Answering a Reader Question #811

Anonymous Wrote:

 Hi Dania, I appreciate your blogpost. I wish to be a model and have been offered a contract from an agency (gtm) in London. However, It is not a big agency like IMG of course and a major con I believe is that it is an exclusive contract for 3 years! And asking for 20% plus VAT as well as expenses such as an annual marketing website fee of £120 and comp cards I believe... I a scared I'll miss out on opportunities of being signed to big agencies and I am 19. However I keep on getting rejected from big agencies so I'm feel I don't want to miss out on modelling altogether. I have the body and height requirements (5'11, 34-24-35) and one of the reasons was because they think I have a strong look or exotic. It's really hard for ethnic girls (black) in particular so I don't know whether I should just take the opportunity. 

Hi, Anonymous!

The 20% commission, contract duration and cost of the website fees all fall within the typical range of what to expect when dealing with agencies so that, for the most part, sounds legitimate.

Since you've submitted to larger agencies before with no luck, this may be a good shot at getting your foot in the door. 3 years is a long time but that doesn't mean you can't move up to a bigger agency once you get some exposure and experience under your belt later on down the line.

I don't know if you've signed the contract already but before doing so, my biggest piece of advice would be to read the contract carefully to find out what the "exit clause" is. This is the part of the contract that details how you can get out of the agreement in a legal way without any consequences.

It should say something along the lines of, "This Agreement/Contract can be terminated at any time by either party..." then will go on to detail what steps you would need to take if you wanted to get out of the contract before the 3 years are up. What you want to especially be on the lookout for when it comes to this is how long you need to be in the contract before you can terminate it.

For example, I've seen contracts where it says a model can terminate the agreement but they can only do so 90 days before the date the contract is supposed to expire. So if the duration is 3 years, you have to technically stay with the agency well over 2 years before they'll even consider releasing you if you wanted to terminate the working relationship.

If you're not sure you'll like being with the agency, the it is vital to know and understand what terms and conditions have to be met if you wanted to part ways before the full 3 years are up.

I hope that helps and best of luck!

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