Model Managers? - Glamour 1™ Putting the Glamour Back in Photography!

photojim06 · 02-13-2006, 11:23 AM

Hello all.
I was wondering if anyone could point me in the right direction. I'M seeking some legal forms for managing models. Any help you could give would be greatly appreciated.

**LarryAB** · 02-13-2006, 12:02 PM

Not sure how much help you're going to get. Model managers are generally regarded with distain around here.

**dynamike** · 02-13-2006, 01:14 PM

Photographers should not manage models, in my opinion. It presents a conflict of interest. Therefore, I have no clue where you would find such forms and can't help you.

Mike

photojim06 · 02-13-2006, 01:20 PM

Hey Larry! Thanks for the advise. IM not a manager ( Thank god ) But I have a client that has been approached by an agency and she asked me If I had any contracts that she could compaire.

By the way, you do nice work!

Thanks again.

Jim

photojim06 · 02-13-2006, 01:26 PM

LOL... Please dont shoot the messenger! I dont manage so I have no contracts or forms thats why I said I would ask around. Promise no ill intentions here.

**LarryAB** · 02-13-2006, 01:34 PM

Ah, OK. The only advise I would have is to check out www.newmodels.com . Maybe there's some help there. Just remember that there's a big difference between an agent and a manager. Agents have to be registered in certain states, including NY. I believe an agent who is not a resident of NY, but is doing business there must be registered in NY anyway. That is a potential problem since I've heard there is some fashion work to be had in NY, not sure. [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

Where's Reese? I bet she'd have some advise about model managers and agents. Seem to remember she had a little run-in with one some time ago.

**dynamike** · 02-13-2006, 01:44 PM

Don't worry, my gun's holstered. It's just that when a model tells me that she has a manager or says, "my manager" this and that, I usually don't work with them. Manager usually translates into "some bonehead who has no clue about how this industry works, may or may not be sleeping with me, and will only be a paind in your ass."

Mike

**kellyg** · 02-13-2006, 02:32 PM

[ QUOTE ]
It's just that when a model tells me that she has a manager or says, "my manager" this and that, I usually don't work with them. Manager usually translates into "some bonehead who has no clue about how this industry works, may or may not be sleeping with me, and will only be a paind in your ass."

[/ QUOTE ]

LOL....that is funny! Did you take that word for word from the webster dictionary? [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img] Cause it seems pretty close to true! What exactly does a 'manager' do??? I do not know any girls who have had a manager that the manager actually got them any paid legit work.

I'm a firm believer in signing with an agency. I wouldnt do it any other way!

kelly

**Doug_Lester** · 02-13-2006, 02:36 PM

She needs to have a competent attorney look at them, not try to do comparison with other contracts which may or may not be bad. Also there are a wide variety of type of contracts which different agencues may use. For example a contract with a commercial agency in Atlanta will probably be very different from one used by a fashion agency in NYC.

But you said whe was approached by the agency? If the was made via the net and was not solicited by her, it's more than likely a fishing trip (for profit) by one of the many scam agencies. She needs to have an attorney look at it.

**Andy_Pearlman** · 02-13-2006, 07:00 PM

There are major differences between the role of a manager and that of an agent. Agents are licensed by their state, have specific responsibilities, and their job is to find and negotiate work for their talent. Agents that represent actors need a SAG franchise license as well, while print agents do not. Managers are almost completely unregulated, but for example here in Calif, they do need a Talent Management license, but technically may not negotiate a contract on behalf of their client (the talent) unless they happen to also be attorney. Yes, that rule gets violated all the time, but that is the rule. I actually took a course a few years ago at UCLA on become a talent manager and decided against it for a variety of reasons. (For more on this, check out this article I found with a simple Google search. While it comments mostly on the music business, the principles are still the same).

Models don't need managers ever (unless they get to the level of Cindy Crawford) because everything they do can be negotiated by their agents and a manager is just another percentage to give up. At some point they might need a business manager, or if they start to expand their career beyond modeling, a real talent manager, but certainly not at the beginning stages of a career. A model who wants to know how to get started, or what jobs she should or shouldn't take, can talk to other models and photographers without adding the baggage of a manager.

What most people are describing when they think of a model manager for an online model or local model, is really a "screener" and/or "reference checker". It is quite understandable that such models would seek assistance in detemining whether someone is legit, or more importantly, safe, but that is quite a different job description from "manager". Real managers are supposed to guide a career and help promote the talent, without targeting a specific job - its a very subjective job description and hard to measure performance. It been my experience that almost all of the "model managers" I've met, haven't got a clue about how the real industry works, and their expectations and demands usually result in the model getting less work, not more.

That is why you'll probably find it difficult to find sample "manager" contracts. If you were to see a true management contract for actors, it would be a couple pages long and not have much bearing on the modeling industry at all.

Regards,
Andy Pearlman
Andy Pearlman Studio