How Much Can an AVERAGE Model Expect to Get Paid? (PLEASE READ POST #1 BEFORE POSTING)

so how much do top models get paid per Runway?

***Edited*** See post #1 for thread rules.
the amount is negotiated between the designer (or the show's casting director) and the model's booker and it depends on the level of the model and on the level of the show -- the agency receives the payment but not necessarily all of it will be allocated to the model. - An agency might use one of their top models as leverage to get some of their newer faces into a show - quite a standard practice, I think - but depending on which agency she's with... this could affect her payment!
e.g. if a CD for instance wants Karlie and is willing to pay say.. $10000 - her agency may agree but only on condition that 2 or 3 of their newer models are cast to walk the show in a package deal with Karlie. When models are "packaged" though, the agency can decide how much each model is allocated (so Karlie doesn't necessarily get $10000). Some agencies do this with campaigns too.
 
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Geeze do these CD's need business degrees?
It's very interesting how this business work, I had always thought it was either get paid in clothes or money for walking up and down.
This is one very interesting thread.
 
How much do you think Tanya D has earned to date after agency cuts/taxes etc? I noticed she was wearing a LOT of Chanel, haha. Looked good too :smile: I took a look at her work to date and I'm thinking probably a total of a few million in the bank with all the campaigns and 100's of runway shows?
?

That sounds very optimistic to me to say the least:innocent:
Keep in Mind that the really big bucks campaign are the ones more commercial than pure Fashion.
In fact people could be surprised to see the tariff of some hig fashion campaign...it is actualy often much much less than a lot of campaign far less prestigious but much more commercial.
she booked few big stuff when she was actualy rather new and so not very...expensiv.
a girl like her earned very good money for sure, but far from having millions saved B)
 
but is not really about what the Campaign paid to models.

Model have rates.dont they?.
Fashion Houses have to paid what ever the models rate is. Weates is Dior,Chanel,H&M Etc.


***Edited*** See post #1 for thread rules.
 
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Moderator's note: ... Please read the instructions for this thread in Post #1.

This thread is not about naming top models and discussing what they are paid or how much they take home. Such comments will be removed for being off topic.

This thread is to help new models learn about pay structure and what they can expect ... as an average model.



To answer your question about rates, AJ ... if you read what bothsidesnow just said in post #561 ... they do no always pay the model's rate. More often than not ... it's a negotiation for a rate that will work for both of them or they work out a package deal to benefit other models too.

Yes, models have their "rates" and designers pay certain "rates" ... but they rarely are the same amount. So, it's just like selling a house ... a "rate" is just thier asking or offering price ... a starting place ... and then the agency negotiates with the designer. So sometmes a model gets her rate and sometimes not. And it's never really published ... it's kept confidential. So ... when you see that so and so's rate is a certain amount, it really doesn't mean much in the end. You really don't know how much a model is actually being paid.
 
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BetteT Here with a Moderator's Note:

I copied this post that bothsidenow posted in the "So You Want to Model" thread .... into this thread because we were just discussing how models get paid and the costs that they must pay themselves. This explains on model's expeience with all of that. I"ve highlighted a few of the points which we were talking about earlier in this thread.


Why Modeling Is, Technically Speaking, A ‘Bad Job’
by ASHLEY MEARS
The day I signed with a modeling agency in New York, a manager sat me down to explain the terms of our working relationship. I was excited to be there, even a bit giddy to be signing a modeling contract, but not so much as to miss the crucial terms: in exchange for exclusive representation and a standard 20% commission from my earnings, the agency would promote and manage my modeling career. As managers to the self-employed, agencies arrange opportunities for models to work in exchange for a cut of their success, but they are not liable for models’ failures. A manager explained as much as he handed me the contract, stating, “Here’s where we don’t promise you the moon and the stars, but we’ll do our best to get you there.”



“Agencies arrange opportunities for models to work in exchange for a cut of their success, but they are not liable for models’ failures.”

The “moon and the stars” is a pretty good way of describing the heights of a modeling career, with top models grossing millions a year, traveling the world, and socializing with celebrities. Yet according to the Occupational Outlook Handbook, models earned an estimated median income of $33,000 in 2011, an admittedly dubious figure given that the Department of Labor lumps together artist and fashion models with product promoters. Earnings among models within an agency are enormously skewed, with some earning over $100,000 a year, while others are as deep as $20,000 in debt. Among the 40 men and women models I interviewed as part of a sociology research project, their incomes ranged from a male model in $1,000 debt at his agency to a female commercial model who grossed $400,000 in a year.

