{"id":13880,"date":"2010-06-02T13:48:19","date_gmt":"2010-06-02T10:48:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/model.world\/directory\/?p=13880"},"modified":"2025-03-15T16:52:50","modified_gmt":"2025-03-15T13:52:50","slug":"types-of-agencies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/map.model.world\/directory\/types-of-agencies\/","title":{"rendered":"Types of Agencies"},"content":{"rendered":"

Types of Agencies<\/strong>
\nIn a market as large and diverse as New York or Los Angeles\u00a0agencies tend to specialize. Either they service niche markets or
\nthey have divisions that specialize in markets segments. Most\u00a0\u201ccommercial print agencies\u201d for instance, do not do much fashion\u00a0work, don\u2019t staff music videos or national TV ads, at least to any\u00a0large degree. Other agencies or divisions do that \u2013 and the model\u00a0(or model\/performer) may need to be represented by more than\u00a0one agency for different market segments.<\/p>\n

Editorial Fashion Agencies<\/strong>
\nFor this discussion we will use the term \u201cfashion agency\u201d to\u00a0mean \u201ceditorial fashion agency\u201d. More \u201ccommercial\u201d fashion
\nagencies are closer to a \u201chybrid\u201d agency (see below).\u00a0Fashion agencies specialize in runway modeling, fashion\u00a0magazine editorials and fashion (including high-end beauty\u00a0product) advertising. Despite the name \u201ceditorial\u201d agency, no\u00a0agency survives on editorial work, since it pays very little. The\u00a0money is in the advertising \u201ccampaigns\u201d mounted by designers\u00a0and cosmetic companies.
\nKinds and Numbers of Models<\/em><\/span>
\nGive or take ethnic diversity, editorial fashion models are all\u00a0of a particular type. Men are tall (6\u2019 or so), attractive, slim, with
\nlong legs. Women are tall (5\u201910\u201d or so), very slim, with long legs\u00a0and beautiful faces. There are very few exceptions. A fashion
\nagency may represent from a couple of dozen to a hundred or so\u00a0models.
\nKind of Contract<\/em><\/span>
\nVirtually all fashion agencies use exclusive contracts with\u00a0their models. They may allow a model to freelance for a little
\nwhile, as they assess her potential and market appeal. But for\u00a0anyone they are serious about, they will insist on the contract.
\nModel Services<\/em><\/span>
\nA major part of the job of a fashion agency is model\u00a0development. They are accustomed to recruiting models with no
\nsuitable pictures, no experience, and no modeling skills. The\u00a0agency will guide the model through all he needs to learn and
\nacquire, and sometimes will advance the money to get those\u00a0things. Models may spend weeks or months under the tutelage of\u00a0their agency before they graduate to the \u201cmain board\u201d.\u00a0In addition to training, experience, grooming and pictures,\u00a0the agency may also have to assist models with housing (in their\u00a0own models\u2019 apartments) and with the logistics of getting around\u00a0in their city.
\nModel Marketing<\/em><\/span>
\nA vital part of marketing an editorial model is development\u00a0to establish her as a recognizable face. The agency will send
\nmodels on \u201crounds\u201d where they meet people who hire models.\u00a0These aren\u2019t casting call go-sees for specific jobs; they are simply\u00a0an opportunity to meet and become known to clients. Then when\u00a0a job comes up, the client knows who they are and is more likely\u00a0to hire them.
\nVolume of Work<\/em><\/span>
\nIn a fashion agency clients are looking for (very roughly) the\u00a0same kinds of people for every job. The only distinction is \u201clook\u201d\u00a0within the broad category of \u201cfashion model\u201d. Every model on an\u00a0agency\u2019s books (within the special criteria of race and sex) is at\u00a0least nominally qualified for every job. Given the small number\u00a0of models (comparatively) in their agency, and the high\u00a0probability that they will be qualified for consideration for any\u00a0job, they can expect to have a reasonably large number of castings\u00a0to go to, and book work relatively frequently.
\nWhere They Get Their Models<\/em><\/span>
\nFashion agencies are looking for great rarities, especially\u00a0among female models. No more than one in ten thousand girls
\nqualify, and the number is probably much lower. Even in a city\u00a0like New York there aren\u2019t nearly enough highly qualified girls to\u00a0meet demand. Naturally recruiting is a major part of their\u00a0function.\u00a0Fashion agencies recruit worldwide. They have networking\u00a0agreements with mother agencies. They attend model searches\u00a0and conventions, and in some cases even hold their own highprofile\u00a0model searches. They send scouts to South America,\u00a0Europe and wherever they think they may find more models.\u00a0When they find them, they sponsor work visas for the models so\u00a0they can work in the United States.
\nThey also hold open calls (although very few fashion models\u00a0are found through open calls), and the largest of these agencies\u00a0receive hundreds of mail and email submissions from aspiring\u00a0models each day. Even with all that, the continuing demand for\u00a0new faces in the fashion business, and the rapid turnover of\u00a0models, keeps the agencies looking hard for new faces.<\/p>\n

