How to Choose the Right Talent Agency For You
If you’ve read our Guide to Child Modelling or any of the agency-related posts on our blog, you’ll know that choosing the right agency is a drum that we’re constantly beating. And with good reason. You see, an agency has the power to make your child’s career. Everything from its network of industry contacts through to its agents’ powers of negotiation can be a great help as your budding starlet kicks off their new career.
Unfortunately, the opposite is also true. By choosing the wrong agency, your child’s opportunities could be limited or even worse, non-existent. That’s why learning how to choose a talent agency for your child is one of the most important steps you must take.
But before we get to that, let’s take a look at the basics.
What is a talent agency?
A talent agency works on your child’s behalf to promote them within the child acting or child modelling industries. The vast majority of child talent agencies will do both at the same time.
It’s also the agency’s job to make sure that your child is put forward for any suitable roles or jobs that become available and to ensure that pay and working conditions are acceptable.
In a nutshell, they are the go-between that connects casting directors and clients with suitable, talented kids.
What they don’t do is manage your child’s career. Believe it or not, that’s your job as a parent and we’ve written a complete guide on how you can do just that.
It’s also important to note that while an agency works on your child’s behalf, it does not work for them. This is a team effort between you, as a parent, your child, and the agency.
How to choose a talent agency?
Okay, so now you know what a talent agency is, let’s take a look at how to choose one. Here are some key points that you’ll need to keep in mind when searching for the right talent agency for your child.
Reputation is key
In this industry, reputation is everything and that is just as important for clients and casting directors as it is for children and their parents. The agency should have a good reputation for taking proper care of its talents and being professional and courteous to parents and guardians. You’ll want to check out some parenting forums and read reviews to see what kinds of experiences other parents have had with the agency and if you can speak with someone who has actually worked with the agency before, that would be even better.
A word of warning though — every agency will have one or two people that haven’t enjoyed their time there. Whatever their reasons are, that’s their personal opinion and experience. However, it’s when you start to notice a pattern among numerous negative reviews that you’ll need to worry. When the negative comments far outweigh the positive ones, it’s certainly a red flag.
Industry experience
An agency is only as good at the talent it represents. So a good agency will make sure that its talents have access to resources that will help them improve and develop their skills. This could be as simple as the agency providing industry advice through blog posts (just like the one you’re reading now) or it could be more in-depth resources such as our guide to auditioning.
In an ideal world, your agency will also host workshops or run classes. These could be in-person classes or online classes such as those available at Bubblegum Academy. Whatever shape or form they take, your agency should have some of these resources available for your child or teen.
Resources and help
An agency is only as good at the talent it represents. So a good agency will make sure that its talents have access to resources that will help them improve and develop their skills. This could be as simple as the agency providing industry advice through blog posts (just like the one you’re reading now) or it could be more in-depth resources such as our guide to auditioning.
In an ideal world, your agency will also host workshops or run classes. These could be in-person classes or online classes such as those available at Bubblegum Academy. Whatever shape or form they take, your agency should have some of these resources available for your child or teen.
What happens next?
Once you have decided on an agency that you feel checks off all the items we listed above, it’s time to apply to join. Now, this might seem like a simple and straightforward process, but it’s not as simple as calling in and joining up.
A good agency will have a structured application and onboarding process that includes at least one interview with you and your child. The interview should be either in-person or through zoom but will rarely take place over the phone. The reason for this is that the agency will want to see your child and see how they react to being asked a few questions. This gives the agency a good idea of how your child would handle an audition setting so it’s an essential aspect of the application process.
With this in mind, you should avoid any agency that wants to sign you up over the phone or through email with no interview. We’re sad to say that there are more and more of these types of agencies popping up lately who want nothing more than to collect membership fees.
Once you have applied and had your interview, the agency will be in touch with a decision quite soon. It may come as a surprise to learn that agencies do not accept all children. This can be for any number of valid reasons. For example, they may feel that your child is not yet ready for auditioning or they may simply have too many children the same age as your child at the moment.
If the agency wants to sign your child, they’ll send you an agreement to sign and move your child through the onboarding process. This will involve sorting out headshots and creating profiles on talent portals.
Is it okay to sign with more than one talent agency?
No, it’s generally accepted that all children in this industry are represented by only one agency or agent. The reason for this is that if you are signed with two agencies, they both may put your child forward for the same role which can cause quite a lot of confusion for the casting director. And trust us, you want to make it as easy as possible for the casting director to book your child for work — that means signing with only one agency.
Now that you know how to choose the right talent agency, it’s time for a shameless plug! If you’re looking for an agency with industry experience, a great reputation, and who works with awesome clients, then look no further. Bubblegum Casting checks all those boxes and has done so for over four decades! So if you’d like to join the longest running child talent agency in Australia, then you’re in the right place. Apply to join now and we’ll get back to you as soon as we can!
