The idea of Sole agency
Granted I came from a place where we didn’t have this concept. In China, agents represent the client and find the kids to fill these positions. I have around 100 different agency contacts from China. So instead of kids competing for jobs, most of competition was between agents. This was definitely more difficult for agents. For the models we had no allegiance to any agent. However I have always tried to be fair the first agent to contact me would always get the job.
Only 1, only 1
Sole agency is quite popular and important in Europe and in the US. Sole agency means a model is can only have one agency. Sometimes you can see that many models may have two agencies, one agency will handle their local bookings in the metropolitan area where they are based. Then another agency will handle out of area or even international bookings. This is also a common and legitimate practice.
Heads Up!
Now, for those of you who don’t know. If you have only an American passport, it’s almost impossible for you to work legally in Europe as a child model. However this goes the same way for a child with a foreign passport in the USA. We are luckily in an European country that allows minors to participate in photo shootings due to our permanent residence. We can only work in this country though.
My Past experiences don’t even compare
When I worked for an agency, I used to book models. I booked the male side of the business. The male side of the business is always much smoother type of business. Actually I think that’s the reason why I enjoyed doing it so much. I always felt like I had the camaraderie of the men and they were just more relaxed about everything. Of course established models do get booked more. At the same time the new and upcoming faces they were also important. I wasn’t allowed to play favourites.
ONLY LEFT ROyal, I meant Loyal
It’s hard I feel like I’ve been really loyal to the only agency that we could even work with due to our restrictions. I am forever grateful that someone took us on, yet the kids have been modelling for over 6 years and have already worked the biggest international brands. Obviously our citizenship status has nothing to do with the agency, that’s not their issue. For the past year as we were asked for dates, or even confirmed then cancelled at the last minute. However I deep down inside I feel like no one wants us. We get the dregs with whatever is leftover, basically whomever calls in sick.
STEPKIDS
You know stepchild syndrome like we the ugly poor kids that one ever talks too. I also feel like we are pushed to the back, unless some asks for us they will never present us (the exact opposite of how I used to present everyone in my roster). Surprisingly one day the popular foreign agency ask us for a job here, and yet my loyalty reigns. I told that agent my local agency would have first dibs on that.
Guess what? The kids that ended up booking the job were through the foreign agency and paid almost 7 times more.
sole to make you feel lonely?
It’s so hard to see my children (they are considered attractive to most people) are just not enough. For those people who have been working for awhile, you know you have your own expectations of work; but with modelling so much is focused on what you look like. Plus you see who gets the work if you didn’t, and you wonder what do they have that you don’t? For Asians (far east Chinese, Japanese, Korean) especially there’s a scale of attractiveness that we stick to and these standards don’t work here. I also think that your personal relationships with your agent matters more than what you look like because there’s no other explanation for it.
NO ONE ELSE CARES
Here I also see many kids often take sole agency with less seriousness then I do. Kids are back and forth working between competing sole agencies. There’s no loyalty, and even if I could I wouldn’t. I was raised that if someone took a chance on me to remember who they are but what happens if no one cares about you? The way you care about them.
SOUL AGENCY
Perhaps it’s not just sole agency but my soul agency.
If I ever have one tip for anyone in life is that whatever effort you put in matters more than anything. My dad always told me do the work and good things will come. In the past I would funnel all that energy in to producing a better model card. I’m lucky I have this blog now. I have faith in that, and I hope that all my trying will eventually be respected.
Just need to stay true to you regardless of what other’s do. This is a business based on image, and unfortunately people are superficial. Don’t let that happen to you.
I will choose the relationships I make with others to be genuine.