Tips for Parents: Working with your Child’s Talent Agent

A problematic blight of the talent industry these days is the prevalence of scam artists signing unsuspecting actors and models, particularly children and forcing them to pay up for representation. As the parent of a child model or actor your duty is to educate yourself continually about the industry your child is in—that includes doing your homework on which agencies are legitimate and which are not.

Every talent agency operates by a specific set of rules; simply find out what the rules are. Likewise, it also pays to know the warning signs of an agency or agent that’s looking to rip you off.

If you’re from the Pennsylvania area, there are many Pennsylvania talent agencies that work within the confines of the law. All it takes is a matter of knowing where to look.

If you’ve already found an agency, you’ll have to learn how to deal with them on behalf of your children. This take a little finesse and an understanding of how the industry works.

Below are a few tips on the subject.

Signing up with an Agency

Before you make the decision of signing your child with an agency, it’s imperative that you do your research first. While it’s tempting to troop down to the nearest open calls for child actors, it’s imperative that you look up the agency’s reputation first before attending the open call. With the number of child agencies run by fraudulent individuals, it’s important that you tread carefully.

Before you even think of attending an open call with your child, take note of the following:

Compensation

A reputable agency will often only collect money from commissions gained from booking an acting job for your child. You should always be wary of agencies that ask for registration fees and any other monetary fee in exchange for being signed. You also don’t want to sign with an agency that encourages you to sign up for a fee, with the “bonus” of enrolling in an acting class of their choice. This is a classic scam.

Reviews

One of the best things about the Internet, at least when talent agencies are concerned, is how they’ve made it easier for people to find information and feedback about talent agencies. In the old days, online reviews were unheard of, allowing scam agencies to flourish all over the country. If you’re eyeing an agency, look up as much information as you can about them on the web.