Commercial Print Agencies<\/strong>
\nKinds and Numbers of Models<\/em><\/span>
\nTake a look at the kinds of people portrayed in commercial\u00a0advertising. It\u2019s a very wide variety. Pharmaceutical companies
\nmay want primarily people in their 40s, 50s and older. Soft drink\u00a0companies may want early 20s. An upscale car company might\u00a0want to portray upscale drivers in their late 30s, or young couples\u00a0just starting out, depending on the car they are advertising. They\u00a0may target any ethnic group, and so need models from that group.\u00a0Ads tell a story in pictures, and the story may involve business\u00a0people, Harley Davidson bikers, soccer moms or debutantes from\u00a0any major ethnic group.
\nCommercial print agencies need models who look like all of\u00a0those. It\u2019s worse: they can\u2019t have just one of each type; they\u00a0have to have a selection for the client to choose from. To the\u00a0degree possible they do just that. They may have several hundred\u00a0(or more) models on their books. That leads to all the other kinds\u00a0of behavior you see discussed below.
\nKind of Contract<\/em><\/span>
\nIn New York City commercial print agencies do not sign\u00a0their models to \u201cexclusive\u201d contracts. Print work is much less\u00a0intensive than editorial fashion work: they know they cannot\u00a0keep you busy. They also know that commercial clients tend to\u00a0call more than one agency; that they get some calls but not all of\u00a0them, and that it is usually in the best interests of the model to\u00a0\u201cfreelance\u201d \u2013 to work with more than one commercial print\u00a0agency if they can. This can lead to some potential conflicts, so\u00a0procedures (discussed in \u201cHow Modeling Jobs Work\u201d) have been\u00a0agreed on to deal with this. Generally the agency would prefer\u00a0that you not be listed with several others, but they also understand\u00a0that it is a reasonable thing for you to do.
\nModel Development<\/em><\/span>
\nBecause a commercial print agency has non-exclusive\u00a0contracts with its models it tends not to invest in model\u00a0development. They prefer models who are experienced, ready to\u00a0work, and have the marketing materials they need before they are\u00a0represented by the agency. In that way they are different from\u00a0fashion agencies.\u00a0The commercial print agency will rarely front expenses for a\u00a0model. If the model needs pictures, he pays for them himself. A\u00a0portfolio? Same. A place to live? The agency doesn\u2019t have a\u00a0model\u2019s apartment, so he will have to find an apartment or hotel.
\nModel Marketing<\/em><\/span>
\nThe process of presenting models to clients is very different\u00a0from fashion also. Where a fashion agency may send models
\naround to their clients just to get them known, that is rarely-tonever\u00a0done by a commercial print agency. Models are not
\nindividually recognized; they are commodities: \u201ctypes\u201d.\u00a0Commercial clients use a very wide variety of models, and they
\nfocus on the next task at hand. They have no interest in seeing\u00a0models except for the job they are currently working on. As a
\nresult, the commercial print agency becomes a warehouse which\u00a0stocks models of various types and dispatches them to clients only\u00a0as the need arises.\u00a0There is little \u201cpushing\u201d of a model. If there is preferential\u00a0treatment by commercial print agencies it is based on the\u00a0relationship the agent has with the model. If they like him, he\u00a0comes to mind first when a job opens up. If they don\u2019t, he may be\u00a0sent on jobs only when there aren\u2019t a lot of better choices.\u00a0Models who are used to the way fashion agencies operate\u00a0find this disappointing. They expect the kind of individual\u00a0marketing and presentation to clients that they have received (or\u00a0heard about) at other kinds of agencies. It takes a period of\u00a0adjustment to become comfortable with the role of their new\u00a0agency.
\nVolume of Work<\/em><\/span>
\nEven if a commercial print agency gets double or triple the\u00a0number of jobs per day as a major fashion agency, any given
\nmodel is very unlikely to be sent out on jobs as often as a fashion\u00a0model might. \u201cConstruction worker\u201d types aren\u2019t what gets sent\u00a0on \u201cWall Street Businessman\u201d jobs; 40s Business Women types\u00a0don\u2019t get sent on beer ads looking for glamorous models. No\u00a0model is qualified for more than about 5% of the work the\u00a0commercial agency casts for. As a result, commercial print\u00a0models usually treat modeling as an avocation or second job while\u00a0doing something else to pay the rent. A small percentage in the\u00a0heart of the market can make a full-time living at it.
\nWhere They Get Their Models<\/em><\/span>
\nThe combination of non-exclusive contracts and intermittent\u00a0nature of the work make it very inadvisable for anyone to relocate\u00a0just to be a model with one commercial print agency. The\u00a0agencies know it, and commercial print agencies recruit their\u00a0models almost exclusively from their own city (or within an hour\u00a0or so drive of it), hence the reason why they do not have models\u2019\u00a0apartments. Most do not hold open calls, and rely on mail-in\u00a0submissions from applicants. When commercial print agencies go\u00a0to model searches or conventions they are looking for a model\u00a0who is already living in their city, or planning to move there for\u00a0other reasons.<\/p>\n

