fashion", a subset of
commercial modeling.
Very, very few commercial models make a
living at it. It is not a career, it is something they do on an
occasional basis while they do something else "full time". Outside of
the major markets
(New York, Chicago, maybe Miami and Los
Angeles) it is doubtful that there is any city in America in which more
than a dozen people make a good living at modeling, but in virtually all
cities and substantial towns
there are many, usually hundreds, who
are in the modeling market, and who occasionally find work.
The requirements for being a commercial model are very different from being a
fashion model.
It certainly helps if you look a lot like a fashion model, but there is
work available in most markets for many
other types. Models can be older, shorter, heavier and need not be
pretty or beautiful - "interesting" often will get work, and “generic
good looks” is the
most common look required. Commercial
models are asked to play roles in pictures: “young mom”, “active
retiree”, “Doctor”, “executive”, and they look like idealized versions
of these
roles. In most of the markets we have
surveyed the hardest demand for an agent to fill is for middle-aged men!
Things that help a commercial model are
acting ability, an outgoing personality, easy availability for jobs, and
good self-presentation skills.
The great majority of commercial jobs are
booked through agencies, except for those that are given to friends or
members of the client's family.
There is a common misconception among
many aspiring models that a "glamour model" is one like they see in the
pages of "Glamour" magazine. Sorry, those are
fashion models or
commercial models.
A glamour model may do many kinds of
work, but all of them are based on the fact that she is pretty and
attractive (unlike a fashion model, who may not be pretty, or commercial
model, who may not be either pretty or
attractive).
Some of them do promotional work: things
like appearing in a bikini at a boat show, or in bars or special events
to represent a liquor distributor. Some do "cheesecake" print work,
such as appearing
in magazines which appeal to a male
audience, adorning the product which is the subject of the magazine
(such as cars, motorcycles and the like) or appear in calendars. Many
do nude work in magazines, videos,
for artists, or in the growing field of
web site content.
The market for non-nude glamour models
certainly exists, but it is rarely something that a model can make a
living at, and generally does not pay as well as other modeling work.
The vast majority of glamour
models who do not do nudes will have no
more than a very few appearances in print, and virtually all of them
are in New York, Miami or Los Angeles.
The requirements for being a "glamour
model" are different from being a fashion or commercial model -
generally any attractive woman with an appealing body can qualify.
Preferred age varies by the
type of job, but is generally from 18
until the late twenties. Some glamour models have successful careers
into their thirties, but they almost always became known prior to that.
There are a very few specialized agencies
which handle glamour models, but they exist only in a small number of
cities. Very few glamour model jobs are booked by agencies. Some
agencies do handle
promotional or trade show assignments,
but other types of assignment generally are booked in other ways:
through personal contacts, direct advertising and hiring by the client
or photographer, and more
recently, through the internet. It is
very common for a model to get such jobs through self-promotion of one
sort or another, direct to magazines, clients or photographers. A
growing number of them also
are getting work through the internet,
using on-line model referral pages or modeling forums.
This is the single most important thing needed to be successful as a model. You need to be where the jobs are!
It’s possible (remotely possible, not
likely) that you may be flown to a job at client expense some day. It
happens. But it only happens after you have been selected for the job –
and that takes place
where the client and the market are.
For "fly to" jobs, that is almost always a major market city like New
York or Los Angeles.
Here’s how it typically works:
Clients call agencies and tell them what
their requirements are for upcoming jobs. The agency matches those
requirements against the people in their files, and selects the models
they think are likely to be
chosen for the job. The comp cards or
portfolios for those people are sent to the client, who then selects the
models that he actually wants to see – and those people then go on a
“go-see” or “casting”.
Sometimes the first part of this process
is omitted, and agencies simply have their models “go see” the client.
There can be as few as one and as many as hundreds of models at these
go-sees, and usually a
considerable majority of them sent out
by their agencies won’t be selected for the job. This is a competitive
business, with lots of competitors and, at any given moment, few
winners.
You don’t get paid to go to castings,
go-sees or auditions, so a great deal of a model’s time is spent on
things like go-sees that don’t actually make them any money. And nobody
pays your expenses to get
to these things, either. That may be OK
for someone that lives in the area and can afford to take time off from
whatever else they do for an hour or two. But it is simply impossible
for someone who lives
in Ohio, Texas or even Maryland to
commute to these things hoping that they will get a job. The economics
don’t work.