Average earnings are nearly impossible to predict as monthly incomes fluctuate wildly. That’s because, in addition to being poorly paid, work in the cultural industries is structurally unstable and on a freelance, or per-project, contractual basis. These are what sociologists call technically “bad jobs,” akin to other work arrangements in the secondary-employment sector, like day laborers and contingent workers who piece together an irregular living. Such jobs require few skills and no formal education credentials, and the work provides no health or retirement coverage.

However, unlike other “bad jobs,” modeling is high-status work. Though the odds of making it big (or a living at all) are low, modeling is regarded as glamorous work, especially for women. In American popular culture, modeling is celebrated as a prestigious career for young women, any teen fashion magazine will convey as much. Hence my initial excitement at getting a foot in the door.



“But once in, I started to see a work arrangement with large structural inequalities.”

But once in, I started to see a work arrangement with large structural inequalities. As freelancers, models work for themselves, and in contractual terms, bookers work for them receiving commissions for arranging jobs that models secure on their own. This working relationship is more complicated than it might appear, however, because it feels quite different than what it formally is. It feels more like models are precariously clinging to the tastes and preferences of their agents and clients.

Consider, for example, some of the open critiques directed at models by agents and clients throughout their working days. Among the dozens of brutal comments I heard, in interviews and in my own work experiences, a sample: hearing that one has thick ankles, one’s head is asymmetrically shaped, one is too “street-looking,” one has a bad mustache, one’s shoulders are too narrow, one’s scar too prominent, one’s nose is busted, one has too many freckles, one’s *** is too big, and so on. Comments that would otherwise be flagged as sexual harassment in most workplaces are routinely and publicly spoken, propelling models to keep on their toes at all times.

Additionally difficult are the day-to-day ambiguities of trying to keep in favor with very people models pay to look out for them. Glamour combined with low entry criteria means that the model market attracts more people than it should, resulting in overcrowding and steep competition. A steady stream of new faces enters into an agency, while old ones are filtered out, and models can be “dropped” by their agencies with little or no warning. This creates a sense of substitutability — the sense that if you don’t like the terms of market, there are tons of competitors eager to take your place. Taken together, these kinds of experiences put models and their agents on drastically unequal footing.

In addition to being a “bad job,” I realized that it’s also an expensive one. Modeling requires extensive start-up and maintenance costs, which agencies incur and deduct from models’ future earnings. These add up quickly. My agencies charged a lot and often for a range of things one would never imagine, from daily bike messenger services to transport books from one client to the next, to the costs of composite cards, and even a charge to include my card in the “Show Package” mailed to Fashion Week casting directors. These expenses were billed against my prospective earnings and automatically deducted from my account. Foreign models can be deep in debt before they ever start castings in a major city, considering the costs of visas and plane tickets. This means models will not see their first paycheck until they book greater than the sum of their debts. After signing my contract in January I began working in magazines, catalogues, and shows by the end of the month. I did not get my first check, for $181.06, until mid-April (prior to this I received voided checks clipped onto a page-long list of expenses, many of which didn’t make obvious sense).

A model who leaves an agency with a debt is legally bound by contract to repay it, though agencies don’t often bother to pursue these debts, since failed models are an unlikely source from whom to recoup losses. Instead, agencies write off negative accounts as a business loss. However, models’ negative accounts will by contact transfer to their next agency should they attempt to model elsewhere, which is unlikely as agencies are hesitant to represent models with existing negative balances from unsuccessful stints at prior agencies. In other words, once in debt, everywhere in debt. What in some ways resembles indentured servitude is a routine part of this independent contractor agreement.



“What in some ways resembles indentured servitude is a routine part of this independent contractor agreement.”

Finally, getting paid can be an ordeal. Payments are slow to come, and they might not come at all. Designers and advertisers are risky liabilities to agencies because they too face a turbulent market. Demand for fashions can change quickly, investors may suddenly pull financial backing, and fashion labels, boutiques, and advertising start-ups can, and frequently do, go bust with little notice. Also common are clients in good financial standing but nonetheless chronically renege on payment.