Hybrid Agencies<\/strong>
\nEditorial Fashion and Commercial Print agencies represent\u00a0polar extremes of their type. Most agencies are a blend of the two\u00a0types, and even within large markets the specialization isn\u2019t as\u00a0rigid as has been presented.\u00a0In the smaller markets most real model agencies service the\u00a0entire range of modeling. The market doesn\u2019t allow as much\u00a0specialization; the overhead of an agency means they have to try\u00a0to book every kind of modeling job they can. Even so, the heavy\u00a0focus by most regional and local advertisers on clothing ads (or\u00a0ads where people \u201clook like models\u201d) means that the local\u00a0agencies will likely focus more on \u201cfashion model\u201d types, albeit a\u00a0more \u201cmainstream\u201d look than you might see in the New York\u00a0fashion market.
\nHybrid agencies may adopt some of the business practices of\u00a0both editorial fashion and commercial print agencies, depending\u00a0on their focus, the amount of work they have available, and how\u00a0much competition they face in the area. In smaller cities most\u00a0hybrid agencies also have ties to fashion agencies in larger\u00a0markets or overseas, and act as mother agencies for their fashionqualified\u00a0models.<\/p>\n

Promotional Agencies<\/strong>
\nPromotional agencies operate very differently. In other\u00a0modeling the client hires and pays the model; the agency just
\nserves an accounting and administrative function in passing on the\u00a0money. Promotional agencies may be the employer of the\u00a0models, and provide temporary staffing to events as needed from\u00a0their group of models. Their relationship to the models tends to\u00a0be more perfunctory than other model agencies, more like the way\u00a0any other temporary employment service operates.\u00a0For such agencies models may not be on a commission\u00a0basis. The hourly or daily rate the agency quotes the model is\u00a0what he gets. The agency makes its money by contracting for a\u00a0services at whatever rate they can negotiate for, and then sending\u00a0the model on the job at whatever rate they can get her to take. It\u2019s\u00a0not at all uncommon for a job to be quoted to the model at half of\u00a0the hourly rate the client is charged. Also because they are the\u00a0employer, they may not be subject to regulation by state and local\u00a0authorities as an \u201cemployment agency\u201d.<\/p>\n