If you are going to be in the commercial
or fashion modeling business you have to live within a reasonable
commuting distance of the marketplace. We generally advise no more than
50-60 miles away, and even that makes
pursuing a modeling career very
difficult.
If you want to stay home, and home is more than 100 or so miles from where the work is, an agency can’t do much for you.
Modeling is a business, and like all
businesses requires investment by you. These investments may be in time
and effort or in money, but you cannot hope to be successful as a
commercial model without making
them. At a minimum, you will need to
invest in the following:
1. Pictures The single
most important thing you need is good pictures, in the proper style, to
represent yourself. You may find qualified photographers who will
shoot
you at reduced or no cost, but
that is by no means assured. Generally, models must be prepared to
spend several hundred dollars at the beginning of their career, and to
invest more on a regular basis
to keep your “book” or “comp
card” updated. Some models (typically young women) may find that they
can get pictures done free or for greatly reduced rates, but all models
should be prepared for
the likelihood that they will
have to pay for pictures. Often what you get for free serves the needs
of the photographer, not yours. It is relatively rare to find a good
photographer who is willing to shoot commercially useful pictures for
free.
2. Comp Cards/Headshots
Your agency will need photos of
you that they can send to casting directors – and they won’t get them
back. So you must have printed “composite” cards (for commercial and
fashion models) and/or “headshots” (for actors/actresses). “Comps”
may run $80-$200 or so;
headshots should cost $50-$100. A model can start with only a printed
headshot, but a comp is much preferable as soon as enough good pictures
are available.
3. Self-presentation skills
We discourage models from taking “modeling classes” – they are not
required and often are counter-productive. Still, a model should have a
good
basic understanding of makeup
and wardrobe, and may require some guidance on posture and other
self-presentation issues. There are a variety of ways to get these
things, some relatively inexpensive,
and some costing in the hundreds
of dollars.
4. “Bag of tricks” Even
though many assignments will have professional makeup artists and
stylists to prepare you, some will not. You must have the materials and
skills to
do your own makeup in a variety
of styles, and a wardrobe and shoes appropriate to basic modeling
situations. You can reasonably expect that these things, if you do not
already have them, may run to
several hundred dollars or more,
depending on how much you wish to invest in flexibility to easily take a
wide variety of assignments.
5. Modeling Skills
Although we do not recommend “modeling schools”, agencies and clients do
want models to have extensive experience in front of a camera. The
best way to get
this is, quite simply, to do a
lot of shooting. Ideally this should be with a photographer who is
skilled at working with models in commercial or fashion style shots.
Still, any kind of experience is
helpful, and even shoots with
relatively new photographers often help you gain self-confidence and
posing skill.
6. Advertising You need
to get your pictures in front of photographers, art directors, casting
agents and others that make hiring decisions. It used to be that your
agency would assist you in this
by including you in the agency headsheet
book that is mailed to such people. Now it is more common to use an
agency website as well as promotional mailers. As is customary in the
industry, agencies must
recover its costs from you for
these promotional items. Depending on the degree of promotion of you
that the agency does, the cost to you may run from $75-$700 per year.
Each agency has its own policies on these services and costs.
7. Communications This
is a fast-paced business. If your agent can’t find you quickly, you may
well lose a job that could pay you thousands of dollars. There are a
variety of solutions that models
use: cell phones, beepers, good answering services – but one or more
of these is necessary to a successful modeling career.
8. Living Near the Market
This is a very expensive item, but also a critical one. Fashion models
often must relocate. We do not advise commercial models to move just to
be a model – but if you
aren’t within an hour or so of
the market city, it is very difficult and expensive for you to compete
for jobs.
In all cases above your model management
company should be prepared to help you decide what you may need to do to
be successful and to advise you on appropriately qualified vendors and
sources. A true
“agency” may not in some cases – it’s
outside the scope of their duties.
Barring a miracle you need to be 6 feet
(for men) or for women 5’10” tall, give or take an inch to be a fashion
model. But commercial models are the majority of
models in this country, and they can be a
much wider variety of heights and shapes. We have found that female
“petites” of 5’6” and above generally find ready acceptance in
the marketplace. A few very exceptional
women of 5’4” and above can get work, but it is much harder. Male
models can be as short as 5'9" in some markets, but taller is strongly
preferred.
Those shorter than that can work only
very rarely in the commercial market, except for Asian models, who can
be much shorter.