Some agencies have a policy of advancing earnings to models within one week of the booking. However, if a client fails to pay within a specified time, typically 90 days, the agency will rescind the money from the model’s account until paid in full by the client. Hence, the agency pays its models for doing a job, but if a client defaults on the agency, the model must return the funds. In an effort to reduce their own risks posed by delinquent clients, some agencies pay models only after receiving the client’s payment; should a model want her payment immediately after the job, she’ll have to take an advance on the owed money at a loan rate, typically 5%. And like a bank, the money is recoupable. In other words, if the client doesn’t pay, the model takes the loss, not the agency. Given high expenses and client delinquency, modeling is risky work.



“If the client doesn’t pay, the model takes the loss, not the agency.”

By maintaining an independent contractor relationship, agencies are able to deflect market risks like expenses and delinquent clients as a model’s individual responsibility. Yet in such a relationship, we should expect models to have more say over their expense accounts, the kinds of jobs they have access to pursue, their clients’ payment histories, and, if nothing else, a voice to express these concerns without fear of replacement.
modelalliance.org
 
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After reading all these comments I was wondering do models pay tax on trade then? How would that work? Half a shoe to the government?
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If it's the US govenment .... technically they must pay taxes on trade, just like everyone else. However ... I don't think most models do this, unless they are getting a lot of stuff and there are 1099's or some other record being sent ... or her agency is reporting it somehow. Not saying that you should not report it on your tax returns ... just saying that I don't think most models report trade items as income, as required.

It would be based on retail value, probably ... so if a model received a dress worth $500 and her tax bracket was 28% she would have to cough up $140 to the IRS, not to mention state taxes, if applicable.
 
Tax is a complicated issue for most models to get their head around - the biggest tax issue they face is getting their overpaid taxes back. I wonder what percentage of them actually put in tax returns (particularly foreign models)? ...and its funny how in countries where commission is low, the tax taken is high, but in countries where no tax is taken the commission is very high.
 
Does any one have the list of clients such as Vogue and H&M where it shows you how much they pay? I can't remember were I first saw it.
 
Notice how French Vogue paid $125 and US Vogue paid $250 ... not very much at all. Which has been my point all along .... magazines don't pay in money (very little, in fact) ... but they pay with exposure and up the model's portfolio. That way, the model becomes famous and her agency can negotiate a huge amount for commercial/advertising campaigns. And notice how they take back the advance and all the money that they spent on her ... every little thing, including a FecEx charge most likely for sending her portfolio out to someone. Those expenses are hers ... not the agency's.

Of course ... this is not the average model ... this is the one in a thousand who actually gets to be in Vogue. The average model still has the expenses ... but doesn't get the big campaigns.
 
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lepetitcouturier Thank you for posting those two documents, I actually didn't see them until today.

What is an FecEx?
 
FedEx is a shipping/delivery company in the US (short for Federal Express). Most likely they sent someone the model's portfolio for review and consideration .... and the model must pay any shipping, delivery or mailing charges that the agency incurs on her behalf.
 
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FedEx is a shipping/delivery company in the US (short for Federal Express). Most likely they sent someone the model's portfolio for review and consideration .... and the model must pay any shipping, delivery or mailing charges that the agency incurs on her behalf.

Okay I didn't know such a thing, seems unfair for the model to pay for the shipping charges too. I am assuming this gets sent to clients or companies?

Also on those documents there was something about a bank charge, what is that if I may ask? I'm based in the UK so pardon me if I don't know what these things are.
 
The bank charges the customer for sending money to another person/account.
 
Okay I didn't know such a thing, seems unfair for the model to pay for the shipping charges too. I am assuming this gets sent to clients or companies?


Yes ... they would send her portfolio to potential clients who are looking for models. It's like sending a CVA to apply for a job. Only it has to be done over and over again, since a model usually only works a day or two at each job. And most of the time it's just sent back without a job offer. So, it goes out again ... and again ... and again. :wink:

Next ... about what is "fair" regarding expenses. You need to understand that the agency does not employ the model, nor do they pay her. The clients pay her ... and she pays the agency. It's not a regular job. A model is, in fact, self employed. Therefore she must pay for all her own expenses. If an agency spent money on her behalf, she must pay them back.



