This may be off topic of “college” but has anyone or their kid ever signed with a Talent Agency. My daughter has been offered a contract with a reputable agency for “on-camera/voice-over” work only. She did a unified theatre audition on a whim while auditioning for grad schools and got contacted. Met with the group, did some readings and just got an offer. I’m comfortable with contracts and have done some research and besides some minor points, it looks fine. She will meet with them to assure no up front costs and that any live stage work/singing would be outside the contract. The work is pretty well-defined in the contract but she just wants to be double sure. She’ll be in grad school for 2 years and thinks this may be a decent was to make some extra cash. Just wondering if anyone else has any experience with this and/or any comments particularly related to music. She wants to be sure to protect her long-term music career.
“no up front costs”. That’s the only thing I would warn about. Sounds like she is on the right track.My D has representation, but it’s in Europe and it’s a whole different system there. Sounds like a nice opportunity for your D and I can’t imagine what sort of negative effect it would have on her long term music career. YAY FOR WORK! :D/
Thanks! I was thinking you may be able to comment on this. Maybe that theatre “minor” was worth something! Haha. As always I suspect getting a contract is one thing and getting work another. But she just want to see where it goes. It’s been a learning experience already with the contract. She’s taking it one step at a time with a healthy amount of inquiry in the process so that is good.
I’d agree that as long as there are no up-front costs and the contract does not limit her performance opportunities in other areas then it is a great way to make extra money. My son used to do voice-over work when he was younger and it paid very well for a fairly minimal time investment. What a great opportunity for your daughter!
D has done voice over work here in LA and she has done the same sort of work in Germany. The jobs she did here and there were without representation. She has been comparing notes with friends on jobs and those with reps seem to frequently pull in considerably more money. More money is good. (that later observation is offered at no charge to you)
My son has representation in New York and Dallas. We asked around to find out about the reputation of the agency etc. before we signed. We found it helpful to have frank discussions with his agent about when we was available (not during school hours, etc.) and what kind of work he wanted. It’s important to talk about your availability and how much you’re interested in working. He’s had the same agent in Dallas since he was 10, so it has worked out well.
I spent many years recording voice over talent for both commercials and independent films and have worked with talent from a variety of agencies. Of course, there are a lot of scammers our there trying to get people that have no talent for voice to give them money, and I’m sure you’ve heard many horror stories, but there are plenty of legitimate agencies out there that are for real and good at what they do. It may not be like the olden days when there was a lot of union work, but it can be a profitable part of a larger career. I heartily agree that up front costs are a red flag.