For the most part, models need to
be thin. There are exceptions. "Plus models" are fashion models who
meet the normal criteria for fashion models in all ways but one: they
are dress size 10 to 18 or so, and they
have a toned, proportionate body with about ten inches difference
between waist and hips. In addition, in some cities there is work for
heavier models (up through plus and XL sizes) as Fit models, but this is
a very limited, technical specialty.
Fit models can also be shorter than normal fashion model
requirements.
Commercial models can also be heavier than the "slim"
normal. For older models (40+) an extra 10-20 pounds or so is generally
acceptable.
At all ages there is also some limited work available for
"overweight" models, who tend to be more "character" types.
Being a model is like any other job – you
have to bring the right skills and attitude to it. Without that, you
are doomed to failure. Among the things that help make for a successful
career:
1. Self Discipline. You
have to be able to get to go-sees, shoots, jobs, meetings and
appointments, in good condition and able to perform. If you can’t do
that, people will
find out very fast, they talk to
each other and they remember.
2. Commitment. Modeling
requires sacrifice of time, resources, effort and giving up other
things you could be doing that you may enjoy. You can’t just hang out
and wait to do
jobs when called – you have to
spend a lot of effort and perhaps significant money preparing yourself
for work as a model.
3. Ability to get along with others.
Models have to work with photographers, art directors, clients, makeup
artists, agency staff and other models. All of these people and
others influence which jobs you
get and don’t get. Any of them may be able to keep you from getting
work, even if you are the person with the best “look” for the job. And
all of them talk
to each other. If you are
abrasive, obnoxious, rude or just someone they don’t like to work with –
you won’t get much work. In the long run, people tend to hire people
that they like to
work with, and you are trying to
get hired all the time.
4. Self Confidence. No
matter what you really think or feel inside, you must show that you are
confident in your ability to be what the client needs you to be. Self
doubts need
to get left at the door of the
go-see or studio.
5. Teamwork. Modeling
can be a lot of fun (as well as a lot of hard work). You may find that
you are the center of attention, people fluttering around you all day,
the
object of constant praise, and
made up to look like something you only hoped you could be. At times
like that it is very difficult to remember that this isn’t about you.
It’s about what the
client needs, and you are there
to be just that. If you look the best you have ever looked, and that
isn’t what the client wants, you have failed. As a model you are
playing a role,
and you need to be what the role
calls for, not what you want to be.
Your “look” is not nearly as important as location and attitude.
Are you surprised that looks aren’t at the top of the list?
Is your “look” important in getting you
work? Of course it is. In fact, when you show up at that go-see with
your book, it’s the single most important thing that will determine
success or failure at
that moment. You have to look like what
the client wants to hire.
But that just means that once you have
the other things that are needed for success, “looks” is the
tiebreaker. It’s the other things that really count. If you didn’t
live where you needed to so
you could show up at the go-see, it
wouldn’t matter what you looked like. If you didn’t have the commitment
to invest the time and money in pictures, comps, a decent wardrobe and
self-presentation skills,
it wouldn’t matter what you looked
like. And if you didn’t have the discipline to get a good night’s sleep
the night before, get up early, prepare yourself and arrive on time, it
wouldn’t matter what
you looked like. In all of those cases
you would be disqualified from competing long before a client ever saw
you.
Now, given that, what do you need to look
like? Well, in the fashion world that’s pretty well understood. Tall,
very thin, beautiful (maybe not pretty, but beautiful) and you have a
shot. But
“commercial models” generally have a
different look. Clients and agencies usually want what is referred to as
“generic good looks” by type of appearance: soccer moms, executives,
doctors or
whatever fits the role that the client
is casting for in that ad campaign.
A good commercial model is a commodity:
able to fit any number of roles – because that is what the client is
buying: a person to fill a role. Actors can be excellent commercial
models because they
can easily take on the “look and feel”
of the person that is to be portrayed.
Commercial models don’t have to be
“beautiful” – and many of them aren’t, although they tend to be more
than just “good looking”. A commercial agency always wants to have some
“traditional
models” (meaning young, very attractive
women) in their group because that tends to attract the attention of
clients to an agency. But it is the others –
children,
older men
and women and “character” models, in all
ethnic categories – who do a large percentage of commercial modeling
work.
We’ve all heard the phrase: aspiring
models, just waiting to “be discovered.” The notion is that they can
hang out, doing whatever they do, and someone will come along, spot them
in the crowd, pluck
them out of their hum-drum day-to-day
life and suddenly they will be “discovered” and on their way to modeling
success.
