When we first started to pursue an acting career for my daughter, I did not know anything about talent managers. I didn’t know what services talent managers provide or how much money we’d pay for having one.
My daughter’s first talent manager “discovered” her at a talent competition in Charleston, SC. His talent management group wanted to represent her and convinced us to move to California to pursue an acting career. They started promoting her before we even got to California.
I did not ask a lot of questions because I did not know what to ask. I know now how important it is to ask a lot of questions.
My daughter had been acting professionally in SC for a few months. I’d never considered going to Los Angeles. In fact, anyone who knew me would never have expected me to leave the Southeast.
Shortly before we left for California, I spoke with Craig Wargo, one of her talent managers. He told me we had to stay at least 3 straight months, that we should live in Burbank, and that my daughter should stay in public school. He even suggested areas in Burbank where we should live.
Less than three weeks after our arrival in California, the talent managers had set up meetings with agents for us, picked out headshots for us, created a resume, and helped us decide on an agency for my daughter.
My daughter’s talent manager gave us information about everything I needed to do to get her ready for acting in LA. He answered any questions we had. He immediately started trying to get her into auditions.
He was very nice, and my daughter was quite fond of him. He made us feel welcome in LA. He was one of my daughter’s biggest fans, and he was convinced that she could become a successful child actor.
He only had a small number of clients, and he believed in and worked hard for each one. He also provided coaching for his clients before auditions.
We were fortunate to have found someone like this.
Talent managers do so many things, and at the same time, there is so much variation in what they do. That is one of the reasons it is important to do your research and ask questions.
So how do you answer the question “What do talent managers do?”
The main purpose of talent managers is to provide guidance and direction for their talent to help them become successful in the entertainment industry.
Talent managers typically help their talent make choices in their day-to-day activities as well as advising them in decisions that will ultimately affect the long-term direction of their careers.
The following are some things that many talent managers do:
- Prepare talent for meetings with potential talent agencies,
- Promote talent to talent agencies and set up agency meetings.
- Help talent decide on a talent agency for representation.
- Advise talent on acting classes and coaching.
- Help talent choose a good photographer and pick out headshots.
- Promote talent to industry professionals to try to help talent get auditions.
- Prepare resume or advise talent on preparation of a resume.
- Help make any and all decisions related to talent’s career.
- Answer questions on anything related to a career in show business.
Some (not very many) talent managers also provide coaching for talent before auditions. Audition coaching can be quite costly, so this is a real plus if the talent manager is good at coaching.
Talent managers are investing their time and effort into a long-term career for their clients. They typically work with their clients over a period of a number of years.
It is important that you find a talent manager who really believes in your child and who will work hard to promote your child.
Many talent managers have a trial period for their clients, and that may be with a verbal or with a signed contract. Then based on your child’s progress in the trial period, the talent manager will probably request that you sign a contract for from one to three years.
Some talent managers give very specific instructions on every little step that you make in the entertainment industry, including exactly what acting teacher and coaches to use, what photographer to use, where to get your haircut, and so on.
Others have much more flexibility and only give you suggestions for these things.
It is up to you to think about this and decide which type of manager is better for you and your child.
It is also up to you to ask potential managers questions to find out more about how they work. Since there is so much variation in how talent managers work, what services they provide, and exactly what they expect of you and your child, you need to prepare a list of questions to ask them before you sign.
Talent managers typically take 15% of talent’s pay for their services, though some take 10% and others take up to 25% (or possibly even more). Reputable talent managers only get paid commissions from the money earned by their talent.
The talent manager will still collect commissions from money your child receives when you are no longer with that talent manager if it is for work done by your child while under contract with that manager.
You should never pay talent managers money up front for their services.
Since talent managers are not regulated by the State of California, it is up to you to make sure that a talent manager does not take advantage of you.
Research potential talent managers in forums and on the internet and ask other industry professionals for an opinion before proceeding. And do not pay any fees or other money in advance to a talent manager for services.
It is your choice to have a talent manager or not
Talent managers can be invaluable for you and your child’s show business career, especially at the very beginning of your child’s career and after your child’s career has really taken off.
