It would appear that my recent post, "9 Tell-Tale Signs That You're Being Scammed," has pushed many buttons, and has resulted in many of you writing me and asking me about the law that says upfront payment to a talent agent or manager is illegal.
Let me be VERY clear about something: As I mentioned in my post on this topic ...
"I AM A FORMER AGENT; NOT AN ATTORNEY..."
If you reread my post, you will also note that
" ... THE INFORMATION I AM GIVING YOU IS FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY ... ANY DECISIONS MADE IN THESE AREAS SHOULD BE DISCUSSED WITH THE APPROPRIATE BUSINESS PROFESSIONAL."
As a result of your emails, I have done some research and will this article that I found on the internet. If you have questions regarding this hot topic, then it is YOUR RESPONSIBILITY to consult with the appropriate professional to get your questions answered.
Here is the article, along with its source:
“The difference between a legitimate talent agency and one that might not be legitimate is that a legitimate talent agency does not charge a fee payable for registering you, for resumes, for public relations services, for screen tests, for photographs, for acting lessons, or for many other possibly suspect services. As a general rule, if you are signed as a client by a legitimate talent agency, you will pay such agency nothing until you work and then 10 percent of your earnings as a performer – but NOTHING IN ADVANCE, as this is against the law in most states. Most legitimate talent agencies do not advertise for clients in newspaper classified columns nor do they solicit through the mail.”
Note: This information was derived from material originally distributed by the Los Angeles Office of the Consumer Protection Division of the Federal Trade Commission, the Georgia Film & Videotape Office, The Complete Film Dictionary, and Erik Joseph’s The Glam Scam.
Let me reiterate once more: I AM NOT AN ATTORNEY and it is YOUR RESPONSIBILITY to do your own due diligence on all matters involving your life, your business and your career.
Sharon
Sharon Moist
The Industry Coach®
*********
Website: www.TheIndustryCoach.com
Blogs: www.TheIndustryCoach.blogspot.com
www.ActorsResourceCenter.blogspot.com
Book: www.101TipsForActors.com
Newsletter: www.IndustryNewsDigest.com
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Monday, January 21, 2008
9 Tell-Tale Signs That You're Being Scammed
Upon request, I recently gave this presentation to a group of actors, and after reading many disturbing posts on a couple of Yahoo Group Forums, realized that it was time to make this information available to everyone.
Please be advised that the information I am giving you is intended for educational purposes only. I am a former agent; not a lawyer, accountant, business advisor or tax expert. Therefore, any decisions made in these areas should be discussed with the appropriate business professional.
In the forthcoming weeks, I will tell you about the “9 Tell-Tale Signs That You’re Being Scammed,” beginning with Number One:
1) Paying for Agency or Management representation BEFORE getting work.
It is illegal for a talent agency or management company to accept money before getting you any work.
A talent agency is the equivalent of a temporary agency. When someone is looking for temporary or full-time employment, they will often go and register with what is called a “temp” agency, which is an outside firm that is hired by a company to help them find employees. The outside firm either pays the temporary agency a set fee for their services, or a percentage of the salary of whomever they hire.
When it comes to talent agencies and/or management companies, the same rule applies. They agree to take you on as a client, either via a signed contract or a “hip pocket” arrangement, meaning there is no contract in place, but there is an “unspoken” agreement of representation on a trial basis. The agency or management company then begins to submit you (i.e. your headshot and resume) to projects for which they feel you are appropriate.
If you book a job that your agent or manager has submitted you for, a deal is negotiated and you are paid for the job, with the agency usually taking 10% of whatever fee is negotiated for you, and the management company taking 10 or 15% of the negotiated fee.
Your agent and/or manager do not get paid in advance – ever. THEY GET PAID AFTER YOU GET PAID. PERIOD
Unfortunately, there are many agencies and management companies doing business who, in addition to taking a percentage of their client’s negotiated rate, also require their clients to pay them a monthly or yearly representation fee.
This is NOT the way it works, regardless of what they tell you, which, by the way, usually goes something like: “This fee covers the cost of your submissions (either via mail or messenger);” “This fee is for office supplies or Xeroxing your resumes;” “This fee covers our overhead costs to represent you,” or some such story.
