Another Agency to Watch? Re: Dodgy Agencies.

Regardless of the industry you are in, if you have turned up and done your job, you should be paid. Promptly. I completely and utterly refute this position that you must wait to 'sell' the product. You have contracted to employ someone to do their job...they do their job. You should have budgeted that that money is going to be an outgoing BEFORE you finish/sell your product. I am sure that Peter Jackson did not remain completely unpaid for work on LOTR until after the entire project was completed. Whilst some (prob a lot of it) was coming upon completion, I'm sure there was money paid up front or ongoingly. This is a much larger figure than the pittance most actors are supposed to be paid. The amounts involved in most gigs are far too small for this to count. Most companies we are talking about are large corporates with plenty in the bank to cover their expenses. The number of corporate gigs I do where the client attempts to prolong or delay payment are insane. I am now simply in the habit of giving them a clear 2 weeks payment period on an invoice, then I start sending late notices. Within a month I am charging late fees. Until we all start doing this we will continue to be treated like s--t, and frankly I am sick of it. Aren't you guys?! Will your builder turn up and start building your wall if you don't pay something up front, even if it's just for the materials (which by the way will have been paid for up front as well)? How many of you have to pay your doctor/dentist/(insert professional here) on the day of your appointment or be charged extra? Maybe if the agencies were genuine about serving their clients (the actors/models etc.), they would begin to grow some b'''s and start charging the client's late fees which they could then pass onto their actors/models (with their extra cut too- see we all win!)? The fact is that it isn't acceptable elsewhere, and I have never seen a credible reason or argument for it being different in this industry. Maybe agents could carry a line of credit to cover paying their artists, and charge the client any extra interest costs incurred if they don't meet their payment terms? If they were interested in serving the artists at all (apparently a major part of their job) they would simply take responsibility for this and us artists would not even be aware there were difficulties in getting the money. Frankly, it isn't my problem if the agent hasn't got the money yet- I did the bl'''y job! Of course- I am NOT talking about when we do our own shows/productions and where perhaps you are going to have to wait for box office for your share (if any) or similar projects. This is a completely different scenario, and as stated in the above comment, usually we all know what's going on, and we're less p....d off about it. I know I get really angry when I get to do something for one of the major 4 banks, do my job (well), and watch the guests of the bank at this event knock back $100+ per head dinners and sit in rooms that costs thousands to set up, and know that not only will I be clearly the last person to get his money, but that it will also likely take at least another 6-8 weeks. I know this same bank doesn't hesitate to charge me my monthly account fee, whether I can afford it or not! The more you settle for good enough, the less 'good enough' it gets. Anyways, rant finished (sort of!) Nev It's the simple things stupid...