The worst of it is that once in a while,
once in a very, very long while, something like that really happens.
When it does it happens to fashion models, not commercial models, and it
is a very rare event.
Models aren’t “discovered,” they work
their way through the system very much like you do in any other job.
But in another sense, the more successful models are “discovered.”
It is a great benefit to a model’s career
if someone (or several someones) takes an interest in them, sponsors
them and chooses to give them opportunities in preference to other
people who could have gotten those
chances. Photographers and art directors
like to work with people they know, like and have had pleasant
experiences with. Agency staff chooses who to send on jobs, and who to
recommend to clients in
preference to others in their agency who
may be equally qualified. There are lots of models, few jobs by
comparison, and choices have to be made. It is human nature in all of
business for those choices
to go to friends and people we like, and
in the subjective world of modeling it is all the more true that
personal relationships can make or break a career.
Models should always take advantage of
opportunities to gain that kind of sponsorship from people with
influence in the industry. Virtually all of the most successful models
have used “sponsors” to achieve
their success.
Required Marketing Materials
Pictures are everything! A great
majority of jobs are initially cast by casting directors, art directors
or photographers, who typically sort through submitted headsheets or
comp cards to select the models they
want to hire.
As a model you need pictures that present
you in the best possible light. But they also must be in the style
that casting and art directors are accustomed to seeing from
professional models.
From fashion agencies they will expect
to see "fashiony" shots in a contemporary style. From
commercial print agencies they will
expect to see shots in “commercial” style for most jobs, although for
some work “fashion” or “theatrical” style pictures are appropriate. With
a few exceptions,
“glamour” style pictures are not
appropriate. Classic “portrait” style, senior photos and snapshots are
not acceptable for professional modeling work. You must choose
photographers who are skilled in
the particular style that is needed in
your market. If you do not have adequate pictures already your agent
will assist you in finding qualified photographers.
Commercial print agencies generally want
models who are experienced, ready to work, and have the marketing
materials they need before they are represented by the agency. In that
regard they are different from
fashion agencies, which generally will
throw away most or all of the portfolio pictures, comp cards and
headsheets that aspiring models bring to them, and start from scratch.
The bare minimum needed to market you is a headshot similar to those used by
theatrical performers.
If all you have is one really great picture, that may be what you use
at the
beginning of your career. (Note: new
fashion models sometimes start with no more than simple polaroids taken
by their agtency. But they need to change that as rapidly as possible.
The fashion clients are heavily influenced by pictures.
If you are going to be a model looking
for fashion or commercial print work, you should have a printed
composite card that can be sent to potential clients. Typically “comps”
are 5 ½ x 8 ½ inches, printed on card
stock, and double sided. They normally
contain a good head shot on one side, three or four other pictures on
the reverse, and your stats and agency contact data. Most agencies
prefer pictures to be mostly color,
but will accept good-quality B&W
comps. The agency will probably need at least 50 copies of your comp
card in their files. Normally comp cards are updated as you get better
pictures or tear sheets that can be included on
them, so it often isn’t necessary to
print more than 100-150.
If you already have an acceptable comp
card it will help greatly for a commercial agency to immediately market
you. Fashion agencies and most small market agencies will require you
to have a card produced under their guidance. If you do not have a
card,
but have good quality pictures of the
right style, the agency can assist you in finding
printers who can produce quality comps
at reasonable prices in only a few days.
A “portfolio” or “book” is vital for a
fashion model, although less necessary for commercial models. In the
larger markets pictures should be 9”x12” or tearsheets from published
work. In smaller markets 8x10 may be acceptable, but you should check
with local agencies to be sure. Some agencies have adopted
other sizes for "walkaround" books,
while keeping the "main book(s) at 9x12. For commercial models it is
helpful if your comp (or
portfolio) contains shots of you
portraying some of the “types” that get commercial castings, and that
are appropriate to your look. If you can look like a doctor, executive,
“young mom”, “active
retiree”, “character”, or any other
frequently requested “type” you should ensure that you have pictures
showing you in clothes and a setting, and with the “look” or attitude
appropriate to that type.
Also if you are planning on being a
“body” or parts model your comp should contain a picture of your
specialty as well. Some models with an especially strong specialty may
choose to have a second comp card
printed which focuses on that specialty.
Your agency should advise you on the
contents of your comp and portfolio, but a large market commercial
agency will often simply accept one (if it is well done) from new
models.
Theatrical castings require a headshot,
8”x10” glossy and done in the style used in the theatrical market.
