Modeling
contracts! Where are they and who's got 'em?
New York? Los Angeles? Miami Beach? These are the
questions we hear most often. They are out there, to be
sure. But very few people understand them, and even fewer
actually get one - and when they do it might not turn out
to be what they expected. Modeling
contract basics - who, what, why, when and
where It is very
difficult to predict how much money a new model will make
over the course of his or her first year. As a new model
you are a new 'product' and you have to be introduced to
the market just like any other product. You start out by
going out on go-sees and interviews. (A
'go-see' is usually a brief and informal meeting with a
magazine editor, for example, with no definite job or
production date in mind. An 'interview' is usually for
something more definite.) Essentially, you
are being given 'shelf space' so agency clients can take
a look at you and decide whether they want to buy or not
- much like putting a new brand of peanut butter on a
grocery store shelf. Will the
magazine editor want to book you? Will
Macy's like you enough to put you in their ads?
Who knows? Who can predict? Another thing you
have to realize is that modeling contracts
containing a guaranteed dollar amount are the exception,
rather than the rule. With a thousand
people moving to New York every day looking for a chance
to act or model - the agencies there, for example, do not
need to offer such incentives - as New York is
practically overflowing with actors and models.
A handful of top
agencies in certain markets do offer guarantees (some
with $10,000 monthly minimums) to models that
fit their particular criteria and there are also a
handful of large model searches such as Elite Model Look
and Ford Supermodel that do offer guaranteed modeling
contracts - which is great. Keep in mind
however, that most of the models that have won these big
competitions have not gone on to become
supermodels. Whenever a new
model 'wins' a $150,000 modeling contract the
offering agency is, of course, under some pressure to
fulfill that contract and the model will be offered every
job that comes along - including a lot of catalog work.
Great money ($1,500 to $2,000 a day) but not the sort of
work that builds a long lasting career. Cindy Crawford,
Stephanie Seymour and Frederique for example, "lost" all
of the big modeling competitions they were entered
in - but all went on to become very successful models.
Editorial work
(including covers) for the top fashion magazinesm
including Elle and Vogue, only pay $200 or
so a day. But 'tear sheets' from such top fashion
magazines are the building blocks to stardom and
supermodel status and super size paychecks in the $5,000
to $50,000 a day range. No model will never
reach that level doing just catalog work . Not to worry,
however, as very few models ever reach the level of
a true supermodel - someone whose name (or at
least their face) is instantly recognized. So how do you
get a modeling contract? As previously mentioned, the
ones with guarantees are few and far between and there is
no sure fire way to get one. You are welcome to
try here,
of course.... It only takes a minute to enter. We don't use such
phrases as, "Win a modeling contract" or
"instant winner!" here as - if you do happen to
get a contract - you will definitely be working
for the money!