This is bunch of baloney! If they want to represent you, then the cost of submissions, postage, messenger services, office supplies, Xerox copies, rent and other overhead expenses are THEIR cost of doing business … not yours!
As an actor I realize how vulnerable we are, and how desperate we can sometimes be to have an agent or manager. However, don’t let anyone play on your vulnerability or desperation. With patience and perseverance your time will come and you will find the right person to represent you – someone who will NOT take any money from you until you book a job.
To Your Acting Success,
Sharon
P.S. If this information resonated with you, please know that I will
be giving a lot more “insider” tips just like this one at my upcoming
Hollywood 101: The Basics™ Workshops, so stay tuned for more
information on how you can attend!
*********
Sharon Moist, also known as The Industry Coach®, is a highly sought-after professional career coach, whose clients include Hollywood Power Brokers and A-List Celebrities. After 5 years as a Hollywood Agent, Sharon left the agency to open her own coaching company.
As The Industry Coach®, Sharon has clients from all areas of the entertainment industry who represent such projects as: 24, Desperate Housewives, Las Vegas, The Unit, Navy NCIS, and CSI: Miami, among others, as well as companies such as Industry Entertainment and HBO, and talent agencies, including Innovative, Endeavor and the William Morris Agency.
For more information or to work with Sharon directly, you can visit her website at: www.TheIndustryCoach.com
To subscribe to her bi-monthly newsletter, the Industry News Digest, visit: www.IndustryNewsDigest.com
To purchase a copy of her book, "101 Tips For Actors: Secrets for Success Every Actor Must Know" go to: www.101TipsForActors.com
Please be advised that the information I am giving you is intended for educational purposes only. I am a former agent; not a lawyer, accountant, business advisor or tax expert. Therefore, any decisions made in these areas should be discussed with the appropriate business professional.
In the forthcoming weeks, I will tell you about the “9 Tell-Tale Signs That You’re Being Scammed,” beginning with Number One:
1) Paying for Agency or Management representation BEFORE getting work.
It is illegal for a talent agency or management company to accept money before getting you any work.
A talent agency is the equivalent of a temporary agency. When someone is looking for temporary or full-time employment, they will often go and register with what is called a “temp” agency, which is an outside firm that is hired by a company to help them find employees. The outside firm either pays the temporary agency a set fee for their services, or a percentage of the salary of whomever they hire.
When it comes to talent agencies and/or management companies, the same rule applies. They agree to take you on as a client, either via a signed contract or a “hip pocket” arrangement, meaning there is no contract in place, but there is an “unspoken” agreement of representation on a trial basis. The agency or management company then begins to submit you (i.e. your headshot and resume) to projects for which they feel you are appropriate.
If you book a job that your agent or manager has submitted you for, a deal is negotiated and you are paid for the job, with the agency usually taking 10% of whatever fee is negotiated for you, and the management company taking 10 or 15% of the negotiated fee.
Your agent and/or manager do not get paid in advance – ever. THEY GET PAID AFTER YOU GET PAID. PERIOD
Unfortunately, there are many agencies and management companies doing business who, in addition to taking a percentage of their client’s negotiated rate, also require their clients to pay them a monthly or yearly representation fee.
This is NOT the way it works, regardless of what they tell you, which, by the way, usually goes something like: “This fee covers the cost of your submissions (either via mail or messenger);” “This fee is for office supplies or Xeroxing your resumes;” “This fee covers our overhead costs to represent you,” or some such story.
This is bunch of baloney! If they want to represent you, then the cost of submissions, postage, messenger services, office supplies, Xerox copies, rent and other overhead expenses are THEIR cost of doing business … not yours!
As an actor I realize how vulnerable we are, and how desperate we can sometimes be to have an agent or manager. However, don’t let anyone play on your vulnerability or desperation. With patience and perseverance your time will come and you will find the right person to represent you – someone who will NOT take any money from you until you book a job.
