The Harman Agency
To Whom It May Concern:
I was wondering if there are any reports of scams by
The Harman Agency located in PA.
Their web address is: http://www.milleniamodels.com/
I searched everywhere and so far they look good from
BBB site, and there are no reports of them on the modeling
scam sites.
They seem up front on all their fees, and they do state
that they are not a modeling school.
The thing that concerns me is they are going to the
Millie Lewis convention. I am not forced to go, but I
was wondering if this company might be a scam.
Thank you for your time.
Y.L.
Y.,
There has been a lot of discussion about the Millie
Lewis convention (see letters
page for AMTC/Millie Lewis).
The website you mentioned says it is more than the Harman
Agency goes to the convention; Kelli Harman, owner of
The Harmany Agency, is the "Pennsylvania Director
for the American Model and Talent convention (AMTC)."
Competent agents don't need conventions. If you are
not in a major modeling market, and not prepared or able
to move to one easily, conventions are often a bad gamble.
People go to them and only then find out they need to
live in NY/LA to get sent on go-sees. If you had to fly
in for every go-see, you would waste a lot of money.
Just because an agency reps you, doesn't mean a client
will choose you. Unless you have a contract with a client,
you have to compete for each job. It's just not practical
to do that if you are nowhere near the clients.
I recently saw a San Francisco modeling company mention
a convention, saying one of their participants was scouted
by a New York agency, but signed with a San Francisco
agency. No doubt.
You said: "They seem upfront on all their fees,
and they do state that they are not a modeling school." Not
being a modeling school is nice, and being up front about
fees is good, but are their fees upfront fees?
If your agent is lazy, incompetent, or has no connections,
he might recommend you go to a Millie Lewis convention.
That way they don't have to do any work. It's one way
to pass the buck. However, you would have to spend as
much as $5,000.
Your agent instead should be promoting you to the same
agents who attend the convention on the phone and by
sending your pictures. This is the job of the mother
agent. That would save you a lot of money, and it's most
logical thing to do.
Did the Harman Agency provide any of the information
about the agent's role, responsibility, convention prices
and location?
The Harmon Agency did mention that I would have to pay
half of the fees upfront. (You can pay by credit card
or check.)
It includes:
- $95 administration fee
- $395 photoshoot (including hair stylist, makeup,
2 rolls of color slide film - 3 outfit changes)
- $150 - 100 composite cards (which they say is optional)
- $55 - annual website fee to be included on the Harmon
Agency website
- $50 - 9 X 12 Portfolio Book (optional)
- $300 - agency book fee (by invite only)
Is this reasonable?
As for the role of the Harmon Agency, they did mention
that they will send all our comp cards out to different
clients. They also send out an Agency Book to all their
clients.
They mention that the convention is optional and it
costs a lot of money (they said if we wanted to go, the
best thing would be to get sponsors from small business).
They also sent out a newspaper article on a local girl
who got a job in Italy through the Harmon Agency.
I am not sure if all this is a scam or not.
The whole process went like this...
I attended an open call. Went to the open call, gave
them a picture. They called me to let me know that I
was 1 of the 35 people who were picked out of 200 people.
They then had another session that discussed the next
step to become a model. This is where they told me about
the fees and that half of it is due up front. They also
talked about their commission being 20%. They talked
about different kinds of work in Philadelphia, Baltimore,
and New York. (I live about 1 to 2 hours away.)
Then they said that they would call the first 10-15
people they thought had more potential. Recently they
called me and let me know that the agency would be happy
to represent me, and that the first step is the photoshoot.
(I guess I was 1 of the 10-15 people.)
So I guess I am caught up in the middle. I wish it was
simple. If they had people complain on the BBB, it would
be easy. But little things like 1/2 upfront fees cause
me to worry.
Thank you for your advice and your website is awesome
place to visit for people who need information on modeling.
Y.L.
Y.,
About the prices you asked: "Is this reasonable?"
In the state of Pennsylvania it is/was illegal for modeling
agencies to charge registration fees. How is the "administration" fee
not a registration fee?
The $55 annual website fee to be included on the Harmon
Agency website is questionable. It doesn't cost $55 to
put your pictures on a website or host them for a year.
It costs next to nothing; therefore it should be free.
If it costs them almost nothing to have your picture(s)
on their website, are they making a profit by online
advertising? Agencies are only supposed to make profit
from commission.
The commission they get (20%) is not uncommon. But it
could be illegal. It may be twice what they are allowed
to take.
The Glam Scam book has a legal reference section which
said this for PA: "Agencies cannot charge advance
registration fees. Agencies cannot exceed a 10% commission
for temporary placement."
You would have to check with the PA authorities to see
if the law currently says the most an agency can take
is 10%.
There are a few questionable prices, but most of the
prices are not extreme, their selection rate is not ridiculous,
and they will meet you half way. There are no red flags
I can see. They are not selecting almost everyone, charging
extreme prices, and do not require everything upfront.
Still, you could contact other local agencies, and shop
around, comparing prices and interest. Then you can get
a clearer picture of your potential and how much work
is available, and how likely or how soon you could expect
to recoup upfront fees.
Also in some markets where there is less work it is
better to be represented by more than one agency, to
improve your chances of getting work, or reducing the
risks of your initial investment. The option is of course
dependent on whether you sign an exclusive contract.
Did the Harman Agency say anything about a contract?
Is it exclusive?
P.S. The story of a model going to Italy is nice but
don't read too much into it. "The exception does
not prove the rule."
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