It will take an extra chunk out of any money your child earns if you have a talent manager, but at the same time, it can open doors for your child that might not be opened otherwise.
Please sign up for Your Young Actor’s Newsletter for more about talent managers and questions you should ask them before you agree to have them represent your child actor.
To Your Child’s Success,
Debbie Sikkema
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13 comments
1 ping
cath shiel says:
April 10, 2009 at 1:45 am (UTC -8)
Great post with some really interesting facts and welcome advice.
cath shiel’s last blog post..16 Benefits of Self-hypnosis CD’s
Mom of young actor says:
July 22, 2009 at 7:41 am (UTC -8)
From what I understand, Talent Manager’s do not have to be licensed as do Talent Agencies. I am very leary of Manager’s for some reason. They take such a big chunk for doing things that I feel I already do on a daily basis for my young actor. Yes they may have answers to your ever growing list of questions, but in today’s world you can look up so much on the internet and get what you need. Just like finding this site that is very imformative! Thanks
Debbie Sikkema says:
July 24, 2009 at 4:16 pm (UTC -8)
Yes, it is good to be leary of talent managers. There are many good ones, but they are not regulated and so you really have to be careful when you look for a manager. They can help open doors for you, but they also can take a lot of money from your earnings. You really have to take a look at the pros and cons and decide if a manager is right for you, and then you have to be careful to find someone who has a good reputation in the industry. Thanks for your very insightful comments!
Zurich from canadian mortgage insurance quotes says:
October 17, 2009 at 11:53 am (UTC -8)
Hi, of course talent manager are the one who manages the talents or the actor/actress. They are responsible for guiding their talents in order to make their talents well behave on or off the stage. So talent managers serves as the second parent of the talents.. Thank you for posting this article.
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Jamie from Promotional Models says:
February 19, 2010 at 6:06 am (UTC -8)
Another great post. It’s hard to believe that talented people are totally in the hands of their managers and what they do for them. I’ve seen so many talented people fall this way but then again so many have gone on to great things.
stephanie says:
March 2, 2010 at 5:32 pm (UTC -8)
i need an manger plz
Miss wise says:
April 21, 2010 at 9:34 pm (UTC -8)
As the CEO of a promotional company, I’m looking for talented singers and rappers who are looking for management. If your interested and live in the NYC area, contact me
Joy from Medical Uniforms says:
June 24, 2010 at 2:25 am (UTC -8)
I also think that talent managers can open up new doors for our young actors. They can increase the opportunities and possibilites for our young child to grow and be successful in the industry
LAMgmt says:
July 24, 2010 at 7:45 am (UTC -8)
Just found this article. It’s really very good but as an L.A. manager for and adult and youth division, it’s unfortunate that people have a negative view of most talent managers.
In every city and industry, you will find those that are not ethical. It’s the same in the entertainment industry and it seems like it happens more frequently for this business because it’s so high profile.
There are managers like myself who do all of what was mentioned, but also get the same breakdowns as agents and submit our clients for major TV/film and commercials. Sometimes we work with an agent and sometimes we do not. Over the past few years this business has changed and so has the way a good manager works. But in ALL cases, NEVER pay any manager for anything and also be aware that many managers only work part-time because they have another job that pays their bills.
Generally speaking, be careful and do your due diligence when checking into talent management but also know that there are a few of us good guys out there too. Thanks.
momof3 says:
February 7, 2011 at 1:28 pm (UTC -8)
I agree a manager can be very helpful, especially in the beginning. My frustration has been that it seems my son’s money is being held for about 2 months from the time the check is dated from the agent until we receive it from the manager. Is this normal? Maybe this manager only does accounting every other month and sneds checks then but it seems unfair that the manager is getting interest for up to 2 months on my son’s money. Any thoughts?
accounting says:
October 29, 2011 at 5:37 am (UTC -8)
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What Information Goes on a Child Actor Resume? | Your Young Actor says:
November 7, 2011 at 5:06 pm (UTC -8)
[...] daughter’s first real actor resume was created by her talent manager (see “What Do Talent Managers Do?” for more on talent managers) when we came to L.A. I didn’t have to worry about what to [...]