To Your Acting Success,
Sharon
P.S. If this information resonated with you, please know that I will
be giving a lot more “insider” tips just like this one at my upcoming
Hollywood 101: The Basics™ Workshops, so stay tuned for more
information on how you can attend!
*********
Sharon Moist, also known as The Industry Coach®, is a highly sought-after professional career coach, whose clients include Hollywood Power Brokers and A-List Celebrities. After 5 years as a Hollywood Agent, Sharon left the agency to open her own coaching company.
As The Industry Coach®, Sharon has clients from all areas of the entertainment industry who represent such projects as: 24, Desperate Housewives, Las Vegas, The Unit, Navy NCIS, and CSI: Miami, among others, as well as companies such as Industry Entertainment and HBO, and talent agencies, including Innovative, Endeavor and the William Morris Agency.
For more information or to work with Sharon directly, you can visit her website at: www.TheIndustryCoach.com
To subscribe to her bi-monthly newsletter, the Industry News Digest, visit: www.IndustryNewsDigest.com
To purchase a copy of her book, "101 Tips For Actors: Secrets for Success Every Actor Must Know" go to: www.101TipsForActors.com
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Are Your Goals Too Big?
At the beginning of every New Year, I ask my clients to send me their goals for the year. Usually their lists are very long, their goals are very similar and they tend to look something like this:
• Get my SAG card
• Become President of a Studio
• Get an Agent
• Perform on Broadway
• Sell a Screenplay
• Open a Production Company
• Land a TV series.
• And so on, and so on, and so on …
Last year, however, one of my clients only had one rather simple goal: Send out 1 picture a week to 4 soap operas – The Bold & The Beautiful; Days of Our Lives; General Hospital and The Young and the Restless.
When I asked her to tell me more she said that in the past she’d always come up with huge goals that never lasted beyond the end of January. This time, however, she sat down and analyzed what she really wanted, what she was really willing to do and what was realistic for her to do, and she then wrote out her New Years’ goal as follows:
• What she really wanted: Land a part on one of her favorite soap operas
• What she was really willing to do: Send her headshot and resume out, but only to her favorite shows
• What was realistic for her to do: Spend 30 minutes a week marketing herself, which translated into sending out 4 pictures a week.
Sometimes we get so caught up in our goals that we forget to ask ourselves if a particular goal is something we really want or if we’re just pursuing it because all of our friends are or because we’re too scared to go after what we truly want.
We also get so caught up in the size of our goals, that when it comes right down to it, we forget to break them up into bite-size pieces that we can actually manage. My client’s honesty about what she was willing to do enabled her to stay on track because her plan was realistic and doable for her.
Now it’s your turn to ask yourself these same questions:
• What’s the one thing you’d really like to accomplish this year?
• What are you willing to do to accomplish that goal?
• What’s realistic for you to do?
By focusing on just one goal, asking yourself these questions, being honest with your answers and creating a doable plan for yourself that you can follow through on, the chances of you accomplishing your goal have just increased 100%!
To Your Success,
Sharon
*********
Sharon Moist, also known as The Industry Coach®, is a highly
sought-after professional career coach, whose clients include
Hollywood Power Brokers and A-List Celebrities. After 5 years as a
Hollywood Agent, Sharon left the agency to open her own coaching company.
As The Industry Coach®, Sharon has clients from all areas of the
entertainment industry who represent such projects as: 24, Desperate
Housewives, Las Vegas, The Unit, Navy NCIS, and CSI: Miami, among
others, as well as companies such as Industry Entertainment and HBO,
and talent agencies, including Innovative, Endeavor and the William
Morris Agency.
For more information or to work with Sharon directly, you can visit
her website at: www.TheIndustryCoach.com
To subscribe to Sharon's newsletter, go to: www.IndustryNewsDigest.com
• Get my SAG card
• Become President of a Studio
• Get an Agent
• Perform on Broadway
• Sell a Screenplay
• Open a Production Company
• Land a TV series.
• And so on, and so on, and so on …
Last year, however, one of my clients only had one rather simple goal: Send out 1 picture a week to 4 soap operas – The Bold & The Beautiful; Days of Our Lives; General Hospital and The Young and the Restless.
