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Has anyone heard of One Source Talent?
geesh don't you people ever make mistakes? i have to get on the right track somehow right? I wanted to know what people though before i got any deeper with them. it's only been a month, so i havn't let them take all my money yet. May 04 06 12:24 pm Link Chris Ambler wrote: Chris, this is One Source Talent, not Impact. Different scam. May 04 06 12:27 pm Link StudioD most people are saying bad things about them, why do you think that they are good? May 04 06 12:27 pm Link I found this on a search engine just now. We have all heard the reports of modeling agencies and the scam artists that they are. Trans Continental Talent aka Options aka WSN could have again changed their name to avoid media and legal issues to One Source Talent. I was blind to these issues and of course was "scouted" by a talent scout from One Source Talent. I fell for it, went to an open call and was signed for the bargain price of $20.00!! "It can't be all bad" I said to myself, after all it is only a $20 loss. During my interview I was also approached by the "regional director" and offered an entry level position as a "talent scout". Regretfully, I made a dumb career move. A few weeks of strange conversation and different stories were all I needed to see what could be potentially wrong here. This is what I was able to piece together... One Source Talent is owned by two gentleman(I use that term loosely), Anthony Toma and a guy by the name of Michael.... same as TCT and Options. Also, one of these gentleman "happens" to be a personal friend of Lou Perlman....red flag!!! My wittiness and curiosity of the business practices of OST quickly put me in position to be promoted. I thought this was all well but I am too curious for my own good. I soon found that none of the scouts had been paid in 2 months, rent was 6 months overdue and for some reason the rent was being addressed to TCT. Hmmmm? Oh and that bargain price went up to $200.00 and to be raised again in just a few weeks!! I see a pattern! Well my story ended just as abruptly as it started. I arrived at the office one sunny day to find that it had been closed and I was no longer needed. I can't say for FACT that these companies are closely related, but it seems all to familiar!! anonymous providence, Rhode Island U.S.A. May 04 06 12:30 pm Link Either I was wrong or they've just gotten more advanced in there plot to rip you off. Just be wary of them if you've gotten a few jobs off of them right away and then all of a sudden you get nothing. That's another way they (these types of companies) try to keep you as a member, giving you false hope so you'll continue to empty your wallet. May 04 06 12:30 pm Link TXPhotog wrote: My understanding is that there are about six different names all being run by the same people, working the same quasi-legal scam. May 04 06 12:31 pm Link Thank you everyone's help. I will be back tomorrow to see if i got any more replies. but since becca's worked for them I know that I can trust her. May 04 06 12:34 pm Link Keiyada wrote: You just confirmed that you are trying to advertise for them. THEN taking a look at your profile....yes, you are. Fourth day on here and you're asking about a KNOWN scam company you "already" signed with. If you're being saight with us...then take our advice, stop responding and go cancel your membership. Otherwise...stop responding and let One Source continue to rip your money. if i worked for them then i would know that they were a scam right? HELL NO! Of course you wouldn't. 90% of all scam companies hire naive (most are young: your age) people with little to no knowledge about the business they operate for THIS specific purpos . Most scam companies (this one for example) have employees who are none the wiser. And they always have a high employee turn-over. Which also helps because it's less chance of these people obtaining too much inside info. May 04 06 12:37 pm Link WELL KNOWN SCAM Claims to be an agency. Laws in several states where they attempt to operate and where they claim to have offices REQUIRE managers and talent agencies to be licensed! One Source Talent claims to have offices in California. This would require a special license from the CA Division of Labor. According to the California Licensed Agency database, OST is not licensed. http://www.dir.ca.gov/databases/dlselr/Talag.html Because of the "Options Talent" scam, the CA laws were added to include "advance fee" services as well. Typically, advanced fee agencies are totally illegal unless licensing and strict legal procedures are adhered to. The State of Michigan requires talent agencies to be specially licensed as an employment agency. http://www.michigan.gov/statelicensesea … --,00.html In addition One Source Talent claims to be owned by Coral Reef Productions, a Michigan Corporation. While that claim is true and can be found at http://www.dleg.state.mi.us/bcs_corp/dt … E%20TALENT , they are NOT licensed in Michigan as a talent agency. In several jurisdictions it is ILLEGAL for an agency or management company to be owned or affiliated with similar companies such as photo studios, schools, printing companies...etc. This is to insure that the agency gets paid for doing the job they are supposed to do and NOT by making profits from selling unneccessary products and services to the people they are supposed to represent. REQUIRED READING: CLICK HERE!! May 04 06 12:50 pm Link dubble post oh, what the heck... as long as there's an empty space I'd like to add: OST also claims they provide the same consulting services for Actors. Unfortunately, their method of operation is also contradictory to SAG and AFTRA rules and regulations... so, it would be impossible for you to obtain any acting jobs through OTS (except for a low budget indy film). May 04 06 12:50 pm Link I was scouted by them and went last year. They wanted $300 upfront for a "digital comp card," $1000 for a photoshoot, and some monthly fee to be listed on their website in addition to having to pay to have access to castings. May 04 06 02:53 pm Link I dealt with them when they were WSN and TCT. Now before you jump to conclusions, let me say that I was not one of the people signing up, but I got to hear a lot of stuff because I worked in the same building, opposite office. I know at the time they were charging about $995 to sign up. What the "models" got was a spot/profile on their website, which the models herself/himself was required to keep updated. They claimed casting folks and agencies logged into that site to find talent, ergo.. when you signed up for them, you received "exposure." They did not guarantee work, but that was in the fine print of course. They guaranteed exposure, and since they were on the internet, that's what it meant to them. Anyhow, the "talent agents" were basically equally clueless as the people signing up. They all thought it was legit, and was instructed on how to scout people efficiently. In order to keep them believing it was legit, the agents got handouts on "looks" and what sort of people to scout, as well as what categories of modeling there are (i.e. print, editorial, sport...) They also had to sign releases saying that if they ever mentioned the company publicly in any negative circumstance, or took any action against them, they would be sued for at least $10,000. I actually saw one of these contracts, and man where they cruel and in-detail. I actually felt more sorry for the agents than the models. The agents got about $10 / per person walking in the door, but a lot of them never got their checks, and left one after the other... Their office shrunk from about 20 people to 4 or 5 in like two weeks...then all of a sudden, the company just disappeared. I found out all of this after they were gone, and I reported them as did many others. We finally realized what the hell had been going on when the "Director's" Ferrari was gone, and wannabe models would come into our office asking where they had moved. No one knew of course. I just did a seach on the Directors whose name I knew, and she was listed also in Arizona, and Washington, I believe. Sad to know that they're still around. May 04 06 06:30 pm Link StudioD wrote: I think you're confusing "One Source Talent" with "One Talent Source". May 05 06 01:23 pm Link |
