The Model Agency Mega Thread (January 2004 - March 2010)

[penny609]

^Totally share your point

 

[penny609]

By the way I would say it's rather useless than pointless. I mean useless for a girl or a boy who wants to start a career as a model. It doesn't give you a proper overview of everything you should know about the agencies, won't guarantee you it's the one you'll work better with. With the biggest agencies it's just a matter of numbers: more successes and also more models that just don't work (see how many stars you'll find at IMG and in the same time how many new faces have problems to start off, just a question of proportions which are probably the same with a smaller agency, in a smaller scale).

Now, these rankings are quite popular as they're powered by websites like models.com which are said to be "the NASDAQ of the modeling industry". The question is does modeling really need "a NASDAQ" ?

 

[evedwards]

People LOVE rankings, it is human nature to want to categorize and Models.com list is nice because it breaks the agencies down into boutique's, powerhouses, etc. You would be surprised how little many people know about the agencies when they are just starting out (people who don't follow the industry) and the lists are a great starting point for parents to read. Of course, when it comes to deciding who is "right" for this or that agency, I don't know if th advice of TFS members is very helpful.

 

[penny609]

^I know that. I know how many people don't know anything about the agencies. I was talking to a girl and her mother and asked them if by any chance they knew about Eskimo or Women Paris. The girl was really cute and answered "yes I know Paris" crush
And I don't say models.com is bad or anything, just that I don't see the point in ranking the agencies, listing the good ones is enough. Though the fact they've separated powerhouses from boutiques is quite clever and well done.

Edited: models.com doesn't really rank the agencies (there's no mention of #1, #2 etc.) yet you can easily understand this or that (again, I don't say models.com wants people to understand it this way or that way but the danger with something looking like a ranking is always the interpretation...). It's probably me and just me (and my personal experiences with this) but I could easily live without rankings yet I know people usually love them...

 

[fritmayo]

^I know that. I know how many people don't know anything about the agencies. I was talking to a girl and her mother and asked them if by any chance they knew about Eskimo or Women Paris. The girl was really cute and answered "yes I know Paris" crush


could easily live without rankings yet I know people usually love them...

in general, regular forums users are absolutly not representativ of most of the young models who join the industry, i m absolutly not surprise of your girl reaction, in latvia, poland, russia, go out of the main cities and absolutly no young girls know what IMG is let's not even talk about their parents...
so during some girls and parents are checking ranking...other girls just go and work
so me too i can live (and work...) without ranking...

 

[L0VE]

i think those agencies ranking are rather pointless.
the best agency depends of every girl, and the best for a particular girl will be the agency who believe the most in her, not the one who has the biggest number of top girls on board...
sometimes, better be in a smaller agency ready to push night and day for the girl, rather then to be lost in the middle of a 100 girls new face board in any so called top agency.

Exactly. I only ever sent my photos to one agency because I liked the size and I fit the look (if notice most agencies do have a look most of the time). And what a ya know, it worked. I think most people like a rank of the best or most money but it all really depends on where you fit and how they will manage you. Although, it is a good idea don't get me wrong. That's why if TFS has one, more research should go in =).

 

[L0VE]

in general, regular forums users are absolutly not representativ of most of the young models who join the industry, i m absolutly not surprise of your girl reaction, in latvia, poland, russia, go out of the main cities and absolutly no young girls know what IMG is let's not even talk about their parents...
so during some girls and parents are checking ranking...other girls just go and work
so me too i can live (and work...) without ranking...

Most people in the US alone don't know what they are either. If I go and ask my sister to name a model or agency, she'll look at me like I have 10 heads, let alone anyone else here. To be honest, I found that russian girls here know more about modeling agencies than I do.

 

[youarearockstar]

I figured this bit of agency gossip could find it's place in the agency mega thread:

In other hiss it seems a certain underdog of a modeling agency, flush with cash is seeking to eat a cool shop or two in it's mission to loom as large as IMG. Seems they are convinced the only way to block IMG's brutal march towards monopoly is to fuse forces with another agency or two to form a new blockbuster. TI is pulling up his ringside seat.

(theimagist)

 

[evedwards]

I figured this bit of agency gossip could find it's place in the agency mega thread:

(theimagist)

That's interesting! Hmmm... MC2? Next? Fusion? Who is an underdog, flush with cash?

