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I've got a bit of a situation on my hands at the mo' regarding a model agent out in Europe that I regularly deal with, the models are getting pissed off at the % the agent is taking and, having thought about it, I'm thinking that the cut being taken perhaps IS a tad excessive. But I'm not totally au fait with agent's working practices so I thought I'd see if you good people with experience in these matters consider it to be all well and good or a bit underhand.

So...this is the deal and to simplify matters for mathematical simpletons like me I'm using nice, round numbers! If I shoot a model for 500 Euros then I also pay the agent a "Booking Fee" of 100 Euros and the agent also takes 100 Euros from the model, twenty percent. So the model ends up with 400 Euros and the agent ends up with 200 Euros. This seems to be ok with everyone, everyone's a winner in this scenario.

What is causing the upset however is how this equation works out with regard to lengthier periods of work wherein a model will come to the UK to shoot for say three days in one hit. In this scenario the model will receive 1500 Euros (500 Euros X 3), the agent will get 300 Euros in booking fees (100 x 3) and will also expect 300 Euros from the model, the 20% cut. The end result is that the model goes home with 1200 Euros and the agent has received a total of 600 Euros in total from two parties, me and the model. (This is starting to read like a maths exam question!)

Anyway the models are pissed off that their agent is making half of what they're making for "Doing virtually nothing" (Their words, not mine!). I'm ignoring the situation for as long as I can but it's got to the stage now where the models I deal with would prefer to cut the agent out altogether.

To be fair to the models in question there is a "Cloak and Dagger" element to these dealings which is particularly annoying wherein I'm expected to keep details of fees secret. This also makes me suspicious that all is not as it should be. There was also a situation recently where this agent got me a model from another agent and the model was expected to pay out 20% to both agents which she refused to do which came back to me and I, thus far, have refused to fork out twice too as, yet again, the full nature of the fees involved was kept quiet until after we'd finished shooting.

Any advice will be hugely appreciated as I'm in a state of complete confusion. Apologies for the extremely dry nature of this subject, my usual waffle on rock bands can be found on the other forum! Thanks for your time.

In the days when I, (Paramount International) was THE premier agency in the Uk, 20% commission was the flat rate.
That was what I paid to the model in person. Any arrangement she may have had with a local pimp was not my concern. Nor should it be yours.

Firstly a big thank you for wading through that massive message of mine. So 20% is about right? That's good to know. Thanks again for taking the time to help out, it is appreciated.

Hiya

A total fee of about 20% is about right, with, in my case anyway, one cheque to the model, and one to the agency, then thats it. I don't know of any UK agency taking money off the girl after they've been paid commission by the photographer

Im a model myself,. and its not strange to pay 20% commision to agents.
Now i have also models working for me and I know the both sides.

Its alittle different what the agents do ofcourse for the girls.
But alot of them charge 20% from the model . For me it sometimes depends on the assignment. And it also depends If I need to bring the girl to the location etc... when she takes care of her own travling lets say for example when im in L.a I only ask 15%.And I also get a booking fee, what is very normal. That's most of the time a flat like 100 euro, or its a % of the fee , from what the model got paid.

Ofcourse you have always models that dont want to pay agency fee and want to deal directly with the photographer. I think if you have a good relationship with the agent you shouldn't get involved. The model should know before hand what she gets and what kind of buisness agreement she has with her agency.

But its between the model and the agent.

Love Bobbi Eden

i am an agent working out of prague, the rates you were quoting were correct, but the agent should not be charging the girls, please contact me, i will offer you a much better deal, no cloak and dagger, karl

Hi Karl

I am off to Prague to shoot end of this month and wanted to look at your site at the models available (we only shoot softcore stuff) but your registration seems to be for models not photographers.

Can you email me a login to info @ onlytease.com as we may be interested in some of your models.

Many thanks

Paul.

Most of my work is dealing with customers wanting strippers/dancers, but I use the same method for model bookings.

I charge ?xx for a particular job. This cost includes my fee (usually about 10-15%, never as high as 20%). I tell the girl/s what she/they will get paid and she/they either accept or decline the booking.

In certain circumstances, such as when helping find girls for the stripclub scenes in the film Closer, I get paid a flat-rate "finders fee". This is the more common method used by mainstream film production companies and casting agencies.

I don't take a cut from the girls, either as commission on a booking fee, or if a strip/lapdancing job, as a "house fee"

Please email me