Signing vs Freelancing
So you had a successful meeting with an agent, both sides are interested in working together. And just for the record, depending on the agency, you can have one, two or in some cases even three meetings before the agency would offer you a contract. Generally speaking – bigger agency, more meetings. As far as boutique agencies, you can usually get an offer after the first meeting if there’s “chemistry” between talent and agent. I would say that in most cases, we get the feeling about prospective clients very quickly (also remember that we do our homework before the meeting).
What should you do if the agent makes an offer to work together, and offers you a contract?
I would say – accept it!
Yes, I know, this is a very important decision and you will be tied up with an agency for one year (initial contracts with franchised agencies are for one year term).
What if you get the chance to work on a freelance basis?
Again, it depends on the agency. Some of them may agree to that. But as always there is two sides of the story. It is not uncommon that after a certain period of time the agency may decides not to sign the talent. Especially if they submit and push talent, but there is not much interest from casting or producers. So you are gambling as well.
But let’s talk about some advantages and disadvantages of both options:
According to some clients, freelancing is much better option because:
– they have a chance to see how many auditions they could get before they decide on signing
– they are not bonded by a contract, so they can be in full control of contracts, jobs, payments
– they can have other agents who could submit them at the same time, boosting their chances of getting more auditions
Are these points really valid? Well, let’s see.
Most agencies are not working on a freelance basis. So, when you do your research and schedule a meeting with us, we assume that you want to work with us. Suddenly, when offered the contract, you might not be sure, you might be more comfortable with a trial period. For us, it means that either you haven’t done your homework on our agency, or you are not serious about working with us. That also means that the chemistry built up during the meeting is fading out and we can expect that you will always be looking for a new agency.
Not wanting to sign means we can probably expect problems with contacting you about audition, problems in receiving payments, or problems with communications in general.
Working with various agents at the same time, creates problems and confusions for agents, who cross each other all the time.
We’ve heard the saying “first comes, first served”. This could be true, but you should also take into consideration that we also spent the time doing the work. So why would we work for someone who doesn’t respect our time?
Only 2% of all actors (globally) are working on a daily basis. We definitely would like to work with clients who trust us, believe in us and respect us. That works both ways. We want to trust you, believe in you and respect you.
