Photo Credit: Zazzle.com
TALENT AGENT… (In the Entertainment
industry. What does a talent agent do?)
Bruce
Bisbey…please follow me at: https://dumbdogproductionsllc.blogspot.com or https://www.facebook.com/DumbDogProductionsLLC/ thank you.
Talent Agent
A talent agent is someone who represents professional
actors, writers, performers, musicians, artists and athletes. Talent agents
work on behalf of their clients to promote and represent their interests, and
will typically handle the majority of all interactions between their client and
the employer.
Having an agent is not required, but does help the artist
in getting jobs (concerts, tours, movie scripts, appearances, signings, sport
teams, etc.). In many cases, casting directors, or other businesses go to
talent agencies to find the artists for whom they are looking. The agent is
paid a percentage of the star's earnings (typically 10%). Therefore, agents are
sometimes referred to as "10 percenters." Various regulations govern
different types of agents. The regulations are established by artist's unions
and the legal jurisdiction in which the agent operates. There are also
professional associations of talent agencies.
Talent agents are considered gatekeepers to their client's
careers. They have the ability to reshape and reconstruct their client's image.
They are dealmakers and assist their client by orchestrating deals within the
entertainment industry, more specifically in the Hollywood entertainment
industry.
What does a Talent Agent do?
In general, a talent agent acts as a middleman between
talented creative types and those that are looking to hire them. Talent agents
may either actively seek out clients to represent, or have entertainers and
artists contact them first. The latter scenario is much more common for
entertainers who seek representation for the first time. More experienced
entertainers and artists may change their agent as their career matures.
In some cases, Agents are also responsible for brokering
deals for filmmakers. Effective Film Sales Agents must be able to negotiate,
draw up contracts, and deal with international client and Distributor demands.
Agents usually work with Delivery services, which dispatch
all the necessary materials to Distributors eg the release print,
inter-negative, inter positives, sound masters, script and legal documents.
Because films are sold to a large number of territories, this work is
ongoing. Agents must also provide
regular financial accounts for client filmmakers, including a breakdown of
costs and income for each film.
Film Sales Agents need to continually acquire new films so
regularly attend screenings and festivals, and meet with new filmmakers. They
also promote new films at various film festivals and markets; at lavish
premiere parties, or film screenings; or by providing VHS/DVD copies for
potential buyers. If a film does not sell, it may be necessary to launch a
revamped campaign in order to re-sell it to Distributors.
The job duties of a talent agent involve a fair amount of
communication and negotiation with prospective employers. Advances in
information technology have allowed talent agents to perform much of their job
duties online, but at the end of the day, person-to-person contract
negotiations determine the final outcome.
Typically, talent agents spend the majority of their time
making phone calls or contacting employers and potential clients online.
Selling a client's talents to prospective employers takes up a large amount of
the agent's day, and the most successful talent agents come up with new and
innovative ways to accomplish their goal. Occasionally, something as simple as
treating an employer's representative with a nice dinner is all it takes to
finalize the signing of a client.
Talent agents promote the talents of their clients in
addition to performing other marketing duties. Essentially, the amount of
marketing considerations talent agents must consider depends upon the specific
industry in which an agent operates. Sports agents, for example, have to
consider many more marketing implications than an agent representing a painter
or a writer. Talent agents representing actors and actresses have to consider
their client’s marketing potential as well.
Depending upon a talent agent's area of expertise, the
daily job duties may also include visiting music studios, concert venues, a
record label's corporate office, a publisher's office, performance halls, and
movie studios. A talent agent would do well to attend as many social events as
possible in order to network efficiently and discover insider information about
the current state of the movie business. When working on behalf of their
clients, every contact an agent can make matters a great deal, more than an
agent's clients may realize.
To do this you will need to:
- Representing filmmakers looking for distribution deals for their films…
- Working with filmmakers to develop marketing strategies….
- Delivering all the elements of the film to the Distributor…
- Have strong business and managerial skills…
- Understand the film industry thoroughly from script, to finance, to post-production…
- Have a good eye for new talent…
- Be enthusiastic and charming…
- Have a good knowledge of current film trends…
- Have good marketing skills…
- Be flexible…
- Be a good negotiator and salesperson…
- Have good language skills to work internationally…
- Be willing to travel and embrace different cultures…
Difference between agents and managers
The difference between the roles of agents and managers
has become smaller and more blurred. A frequent definition of the role of a
talent manager is to "oversee the day-to-day business affairs of an
artist; advice and counsel talent concerning professional matters, long-term plans
and personal decisions which may affect their career." Considerable
overlap exists as talent agents may opt to fill exactly the same roles for
their clients out of a financial interest in developing the careers of their
talent and currying their favor.
Various state laws and labor guild rules govern the roles
reserved to agents, as well as specifying certain special rights, privileges,
and prohibitions. In the state of California, the labor code requires licensing
of talent agencies and includes regulations such as criminal background checks,
maintaining separate operating accounts and client trust accounts, and limits
total commissions to twenty-five percent, among other regulations. In contrast,
management companies are described as "often unregulated." Agents
also have certain privileged powers in situations of verbal agreement and can
legally agree to a binding employment offer on behalf of their client.
A prominent difference between agents and managers under
California state law is that licensed talent agents and employment agents are
the only entities legally allowed to seek work on behalf of their clients. This
legal distinction has enabled artists such as the Deftones, Pamela Anderson,
Nia Vardalos, Freddie Prinze Jr., and others to break contracts with their
managers and avoid commissions owed according to those contracts by proving
"unlicensed procurement" in court. Because the enforcement against
talent managers procuring work is largely carried out through civil litigation
and not criminal penalties, managers directly seek out work in defiance of
state laws, as clients out of self-interest will seldom object to them doing so
and cases alleging illegal procurement are infrequent.
The Writer's Guild, Screen Actor's Guild, and Director's
Guild, among labor guilds, strike agency franchise agreements that specify
certain regulations and privileges reserved solely for agents including setting
maximum commissions at ten percent of a talent's gross earnings. Managers do not
face the same restrictions.
Sources,
References & Credits: Google, Wikipedia, Wikihow, Pinterest, IMDB, Linked
In, Indie Wire, Film Making Stuff, Hiive, Film Daily, New York Film Academy, The
Balance, The Numbers, Film Maker, TV Guide Magazine, Media Match, Quora, Creative
Skill Set, Investopedia, Variety, No Film School, Daily Variety, The Film
Agency, Best Sample Resume, How Stuff Works, Career Trend, Producer's Code of
Credits, Producers Guild of America, Film Connection, Entertainment Careers, Adhere
Creative, In Deed, Glass Door, Pay Scale, Merriam-Webster, Job Monkey, Studio
Binder, The Collective, Production Hub, The Producer's Business Handbook by
John J. Lee Jr., Sokanu,
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