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Rip Off Agency joining fees? Lets Out them!

Mon, 20 Feb 2012, 10:31 pm
BongoBill15 posts in thread
There are several so called 'agencies' that either require a 'Joining fee' or cloak it when saying they dont charge joining fees with 'portfolio pictures' and it's obvious that it's the only way they make their money. A lot of them advertise in the newspapers trying to acquire talent and on websites saying things like 'easy money in films an tv- earn up to $5000 a day!'. Basically they are just rip off merchants that take advantage of new actors as well as experienced ones.(Most experienced actors probably are aware but some fall prey to it from desperation). There is one in Sydney, (several actually) but one in Bondi to be precise that offers 'casting opportunities' for major 'Hollywood projects' as well as "promotional opportunities for Red carpet events" (i.e. serving drinks at night clubs)...get my drift- They then rope people in on the premise that they are casting for major productions and then try and sell people 'packages'..a 'portfolio, a 'web page', visa help and offers of meeting LA talent scouts for about $4000!..yeah like the hideous wannabe Glamour model on their website got to....you know what I mean. Anyway we all probably know who they are and without slandering anyone I suggest we all work together to combat them. I have purposely not mentioned their names as to avoid getting my post deleted as I think that everyone needs to stand up and avoid these Ars*holes as well as spread the word to save actors from being ripped off. And lets also look at the children's agencies as that is a whole other scam...for the most part- there are some legitimate kids agencies that dont charge a penny to join but how many kids do you actually see in serious TV roles? Is it worth the thousands of $$ these scum charge to 'join'? Lets take a stand and out all of them and stop them. Thank you.

Education

Mon, 20 Feb 2012, 11:12 pm

First up, I in principle agree with you. The should be some way to regulate agents. The UK has it that it is illegal to charge upfront fees and Australia should follow. However, in my experience, exposure is only a band-aid solution. These agents that practice con services will only come back again in a new guise or from a different source. Exposing then becomes a perpetual motion effect.

Education is the best weapon. Educate enough people that upfront fees are fundamentally wrong, without clear and legal justification, and there would be no income source for these con artists, leaving the field open for the legit agents to practice their services without the taint these heartless souls cause. Incorporating this knowledge so that every new hopeful is exposed before they enter the fray can undermine this exploitable sub-group.

To that end, extensive advice posts, from across the internet, from a variety of sources are available to those who seek it. Such as the information provided on this site... http://www.theatre.asn.au/book_page/agents_and_agencies or via the Alliance www.aliance.org.au and so forth.

Exposure is only a temporary fix. Education and passing on the word is long-term.

Absit invidia (and DFT :nono:)

Jeff Watkins

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