 

[mikel]

^^LOL I just wanted to post that It's very interesting

 

[model_mom]

i think those agencies ranking are rather pointless.
the best agency depends of every girl, and the best for a particular girl will be the agency who believe the most in her, not the one who has the biggest number of top girls on board...
sometimes, better be in a smaller agency ready to push night and day for the girl, rather then to be lost in the middle of a 100 girls new face board in any so called top agency.

Could you please let aspiring models know which agency "believes in them the most" then they could all sign with that agency and be a star? All agencies will make promises to get you to sign if they think you could be a money maker for them.

What I think the value of a "Agency Listing" will be is to let an aspiring model read what information we have about the pros and cons of each agency to help him/her choose an agency based on that info.

Such a thread might be of little interest to your "regular forum user" but to an aspiring model or perhaps a potential client such info would be invaluable.

 

[Paws]

^I so agree

Just by reading threads like this........well you can learn so much.

Read, learn, gather all different points of view.....then you can make your own opinion.

 

[penny609]

An agency listing can be a great idea, much better than a ranking. And we should not only consider NY but extend it to some other places, making it as precise as we can and avoiding to let anyone who reads it think that one agency is obviously better than any other for everyone.

 

[fritmayo]

Could you please let aspiring models know which agency "believes in them the most" then they could all sign with that agency and be a star? All agencies will make promises to get you to sign if they think you could be a money maker for them.
.

The business is far more subtil and complicated than this...there are MANY elements to consider, and i still think a ranking is probably the least important.
When an agency believes in a girl, it is far more than promise, it is real excitement you should feel, and there is no ranking which can reflect this.

and beside that, let's stay in reality, how many aspiring models can "choose" their agency already to get just ONE good agency interested is ususllay not bad...

 

[fritmayo]

That's interesting! Hmmm... MC2? Next? Fusion? Who is an underdog, flush with cash?

Funny, caus in fact beside the "marketing" feeling, big networks are not as effectiv as it sound . Let's face it, even if IMG sounds great, take Milan, their office their is very average, and in London the same...
And beside that some "local" agency who know their market perfectly can do great, there are good exemples in London, in Milan, and Viva in Paris is good exemple too.
So people flushed with cash which dreams about being worldwide big, there are plenty, as anyway, most agency owners are flushed with cash...Which usually dont come from modeling but in the facts...so far, absolutly NO ONE has really succeeded to be the best in every major cities, and i dont think anyone will succeed one day, every top cities is too specific to think about global management.

 

[Fontenrose]

"Flush with cash"... is that referring to Ford's new investment fund owners? Underdog because they can't hang on to their fashion models?

I love to hear people's feelings about agencies. Parents and girls come here knowing nothing about agencies. They've never heard of IMG, although they recognize the names Ford and Elite (and parents may vaguely recall Elite's old scandal). It would be nice if someone could take it on as a project, like Mr Dale did with the top models.

 

[youarearockstar]

"Flush with cash"... is that referring to Ford's new investment fund owners? Underdog because they can't hang on to their fashion models?

Ford has been doing great things lately, and their new women's board is actually shaping up nicely under the partnership with Elite Paris (read: Kate Somers, Agnete Hegelund, Hana Jirickova, Jill Bauwens, Jennifer Messelier, Natasha Belobrovik). Honestly, the only underdog agency that I can think of with enough access to fast cash and a taste for monopolies would be Trump. Which makes "flush with cash" a play on words, and all the better for a blind item like that...

 

[Fontenrose]

I figured this bit of agency gossip could find it's place in the agency mega thread:In other hiss it seems a certain underdog of a modeling agency, flush with cash is seeking to eat a cool shop or two in it's mission to loom as large as IMG. Seems they are convinced the only way to block IMG's brutal march towards monopoly is to fuse forces with another agency or two to form a new blockbuster. TI is pulling up his ringside seat.

(theimagist)

OK, that makes sense. and "fuse forces" = fusion ? That awkward phrasing must be another clue.

 

[youarearockstar]

^Good catch, I forgot to re-read it to look for other little plays on words! I think given the money issue and the fuse line, Trump and Fusion would make sense.

 

[Paws]

^oh.............you guys are so good