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Modeling Contracts to Know
It's more than exciting being signed to your first agency! However, it's important to fully understand exactly what that agency's contract will consist of and if that works for you!
Great! You’ve found an agency that has a complete interest in your overall look and wants to officially sign you! Agencies will usually send you an email of their version of a complete “Modeling Contract”. From there, it’s now up to you to really know if you want to sign with them.
1. What is in a Modeling Contract?
A modeling contract consists of many different sections that MUST be carefully read like you would any contract that you’re asked to sign. Here a are the top sections every modeling contract should consist of:
1. A section where you sign your name & date (ex. photo down below)
2. The amount of years or “Term” of their contract until you decide on renewal. (Usually 3 or 5 years)
3. The % of all gross income the agency is receiving after you get paid for all future bookings (Usually 15% or 20%, but please discuss this with agency for clarification in case of scam)
4. Confidentiality and Agreement Breach (most agencies will not allow you to degrade their reputation to the public even if in the case there is a huge disagreement between you and agency.)
5. Exclusivity agreement or non exclusivity agreement.
Beginning of contract example:
2. Exclusivity Vs. Non-Exclusivity
What is an Exclusive Agency vs. a Non-exclusive Agency? An exclusive agency will mainly allow you to ONLY work with them and them alone. This means that if a brand were to reach out to you for example and they want you to work a paying job for them, it is ideal that you inform your agency and they will usually ask to reach out to that brand themselves in order for them to discuss the best rates to get you paid on your behalf.
A Non-exclusive agency is pretty much the opposite. You don’t have as much loyalty to the agency. However, there are still regulations to follow in their contracts!
Note!
It is common that a lot of models who are signed to exclusive agencies do not do follow these rule for many reasons. For one, they don’t want to feel like their being “trapped” or “tied down” in needing to constantly let their agency know that an outside source wants to pay them for work. As you get to book more jobs, leading to meeting more and more people the industry, you will begin to grow your own network too. Therefore, a designer, makeup artist, etc. could potentially contact you one day and say “hey, can I invite you for this brand shoot soon?”
You may want to enjoy that moment for yourself and do your own thing sometimes!
The modeling industry is filled with so many opportunities from different groups of branding. You may not want to feel so exclusive to an agency. This is where “Freelance Modeling” comes in!
3. Freelance Modeling
What is Freelance Modeling? So yes! There is a way to model without being signed to agency. Freelance modeling is right in the name! Just like freelance journalism or freelance acting, freelance modeling is developing opportunities for finding work all on your own. You basically work for yourself!
Here are some Pros and Cons of being a Freelance Model:
Pros
- Find your own work though self-promotion
- No one can tell who you can and can’t work with
- Create your own schedule essentially
- No necessary contracts unless from a brand
- Most brands look for freelance model nowadays for more diversity/opportunity
- You can negotiate terms on your own behalf
- You can easily be discovered to work via an Instagram post, keeping up with daily posts from casting directors near you, getting noticed at a booking, etc.
- You can give yourself time to build up your portfolio to eventually achieve becoming signed.
Cons
- Some brands do only look for signed models due to the belief of more “legitimacy”
- Not always guaranteed work/financial stability
- Can be difficult to find work depending on the season and because modeling is never a set schedule (more like a gig)
- You can start to believe you’re only “strong enough” to be freelance instead of being signed to a top agency
Some of the biggest models started off as freelance models before being discovered by top agencies such as Heidi Klum and Tyra Banks! The modeling journey is different for everyone, you just need to find where you can start!
