When I started out wanting to model, I made the costly mistake of attending the John Casablanca Modeling school. It was just a waist of money. When I moved to NYC to study fashion designing and marketing, finding myself entering into the modeling industry soon after signing with Next when they were first starting out (oops! I may have given away my real age. . lol). I discovered that alot of major modeling agencies find modeling schools to be big scams preying on the dreams of wanna be models.
(The Modeling Handbook, Eve Matheson, p. 17)
A school is not an agency
Aspiring models have been confused in the past, assuming a school was an agency. Even though the school may not call itself an agency, those who are unfamiliar with the modeling industry have made the mistake of assuming some modeling schools were modeling agencies.
This has happened, for example, with John Casablancas modeling schools. John Casablancas used to be the leader of an agency (Elite), and thus aspiring models associated his past with the present situation. John Casablancas Career Centers, however, are not modeling agencies, and Mr. Casablancas is no longer at Elite. He reportedly left the Elite agency in 2000.
Just as some potential models have made a mistake without coercion, others have been led to believe a school was an agency, because the school acted as if it was an agency, behaving similarly to agencies by using "model scouts," open calls, and telling the young people they had been "selected."
Company names can add to the confusion for potential models trying to differentiate between a school and an agency.
A franchise of Barbizon in Wilmington, Delaware, was listed by the BBB as "Barbizon Modeling School & Agency," making it look like a school and an agency, but the BBB business classification was "Schools-Modeling."
BBB classifications are not entirely consistent and not always accurate, but in states like Texas and Florida, it is easy enough to find out if a company is an agency or simply a school by checking to see if they have a talent agency license.
BBB Classifications
The BBB file for Barbizon of Orlando described the "type of entity" as "model school"; the TOB classification: "Schools-Modeling"; but the "nature of business": "This company offers a model & talent agency"; and yet the state talent agency database had no listing of any Barbizon in Florida with a talent agency license, and the only license it has listed was with "Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services."
School to Agency and Agency to School
To further confuse the situation, the nature of a company's business can change, so it clearly becomes more important to find out the current situation with the company, and not rely on the past.
For example, an agency can become a school, as was the case with John Robert Powers; and a school can become an agency, as was the case with Avante Models.
Avante described themselves as "a full-service modeling and talent agency," but they used to be a modeling school.
In 1999, their site said, the company was bought and got a new owner. "In 2001, "Avante Modeling School/Agency" became "AVANTE' Models and Talent" ... The modeling school was discontinued and has become a "training center."
And, as earlier noted, John Casablancas, who used to work with an agency (Elite), no longer does, and instead works with schools (John Casablancas Career Centers).
Agency regulations
Modeling schools in general have a bad reputation, and modeling agencies tend to distance themselves or make sure they are not seen to be associated with them in order to establish themselves as reputable.
But the modeling school issue may be understood much more clearly through noting talent agency regulations in at least two states where there is a lot of modeling.
In Florida, a talent agency cannot require attendance at a school as a condition of registration or work:
No talent agency shall, as a condition to registering or obtaining employment for any applicant or artist, require the applicant or artist to subscribe to, purchase, or attend any publication, postcard service, advertisement, resume service, photography service, school, acting school, workshop, acting workshop, or video or audiotapes (
2000->Ch0468->Section%20410">Florida Statutes, Title XXXII, Chapter 468.412).
In Texas, it is similar, making the requirement to use certain services prohibited:
A talent agency may not require an applicant or artist to subscribe to or use a specific publication, video or audio tape, postcard service, advertisement service, resume service, photographer, or acting or modeling school or workshop (
Texas Talent Agencies Occupation Code, Title 13, Sec. 2105.202).
Why would there be laws prohibiting the requirement of attending modeling schools as a condition of representation? Don't new models need to be "agency ready"?
Clearly the legislators recognized the abuses of the past and the potential for fraud in the future. By allowing agencies to charge upfront fees for schooling, the agencies would be able to make a significant amount of money and even most of their income through the schools and not from commissions.
This arrangement would allow the agencies to pretend they were going to help models get work, but then not bother, because they had already been paid hundreds or thousands of dollars for classes.
Then the models would never recoup their education expenses. The agencies would make a lot of money but the models nothing.
Therefore the law puts a logical check on the obvious conflict of interest.
Open calls
Why do aspiring models go to modeling schools if they are not necessary? Why do they pay hundreds or thousands of dollars in the hopes of getting signed by and work though a modeling agency after attending a modeling school?
The New York City Department of Consumer Affairs asserts it is simply because the prospective models do not know they can directly access the agencies on their own without payment.
Few people enrolled at modeling schools, or signed up by scam agencies, know about “open calls” at modeling agencies. At least once a week, model managers and agents have an open call — a period of time when they look over people off the street who want to know if they have a chance. Open calls are great places to start, because you will get free evaluations by experienced agents. Prospective models are required to bring a few snapshots with them to open calls.
