Before I go on, I’m going to talk about my own experience, not really an experience, but someone tried to play a fast one on me. One day, I got a message on Facebook from a certain guy that says, hi, I like your looks, please add me up, I have a job for you. When I saw the message, I’m like hmmm, this looks like a scammer, but let me play along just for the fun. I added him two days later and we started talking. He said hi, my name so so so so, I like your looks. He said he had a job for me, one a pz job, a calendar job and a magazine job. He said because I’m not under his agency, I am going to pay 15k before he can give me a brief of the job, but because he likes my looks, I can pay 8,000 then later, I will pay up. I should come to his office first so we can talk more about it. So I decided to ask him some questions which I believe every Model should ask when an unknown agency is asking them to sign under them and pay registration fee. I asked him if he had an office address, he said yes at Onipanu. OK what of the agency's social media accounts and website, he gave me one website like that that doesn’t even bear the agency's name. Then I proceeded to ask him about the models signed under him, what jobs have they done. He said is this some kind of interrogation. I said no, if I’m going to pay for registration to join an agency, I have to know the agency I want to sign with. He said he is not a scammer that he has been operating since 2010, he is not like the shouters like Beth and Isis that there are some coded agencies, he is coded. I’m like oooo, you are not shouters like Isis and Beth, but you don’t seem to remember the jobs your models have done. He was trying so hard to persuade me that he is not a scam, he said there are so many scammers out there, i should come to his office so we can talk more and give me the brief blah, blah, blah, but naa, I’m smarter than that.
You see the thing about these people is they are trained to sound convincing, they will say anything just to make you want to work with them, they sound so convincing and if you are not careful, you might fall for their tactics. So anytime an agency you have not heard of or anyone who calls himself an agent asks you to come and sign under their agency, asks them these questions.
(1.) Their history. If they are registered, when they started business, how many models are signed under them.
(2.) Their contact details. That doesn’t mean phone number or bbm contact alone, it should include their office address, their website, social media accounts, Instagram, Facebook, twitter and so on.
(3.) Ask them what jobs they have booked for their models and ask for pictures.
After the whole interrogation like the guy called it, then do your own investigations. Google is a big gossip. Check Google. Google tells you the life history of a person or business so far it is on the web. If you don’t see anything about them not even on blogs or a website which links them, huh huh?? Time to run, even if you see their Facebook address alone. The office address you were given, go there yourself one day without notice, see if it is truly an office or not. When you get there, ask people around what they do there. You understand, just be an FBI agent. Verify their claims. Well for agencies who claim they are new, do not pay them agency fees, they might be fraudulent and may run away with your money. Just wait till when they are settled, they have a website even if it is under construction, they have an office address and they are in full operation.
So I’m going to be talking about agency fees. Please under no circumstance must you pay any amount of money to join an agency. If they really believe in you, they should invest in you, but don't expect them to give you transport fare to castings, except you guys have agreed that the transport fare will be deducted from your pay. So when they start getting you jobs, they get back the money invested in you from the pay you get from the jobs done. I once saw it on Facebook that do artiste pay to get signed under a record label, so also models, do not pay to join an agency. If they are truly capable of getting you jobs of which they will get their percentage from the pay, so why should you pay them to get you these jobs. I know some people believe that hmm that the agency have to get you a trainer and also create a portfolio for you so you should pay registration fees, I have said it in an earlier post, you don’t have to wait for an agency to create a portfolio for you, create your own portfolio. You know what, except if you are scouted by an agency, I believe any Model who intends to sign under an agency should first undergo personal training. Shoot with photographers, get professional pictures, if you can’t afford a personal trainer, try and learn how to catwalk yourself, go on youtube, download and watch videos on how to walk on the runway instead of downloading videos on how to twerk and squatt. Train yourself, be well packaged, have some professional pictures before you approach an agency that you want to sign under. If the agent approaches you by themselves and tells you he/she likes you and will want you to sign under their agency, that means they believe in you and they should invest in you then, so they shouldn’t be asking you to pay for agency fees because they will still get their percentage once the jobs start coming in. Or haven’t you guys heard of agencies that tell their models to pay fees for registration and portfolio and after the portfolio is done, they don’t release the portfolio to the Model even when the portfolio was paid for by the Model? You guys have to be smart and proactive.
Another thing is you have to be careful of people who use other people's name or brand/business name. Like the story I shared in my last post of the two people who lied that they are top models under Modela Agency and ended up duping models of the sum of 80k each. If anyone tells you they work with Isis, Beth or any other agency and wants you to come and pay before you join such agency, contact these agency on Facebook, if they don't reply, send them a message on Instagram, if they still don't reply, ask models around. Please this is Nigeria, open ya eyes, everyone is looking for ways to make money whichever way they can, don't be a 'mumu,' this is 2015. Be careful. So I'm going to put up a list of reputable agencies in Nigeria you can join.
(1.) Few Model Management. Email: fewmanagement@gmail.com
(2.) Zahara Model Management. Email: info@zaharamodels.com
(3.) Mahogany Model Management. Email: info@mahoganymodelmanagement.com
(4.) Beth Model Management Africa. Email: info@bethmodelafrica.com
(5.) Pages Modelling agency. Email: pagesmodels@gmail.com
(6.) XA International. Email: ovoface@yahoo.com
(7.) Isis Modelling agency. Email: isismodels@yahoo.com
(8.) Pillars & Pride of Africa. Email: info@prideofafrika.com
(9.) Erigks modelling agency. Email: erigksmodels@yahoo.com
(10.) Hues and Shades.
There are also other reputable and legit modelling agencies out there that are not listed here That I honestly do not know of, but put that aside, if you have any agency in mind you want to join, make sure you do your research and homework first before you join, ask other models you know about the agency you intend to join, trust me, you will get the information you need. If any agency or agent approaches you that they want you to be a Model signed under their agency, well why not, ask them the three questions mentioned earlier politely and do your own research. In my next post, I'm going to talk about what you should send to the email of an agency you intend to join. So till then, have a fruitful week.
I think that will be all for now, thanks for reading
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