In-House Talent Agencies<\/strong>
\nIn places like New York City, where \u201cmodel agencies\u201d aren\u2019t\u00a0really agencies (they are management companies), there are some\u00a0jobs that must be booked through a licensed and\/or union\u00a0franchised agency. Smaller booking management companies may\u00a0\u201cfee split\u201d with a franchised talent agency, which actually books\u00a0the work for the model. Some of the larger model management\u00a0companies have their own \u201cin house\u201d agency. Formally it is\u00a0separate, but it exists to service the booking needs of their host\u00a0model management company. This practice is much less common\u00a0in recent years, ever since the agent\u2019s associations broke the union\u00a0contract requirements. Now non-franchised agencies in many\u00a0areas can book talent into union jobs.<\/p>\n

Almost-Agencies<\/strong>
\nA small agency needs to book tens of thousands of dollars in\u00a0modeling work every month just to pay the rent and employees.\u00a0In lots of cities that level of work simply doesn\u2019t exist.\u00a0Remember Acme and Wong\u2019s, above? Those fictional model\u00a0agencies were in small market cities where there isn\u2019t enough\u00a0modeling work for a company to survive on commissions alone.
\nSo what to do?
\nA very common choice is to get income from some other\u00a0source. Unlike Acme and Wong\u2019s, who chose side businesses
\nunrelated to modeling, many agencies provide model-related\u00a0services for a fee. They may offer classes, photo shoots, comp
\ncard printing, attendance at model conventions (they get a hefty\u00a0commission on your attendance fee) or any of a wide variety of\u00a0ways that entrepreneurs around the world have found to separate\u00a0models from their money.\u00a0The very best of these will offer good quality services that\u00a0actually benefit the models. Others will simply go through the\u00a0motions and provide poor services at inflated prices. They are\u00a0hoping the models (and their parents) can\u2019t tell the difference.\u00a0Most of the time they are right.\u00a0In situations like that it\u2019s very unlikely that you will ever\u00a0make enough money modeling to pay for all the services such an\u00a0agency sells. The choices usually come down to: this is the only\u00a0game in town (or all the other games are the same). If you want\u00a0to be a model that badly, it\u2019s the game you play. But your\u00a0chances of making money from it are remote.\u00a0There are hundreds of such \u201calmost agencies\u201d around the\u00a0country. If you find one, go into it with your eyes open;\u00a0recognize that you are being asked to pay for the privilege of\u00a0being a model.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Types of Agencies In a market as large and diverse as New York or Los Angeles\u00a0agencies tend to specialize. Either they service niche markets or they have divisions that specialize in markets segments. Most\u00a0\u201ccommercial print agencies\u201d for instance, do not do much fashion\u00a0work, don\u2019t staff music videos or national TV ads, at least to any\u00a0large […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":43,"featured_media":13881,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2166],"tags":[2277,2270,2274,2275,2278,2269,2272,2273,2276,2268,2271],"class_list":["post-13880","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-guide","tag-almost-agencies","tag-commercial-print-agencies","tag-fashion-market","tag-hybrid-agencies","tag-in-house-talent-agencies","tag-model-development","tag-model-marketing","tag-model-services","tag-promotional-agencies","tag-types-of-agencies","tag-where-they-get-their-models"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/map.model.world\/directory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13880","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/map.model.world\/directory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/map.model.world\/directory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/map.model.world\/directory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/43"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/map.model.world\/directory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13880"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/map.model.world\/directory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13880\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13882,"href":"https:\/\/map.model.world\/directory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13880\/revisions\/13882"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/map.model.world\/directory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13881"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/map.model.world\/directory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13880"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/map.model.world\/directory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13880"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/map.model.world\/directory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13880"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}