I just got a question from a mom about a contract a modeling agency presented to her. Contracts are invariably confusing no matter what the subject matter, but when it comes to the realm of modeling—so foreign to most people, including most lawyers—answers can be hard to come by. Here are some that I gave the mom, who, incidentally, signed off with “Help!!!! So confused!”—don’t worry, you are not alone!

She wrote: “I had an attorney review their contracts and he was alarmed that they required talent to pay to be on their website service and to print their comp cards.”

The last comp card of my career, from Madrid.

Jill: THIS IS STANDARD PRACTICE. MODELS HAVE ALWAYS HAD TO PAY FOR THEIR OWN COMP CARDS, BUT SOME AGENTS WILL COVER THE COST AND THEN DEDUCT FROM FUTURE EARNINGS. YOU CAN REQUEST THIS BUT I WOULDN’T DEMAND IT. COMP CARDS ARE A NORMAL BUSINESS EXPENSE. RE. WEBSITES, IT’S A LITTLE TRICKIER BECAUSE NON-REPUTABLE AGENCIES SCAM PEOPLE THEY NEVER PLAN TO GET JOBS BY CHARGING THEM TO BE ON THEIR WEBSITE. BUT REPUTABLE AGENCIES CHARGE ALSO AS THEY HAVE TO PAY WEBSITE MAINTENANCE (FORMERLY MODELS WOULD PAY TO BE IN A PRINTED ‘HEAD BOOK,’ SO WEBSITES HAVE REPLACED THIS). IF AN AGENCY SITE FEATURES “MODELS” THAT DON’T LOOK LIKE MODELS, THAT’S A RED FLAG.

IMG’s website, featuring clearly legitimate models

“The lawyer was also alarmed that the agencies in some circumstances charge Clients (ie. Target, etc) a 20% fee.”

Jill: THIS ALSO IS STANDARD PRACTICE. MODELING IS PERHAPS THE ONLY BUSINESS IN WHICH THE AGENT TAKES A CUT FROM BOTH THE TALENT AND THE CLIENT!

“He also thinks I should try to deal wIth them freelance or sign for just a few months. Have you heard of this?”

Jill: SOME MODELS FREELANCE, EVEN MORE SO NOW THAN IN THE PAST. YOU CAN TRY TO GO THIS ROUTE AND SEE IF THEY AGREE. I DOUBT THEY WOULD DO A CONTRACT FOR A FEW MONTHS, BUT YOU CAN TRY TO OPT FOR 1 YEAR. I SIGNED 2 YEARS PLUS AN OPTION FOR 3 MORE WITH MY SON’S MANAGEMENT COMPANY. THIS SEEMED LONG BUT AT THE TIME THE OPPORTUNITY HAD FALLEN IN OUR LAPS AND I FIGURED “I’M NOT GOING TO RUN ALL OVER NEW YORK SEEING AGENTS ANYWAY, SO WHAT THE HECK, WE’LL SIGN.” NOW THAT HE IS GETTING BROADWAY CALLBACKS, I SOMETIMES WONDER IF I SHOULD HAVE NEGOTIATED TO KEEP OUR OPTIONS OPEN. BUT AGAIN, I COME TO THE SAME CONCLUSION, “I’M NOT GOING TO RUN ALL OVER NEW YORK SEEING AGENTS.” CALL ME A LAZY STAGEMOM

If you need help with model lingo, here is a cheat sheet: A to Z Modeling Terminology

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