Modelling agency

A modeling agency is a company that finds jobs for models, usually operating on commission.

Industry Information

Booking Agents

Modeling agencies use booking departments to keep track of who uses models. The agency has a phone that is manned and an office that a client can visit. These agents also send out reminders for fresh comp cards. They advertise, do lunches, do cold calls and turn over stones to find available modeling gigs.

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Contractual Agreements

Most agencies sign their top talent to contracts, which vary in length based on the model's industry status and experience. However, because a good agency finds their models work and negotiates top price for their talent, they earn a commission (between 10% to 35%) of every job they book on a model's behalf.

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Auditions and Open Calls

Modeling agencies will require new faces on a regular basis. The number of models in an agency depends on the demand brought in by its agents and changes throughout the year. To this end, modeling agencies advertise in local phone directories in order to remain visable.

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Each new model-screening process is different from one agency to the next:

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• A dry call is where models mail unsolicited comp cards to an agency. While this may work with smaller agencies, larger agencies are constantly being inundated with these cards and frequently discard unsolicited comp cards.
• Another option is the walk-in, where a model calls for an appointment at an agency and receives and interview on that particular date and time. The model then has an opportunity to quickly review with the agent past experience and show his or her portfolio.
• The most popular process is the open call, where an agency will advertise that on a certain day, they will allow anyone to show up for an interview. Depending on the popularity of the agency within the industry and the advertising done by it's agents, anywhere from several dozen to hundreds of candidates could attend an open call. It is not uncommon to have a line extending for several city blocks.