When I asked her to tell me more she said that in the past she’d always come up with huge goals that never lasted beyond the end of January. This time, however, she sat down and analyzed what she really wanted, what she was really willing to do and what was realistic for her to do, and she then wrote out her New Years’ goal as follows:
• What she really wanted: Land a part on one of her favorite soap operas
• What she was really willing to do: Send her headshot and resume out, but only to her favorite shows
• What was realistic for her to do: Spend 30 minutes a week marketing herself, which translated into sending out 4 pictures a week.
Sometimes we get so caught up in our goals that we forget to ask ourselves if a particular goal is something we really want or if we’re just pursuing it because all of our friends are or because we’re too scared to go after what we truly want.
We also get so caught up in the size of our goals, that when it comes right down to it, we forget to break them up into bite-size pieces that we can actually manage. My client’s honesty about what she was willing to do enabled her to stay on track because her plan was realistic and doable for her.
Now it’s your turn to ask yourself these same questions:
• What’s the one thing you’d really like to accomplish this year?
• What are you willing to do to accomplish that goal?
• What’s realistic for you to do?
By focusing on just one goal, asking yourself these questions, being honest with your answers and creating a doable plan for yourself that you can follow through on, the chances of you accomplishing your goal have just increased 100%!
To Your Success,
Sharon
*********
Sharon Moist, also known as The Industry Coach®, is a highly
sought-after professional career coach, whose clients include
Hollywood Power Brokers and A-List Celebrities. After 5 years as a
Hollywood Agent, Sharon left the agency to open her own coaching company.
As The Industry Coach®, Sharon has clients from all areas of the
entertainment industry who represent such projects as: 24, Desperate
Housewives, Las Vegas, The Unit, Navy NCIS, and CSI: Miami, among
others, as well as companies such as Industry Entertainment and HBO,
and talent agencies, including Innovative, Endeavor and the William
Morris Agency.
For more information or to work with Sharon directly, you can visit
her website at: www.TheIndustryCoach.com
To subscribe to Sharon's newsletter, go to: www.IndustryNewsDigest.com
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Actor Brad Renfro Dead at 25
Say it isn't so ... Another young actor is dead; never having had the opportunity to really fulfill his potential.
Discovered at age 10 by director Joel Schumacher, Brad Renfro was cast in his first movie, The Client, where he was immediately thrust into the Hollywood limelight, which began his downward spiral into the drug scene.
When you look at what is happening with Britany Spears, and now Brad Renfro, all I keep thinking is this: What is it about the Hollywood machine that continually seems to eat these young stars up then spit them out, without any regard for them as human beings?
Of course, there's no question about the fact that they are responsible for the choices they make in life, but who is teaching them how to make smart decisions?
Something needs to change, and it needs to change now, or we will continue to see devastating stories such as this one on a regular basis.
To Brad's family, and his closest friends, please know my thoughts and prayers are with you right now.
Sincerely,
Sharon
Sharon Moist
The Industry Coach®
*********
www.TheIndustryCoach.com
www.TheIndustryCoach.blogspot.com
www.ActorsResourceCenter.blogspot.com
www.101TipsForActors.com
Discovered at age 10 by director Joel Schumacher, Brad Renfro was cast in his first movie, The Client, where he was immediately thrust into the Hollywood limelight, which began his downward spiral into the drug scene.
When you look at what is happening with Britany Spears, and now Brad Renfro, all I keep thinking is this: What is it about the Hollywood machine that continually seems to eat these young stars up then spit them out, without any regard for them as human beings?
Of course, there's no question about the fact that they are responsible for the choices they make in life, but who is teaching them how to make smart decisions?
Something needs to change, and it needs to change now, or we will continue to see devastating stories such as this one on a regular basis.
To Brad's family, and his closest friends, please know my thoughts and prayers are with you right now.
Sincerely,
Sharon
Sharon Moist
The Industry Coach®
*********
www.TheIndustryCoach.com
www.TheIndustryCoach.blogspot.com
www.ActorsResourceCenter.blogspot.com
www.101TipsForActors.com
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