I am a SAG actor who recently moved to Los Angeles. I’ve been here for two months now and am in the process still of looking for representation. I’ve read your book and I know what you feel about paying managers upfront. I have a situation with a management company. They are not scam artists and the organization is run by two former actors. One of them also runs a casting director workshop business and is highly connected with the casting directors in LA. They want to work with me and everything about them sounds great but the $65 a month management fee.

If I book a role they will waive the fee. They claim that the fee will help pay for their overhead expenses. I just wanted to get your opinion on this. I know I’ve been warned never pay upfront but these people are legit and were very honest with me about the fee and all. There’s a part of me that says no but then there’s a part of me that says why not since I’m already paying money for submissions and classes. What’s $65 more to have someone push for me to get in the door. Any advice you can give me would be great. Thanks.

Ahh… it certainly must be tempting to concoct rationalizations for what “management companies” like this are doing.

Do you really believe that you will “have someone push for [you] to get in the door” by paying this $65 monthly fee? A manager’s passion for choosing to represent a particular client comes from knowing the actor is talented. A manager’s drive for pitching his or her clients comes from knowing that he or she will earn a commission when those clients book work. If your manager is earning money every time he or she signs a new client — and is guaranteed to earn something EVERY MONTH that the actor DOESN’T book work — what makes you think he or she will want to WORK HARDER in order to maybe get paid? Think about it!

Do nothing… get paid $65 per month for every actor you “sign.”

Hustle, make pitch calls, help your “clients” get auditions and IF they book work… get a 15% commission on that.

Considering that MOST auditions do NOT result in bookings, why would a “management company” like the one you’ve described have any interest in helping its clients get auditions at all, since they’re paid MORE for doing NOTHING?

You mentioned in your email that you “know what [I] feel about paying managers upfront.” Let me be sure you understand that it’s not simply a matter of “what I feel.”

From the Talent Managers Association’s Code of Ethics:

With the exception of reimbursements for monies advanced, no fee may be charged or collected for profit at the expense of a signed client by any Personal Talent Manager from any Artist for:
a. registering or listing the Artist in entertainment industry or other publications or registries
b. letter writing
c. photographs, film clips, videotapes, or other reproductions of the Artist’s likeness or performances
d. any other charge or fee of a similar nature.

From the National Conference of Personal Managers’ website:

Most importantly, NCOPM members never accept a fee from a client on the promise of attempting to obtain engagements for the client.

From Mark Sikes’ column:

You never pay an agent or manager ANYTHING other than a percentage of the money you earn as an actor. It is imperative that a reps’ interest in you is financial. If you don’t work, they don’t make money. By paying them other monies, you remove one of their main motivations for getting you work. At the end of the month, they’re getting paid either way. What about you?

Now, here’s a major beef I have with this particular type of “management company.” For the company you mentioned, I’ve been able to verify a client roster of at least 20, just using IMDb as a source. (Of course, they’ve submitted more actors than those 20 listed on IMDb through breakdowns I’ve released. And when I Google the company’s name and/or phone number, another 50 or so online resumes come up, with not-yet-on-IMDb clients happily listing this company as preferred contact.) So, let’s split the difference, stay conservative, and say 35 actors are paying this monthly fee of $65. That’s a cool $28K going into the pockets of these “managers” for the privilege of having their logo on your resume. Oh, and that logo? It’s not impressing anyone in casting. Why not? BECAUSE WE ALL KNOW YOU CAN PAY TO HAVE THIS COMPANY MANAGE YOU. That means their pitch calls mean nothing. Oh! What am I talking about? They don’t MAKE pitch calls. Why would they? They earn $65 per month for doing NOTHING for you.

Remember: You are not responsible for paying your representatives’ rent while they’re submitting you for work! Their investment in office supplies, messenger fees, phones, faxes, subscription to Breakdown Services, are all their business expenses and that’s their investment in you. That’s precisely why it’s so difficult to get an agent or manager! They’re going to lay out a great deal of money because they believe you can work in this industry. And then, when you do work, they will receive their commission. It’s their payment for having believed in you, for having invested in you. It’s a business decision! And they limit their risk by signing enough actors of enough different types to (hopefully) keep someone on their roster out there and working at all times.

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Thanks for the emails about your favorite on-camera instructors. I welcome some more! Who is it that you love to study with, for on-camera technique? If you could give a plug to your favorite on-camera acting instructor, who would that be? And, perhaps most importantly, why is your favorite instructor so amazing? Again, thanks for the info!

Wanna be sure your tools *and* your mindset are in peak form? Let us get you in gear with some FREE training right now!

Rock ON!

Bonnie Gillespie is living her dreams by helping others figure out how to live theirs. Wanna work with Bon? Start here. Thanks!

Originally published by Actors Access at http://more.showfax.com/columns/avoice/archives/000701.html. Please support the many wonderful resources provided by the Breakdown Services family. This posting is the author’s personal archive.