Managing Your Representation - Pt. 3

We've made some revisions to this article, so we're extending it a week.

What makes a representative worth his salt? How do you know you're not signing with Damian, Beelzebub, Lucifer, & Old Scratch Associates Talent Agency Inc.?

Reputable Representation

The actors' unions (Actors Equity Association, Screen Actors Guild, American Federation of Television and Radio Artists) permit their members to sign only with recognized "franchised" agents. The AEA website describes the process of becoming franchised on their website this way:

An agent sends a request for an Agency Franchise Application to the Agency Department. Some of the requirements include: commercial office space, financial banking information, five letters of recommendation from Equity members, State incorporation documentation, State license, professional resumes, Agency office inspection, and posting of the application notice on the Equity Boards. The Agency Committee Chair reviews the application and makes recommendation to the regional Board who grants the franchise.

The procedure is pretty similar among all the unions.

AFTRA maintains a list of AFTRA-franchised agencies on their website and SAG maintains a list of (you guessed it!) SAG-franchised agencies on their site. You'll find that when an agency is franchised by one union, it's usually franchised by them all. Franchised agents are usually members of the Association of Talent Agents and/or the National Association of Talent Representatives.

Personal managers are not franchised and therefore their clients do not have the safety net of union protection and the threat of disenfranchisement. Basically anyone can call themselves a manager. How do you know if a particular manager is worth his 15%? A personal recommendation by a client or former client will carry the most weight, particularly if you know the client. In addition, most serious and valid personal managers are members of the National Conference of Personal Managers. This group, which is adjured to abide by a strict code of ethics, is comprised of managers elected by current members. The code of ethics includes:

having personal management as their primary occupation; dealing honestly and fairly with their clients; not deriving personal gains at the expense of clients; treating client relationships in a confidential manner; not encouraging artists to breach existing personal management contracts; being proud of the personal management profession; and exchanging information with other NCOPM members in the best interest of their clients.  Most importantly, NCOPM members never accept a fee from a client on the promise of attempting to obtain engagements for the client.

Membership in the NCPM would lend one to expect more ethical behavior from a manager.

Yes, although franchised agents are not permitted to receive more than 10% of an actor's salary, a manager can pretty much

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