kenny betancourt wrote:
Hey all,
I  hope you are all doing well. I just recently got told by a top New York agency that they want to sign me.  So I was just wondering - what is the normal protocol when signing with an agency?  Should I pay for another test?  What should I watch out for in the contract?

Read the whole contract, have a lawyer read it if you don't understand it. Most top agencies aren't going to try to con you. Make sure you understand the length of the contract, the commision rate, and how to cancel it (usually you can't).

You can plan to keep testing until your book is full of tearsheets.

kenny betancourt wrote:
I was also wondering - Does becoming successful have to do more with the model or the agency?  Obviously, a model's personality, drive, and work is what determines his or her future.  However, can a model get top work from a smaller, boutique, and less powerful agency?

I believe the answer here is yes. Though I think the top agencies usually sign the models most likely to suceed, just because you're not signed with a top agency, doesn't mean you can't get the work. If you're at a casting call. They should be judging you, not your agency. (unless they have something against them)

kenny betancourt wrote:
what is the normal protocol when signing with an agency?

You do what they ask you to do.  If you aren't prepared to do that, don't sign.

kenny betancourt wrote:
Should I pay for another test?

If they ask you to, and they probably will.  Maybe more than one more test.

kenny betancourt wrote:
What should I watch out for in the contract?

There's  not much you can watch out for.  The contract is what it is.  Your lawyer will hate it, but if you want to be with the agency you sign it anyway.  At most you might be able to negotiate on the length of the contract, but not much else.

kenny betancourt wrote:
I was also wondering - Does becoming successful have to do more with the model or the agency?  Obviously, a model's personality, drive, and work is what determines his or her future.  However, can a model get top work from a smaller, boutique, and less powerful agency?

They can and sometimes do.  But "getting to the top" for a model is as much a matter of the machine pushing the buzz as it is the model, just as winning the Heisman Trophy is as much about the school as it is about the player.

kenny betancourt wrote:
Although I thought you're not supposed to pay for anything - that the agency should cover all costs?

Absolutely wrong. Ultimately agencies pay for nothing, although they may (read carefully:  may but probably will not) advance the cost of some of the things you need.  This notion that agencies pay for things is one of the worst myths in the business.