Here's how it works, if you are interested:

If the model did not have an agent, she is on her own completely. She would have to pay all her own expenses to promote herself. She would have to pay for photos for her portfolio, buy the actual book, pay to have a site on-line, pay to have her portfolio shipped to potential clients, pay to have comp (or zed) cards made, pay to mail those out to potential clients, get herself out to casting calls and go sees, bus fare, cab fare, pay to travel to other cities to go to casting calls, pay hotel bills, if she stayed over, pay to have her hair and nails done (she's got to take care of the product, which is her self) .... and so on. It's her own business ... and there are costs to promoting herself.

But, it's to the model's advantage to hire an agent ... so she has a better chance of making it to the "big times". So ... she goes looking to find a good agency who want's to "represent" her.

Most aspiring models think that they are applying for a "job" when the apply to an agency. But the model is actually hiring the agency. A model and an agency enter into an legal agreement (sign a contract) ... only if they both are willing to work with each other ... mutual consent.

Here is what an agency usually does for the model:

- They would advise her on her career moves, advise her on her look (keeping it current, making her look as marketable as possible) and make sure she's keeping her portfolio looking marketable too.
- The agency has the contacts and knows who is hiring and can send her out to casting calls and other potential go sees .... connections she would not have if she was working on her own.
- The agency will mail and ship her promotional materials for her without charge ... but they bill her for any money they spend on her behalf. At least they don't charge her for their time to do all of this. If she didn't have an agency, and she got busy, she would have to pay an assistant to do all of this for her.
- Any company who is interested in hiring the model, must go through the agency.
- The agency negotiates the rate that she will be paid ... on her behalf ... hopefully getting as much as possible.
- They keep the books for her too and send an invoice to each client when she has worked. If the payment is late, they follow to collect. Then the client sends the agency a check (usually 60 to 90 days after the job is done).
- The agency does the bookkeeping and takes their commission right off the top, then determines how much money that the model owes them for expenses and deduct that too. Then they send whatever is left over to the model.
- However, if the model does not work, sooner or later, she must still pay them back the money they spent for her.

It's interesting to note that for this promotional, negotiating and bookkeeping work they do, plus providing advice and guidance ... they actually are paid nothing. But ... they do get paid when she actually works. They are usually paid about 20% of what she takes in. Commission ... paid by the model.



So, remember that an agency only gets paid, if they succeed in getting her booked. But ... whether or not she finds work .... the model always pays for all her own expenses. The agency never pays for anything on her behalf ... she pays to promote herself. It's her business ... she has only hired them to help her.
 
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London Fashion Week models paid as little as £100
Models at the prestigious London Fashion Week are being paid as little as £100 for their work on the catwalk, it has emerged.

Catwalk models taking part in the British fashion industry's most glamorous and high-profile showcase were being paid as little as £100.

Young models displaying the clothes of a first-time designer at London Fashion Week were earning a tiny fraction of the fees paid to models taking part in the shows of big-name designers.

Models who are famous in their own right and can choose to work exclusively for one designer can command more than £30,000 per show.

The figures were disclosed by Aidan Jean-Marie, a director at Premier Model Management, which had five models in the Burberry show last Monday.

The rates paid to models in London are set by the British Fashion Council and vary dramatically. Even being shortlisted for a show is no guarantee of payment.

Some designers are known to be generous payers, with Oscar de la Renta referred to backstage as "Oscar pays the renta".

No casting is confirmed until each model arrives in the city where the show is being held, and they can sometimes be confirmed as appearing as late as the day before the show.

Mr Jean-Marie said confirmation took place at a live casting - where models are paid £50 per hour as well as a 20 per cent agent's fee - and "this is where the model is either confirmed or cancelled".

He said: "It's all about the look working."

For the Burberry show - the biggest of London Fashion Week - 39 models from six continents spent 52 seconds each on the catwalk, modelling 54 different looks.

Fourteen of the models walked out on to the catwalk twice, including Amber Anderson, pictured, who opened and closed the show, and Malaika Firth.
fashion.telegraph.co.uk
 
This is not much of a surprise. When you think of it, it's an honor to walk a high profile show like Burberry if you are unknown...at the same time, it's an honor for Burberry to have a high profile model like Kate Moss walk, so of course she would have the right to set the price.
 
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- However, if the model does not work, sooner or later, she must still pay them back the money they spent for her.

How long does a non-working model have on average?

I know how it works if they QUIT the industry or MOVE agencies but what about if they stay with the same agents?

Thank you
 

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