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Extra-curricular activities

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Talk to me about children's talent agencies

26 replies

thoughtfulmusings · 19/07/2023 15:02

Name changer.

I am very new to all this and have zero performing talent - DD on the otherhand is quite good. Are there some agencies which are considered better/ more supportive than others?

I have done a fair bit of reading on the internet but they all seem to say that they are good.....

Is it better to go with one that also provides training?

OP posts:
CatatonicLadybug · 13/03/2024 23:20

I have no personal experience with Kids Talent but there is a lot of criticism of it on Facebook groups for parents of young models/actors, ranging from just a disappointing experience to some more serious comments about their trustworthiness. That is Facebook though so please do take with a pinch of salt!

What does seem odd about them:
*they list castings on their website that are essentially out of agency jobs - you could apply to any of them direct yourself but instead they are asking people to sign and pay a subscription then apply to each job they list. That’s not how most agencies work. Most agencies just get on with submitting you whenever you fit the brief, and then contacting you should you be asked to tape or attend in person. I don’t look through job listings - that’s the agent’s job!

*a lot of things they list as credits on their site are a bit odd - there’s a lot for the trauma-of-the-week-plus-a-crossword types of magazines. It looks like it’s whole stories rather than posing as the person in the story in a model capacity, which again is something you could just do by writing into the magazine. Are they submitting the family stories then taking a cut? It seems so and they are listing this as ‘journalistic jobs’. Fair enough - that’s not actually dodgy if they are clear on what they are doing, but it’s just not the work you would normally go to an agency to secure.

*The bit on their website about showreels sounds like selling a showreel service to me. I don’t find it true that children with showreels get more work like they state, but I suppose it could be a your mileage may vary situation.

But they are indeed Spotlight members, so presumably are doing some work through there. They are not AYPA members but that alone doesn’t mean they are dodgy - lots of legit agencies are not with the AYPA.

I would say it’s probably likely you could be somewhere better? But at £55 (plus Spotlight fee and reasonable headshots), as long as you are not hit with lots of hidden fees beyond that or pressured to buy a portfolio of images or showreels, then it’s not a scam fleecing you for thousands.

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