(Note: color headshots are used in California and New York City. In
other markets, either Black and White or color may be used. Check with a
talent agency in your area for guidance.
A lot of them will be needed for
submissions to castings, so we strongly recommend that
they be mass printed (laser or offset)
rather than original photographic prints. We do
not recommend
you print your own headshots on a computer - it simply sends a message
to the casting director that you are not professional enough to get good
pictures printed.
It is not uncommon for performers to
have more than one headshot with different looks, so that a choice most
appropriate to an
upcoming casting can be submitted.
Child performers or models have less
demanding requirements for submission. Most casting directors
understand that children change rapidly as they grow up, and do not
require full comp cards or
portfolios. A simple headshot (8”x10”),
reproduced in quantity, should be enough for most purposes, and in some
markets simple snapshots are acceptable.
The Agency Headsheet or Website
As recently as 2001 most agencies
published “headsheets” of their own at infrequent intervals – typically
once per year, although some only do one every two years. Some also
published updates at more frequent intervals for new
models that they wanted to highlight to
their customers. These headsheets were advertising for the agency
itself, and contained pictures of the models that they felt best
represented them to their clients. They
may be simple compilations of small
shots of the faces of selected models. They may choose some models (or
for smaller agencies, all their models) to publish pages much like a
composite card, with a variety of
pictures and stats.
These agency headsheets were an excellent
marketing tool for the model also – it was not uncommon for a casting
director to make a name-request for a model based on pictures they find
in the agency headsheet.
Lately the traditional agency headsheet
and agency book has largely been replaced by an agency website which
serves the same purposes, but a few agencies are still producing them,
or small flyers to send out as promotional items.
There is a hierarchy - a food chain - in
the modeling industry. We won't deal with staff like stylists, but in
the chain you will find yourself in, it works like this: Clients rule
the world. Advertising agencies
speak for them - they generally
determine who will be used in any campaign, although they may delegate
some of that choice to a photographer. And from a photographer's
perspective in the commercial world, the ad
agencies (or in-house equivalent in the
corporate world) are who they have to sell themselves to.
On a shoot, there may be a client rep or
ad agency rep present - an art director, for instance. If so, they call a
lot of the shots. Photographers have a fair amount of freedom in many
commercial shoots, but
ultimately their work is commissioned by
the agency, and they do listen.
And on that same shoot, the one person
who takes direction from everybody is the model. (S)he is at the bottom
of the food chain. She doesn't hire anybody, she doesn't give anybody
directions, she doesn't determine
the creative direction of the shoot.
That is the responsibility of the art director or the photographer.
A model is a commodity. There are lots of
them out there, and it is a competitive world. The ones that get hired
are the ones that, first, have the look required to do the job, and
second that other players higher in
the food chain like to work with.
Models who want to argue, or even tell
people that they are doing something wrong, are simply not wanted. You
can be right. You can exercise your right to speak. You can be
unemployed.
If you want to be part of the decision process, become an art director or photographer. Not a model.
We don't mean to imply that a model is
not part of the creative process (we can hear the models screaming now) -
but as the collaborative junior partner, whose job it is to be helpful
and creative when asked, and
otherwise to be quiet.
What we have just described is the
reality of the world you commercial models say you want to enter. There
are lots of individual photographers out there doing their own thing
that these rules apply to much more
loosely. And even for them, the rule
applies. If you want to be hired (in any field, not just modeling) be
someone that your employer wants to work with.
1.
“Agency” Throughout
these pages we will use the term “agent” frequently, and in the
commonsense meaning of the term. In the New York market (and many
others) many
“agencies” really are not
agencies at all - they are “model (or talent) management companies.”
There is a difference in what these two types of companies do, and they
way they are treated by
law and certain Union contracts.
Talent agencies have a fairly simple
job: to find work for their models. They may (and often do) find it
useful to invest a little effort in advising models on what to put into
their books and other
things a model needs to know, but that
is not their primary function. By law in New York, or if franchised by a
Union, they are limited to a 10% commission on the work they find their
models.
Model management companies, by contrast,
are responsible for managing all aspects of a model’s career, and
provide a much wider range of services and advice. In New York they
typically charge a 20% commission
from their models, although some
companies charge more. There are no significant, true "model agencies"
in New York City and many other cities; they are usually "model
management companies.
Whenever the term “agency” is used in
these pages it means both a true agency and a “model management company”
unless otherwise specified.
