Impact Media Management

[Rachel_M]

My daughter recently came across the website for this agency and she wants to apply, but I've had a look through the website and something about it doesn't seem quite right to me...I can't quite put my finger on it though. I might be completely wrong and they could be perfectly legitimate professional agency, but I just thought I would ask for anyone's opinion on here first, and ask if anyone has had any experience with them before?

http://impactmediamanagement.com/about-us

It's just a few things like "Determined professionals dedicated to making your dreams a reality" on their website that seem a bit odd to me. I've never seen any other agents use the phrase 'making dreams a reality' before. But maybe it's just me.

Any opinions or experiences are very appreciated!

Thanks, and Happy New Year everyone!

[sophiesocks]

Comment removed

[Panda]

Hi Rachel M (and Sophie Socks)

There is also Impact Model Management (Liverpool) who are totally legit so be careful not to get them confused? I think the above only started around Sept time but have no experience of them so cant comment. As they are based in London surely there are hundreds more well known your dd can apply to if you feel unsure?

Good Luck

[Amandeep_b]

Hi

I would tell your daughter not to apply to impact media management. I signed with them a year ago and they 'promised' to get me loads of acting jobs after I paid £600 for new headshots. Stupidly, I paid the money thinking this was going to be my big break. They told me to wait as it takes about 3 months to get me out there for auditions and castings. 3 months in - nothing. 6 months in - nothing. 9 months in - NOTHING! I called them up soooo many times and they said they are trying but nothing is happening not even ANY commercials. When I signe up with them rey said my experience wasn't an issue as they are new and trying to build contacts so the work would be small to start.

Later when I kept calling they told me it was MY fault I wasn't getting much work because of my experience! (The nerve I thought). So basically after then continuously blaming me I went to an acting coach for a lesson and he told me that he had worke with this agency when they asked him to run a workshop he told me they were ripping off their clients with the prices as indepentantly he charged way less then they did for the same workshop by him.

So long story short, I received an email yesterday from my agent saying, unfortunately we have to terminate our contract with you because after a year of us trying tou still havent got any work. They basically blamed me! Even the acting coach I spoke to said they were a rip off. That I shouldn't have signed with them because NO agency should ask you to pay even if they do for headshots, NEVER that much. Because above the £600 they wanted me to pay £900 for a showreel as well.

[Panda]

Ouch

[admin]

Have you reported them to the trading standards office?

[paulears]

You have to be careful here. The concept of booking a trainer at say £200 a day, then getting 20 people in and charging them each £200 is a very typical business practice.

The only Trading Standards issue would be over their 'agency' status. If they have the piece of paper saying they can trade as an agency, then trading standards won't be too bothered if they're either no good, or incompetent even!

Agencies and management companies depend on talent and contacts for their success. So as you have a choice when you sign up, being useless is not necessarily a legal issue - you vote with your feet and move to a better agent. If, on the other hand, they sign up lots of people, take money, and nobody gets a job, then that would need investigation.

Any new agency is a gamble. I've known a few agents quite well over the years, and they are what they are. They get some people plenty of work, and they're happy - but they also have people on the books that do have rubbish headshots, so instantly get overlooked by potential clients. They also have a few people on the books who they know are in the 'if all else fails' section.

Dodgy agencies need attention in any way we can get it, but a friend of mine was with a fairly big agency, and his quantity of work wasn't brilliant - ok, but not impressive. He bumped into one of the very big agents, who have household names on their books. He dumped his agent, and swapped. The quality of his photos and supporting material wasn't good enough for the BIG agent, so they got him to have a new pack and it really cost! Guess what? His work hardly changed. He now does theatre shows in a different chain, and his cruise work swapped to a different shipping line - total benefit zero, but doing the swap cost.

What I don't understand is why people sign with agents without really finding out what they can offer. Some people think you MUST have an agent, so the first one who offers to sign you up gets you? Agents promote your interests, so in effect, they work for you - not the other way around. If the agency is middle size, with thousands on the books, then there will always be people ahead of you in the pecking order. Imagine a book full of headshots. How many pages can you go through before you find somebody who looks right? Maybe the successful person is on page 36 - is anyone going to get to page 512 where you are?

I was once told that to see how much your agent thinks of you, call them up an say just your first name - if they ask for your surname, they've forgotten you!

"Making Dreams a reality" to me means they are taking absolute beginners - so if you're established they may be the wrong type.

[rebeccasmith123]

Hello Everyone!

After reading your comments about Impact Media Management on here, i felt being another mother with a child signed with this agency I should also give you some feedback.

My daughter has had quite a few castings with them and they have been great with fitting it all around school (a lot of agents that we have had in the past have not been so accommodating). We went in and met the lovely Tiffany who gave me a run down of what the agency was and where it was and where it hopes to be. I also paid for head shots with the agency which are superb and have really helped. (I must however point out that I did not have to do this, I thought it was the right thing to do)

I have to agree with paulears that you should never expect everything from an agent. I have had a great experience which has led to my best friend also signing her son and daughter with the agency as well. If you have any questions about the agency I would just give them a call. If your child is talented and both you and they have the right attitude, there will be no doubt some success. If you have any other questions please don't hesitate to write a comment back and I can answer them for you.

Rebecca

[Genevieve]

I would tell your daughter not to apply to impact media management. I signed with them a year ago and they 'promised' to get me loads of acting jobs after I paid £600 for new headshots.
Even the acting coach I spoke to said they were a rip off. That I shouldn't have signed with them because NO agency should ask you to pay even if they do for headshots, NEVER that much. Because above the £600 they wanted me to pay £900 for a showreel as well.

In my five years , albeit probably short experience of agencies, i've never heard of any agent charging £600 for anything, let alone headshots, normal price through annual agent for spotlight is about £40.00, outside of that can be up to £120.00 around about if you organise yourself direct with a photographer, but £600.00 for a show reel too is obscene amount of money - You can organise for about £300.00 I've heard.

. If your child is talented and both you and they have the right attitude, there will be no doubt some success.

its never that simple I'm afraid. You can never gurantee any degree of success with any agent,

There is also Impact Model Management (Liverpool) who are totally legit so be careful not to get them confused? I think the above only started around Sept time but have no experience of them

I'd steer clear. Quite odd too to have an agent name so similar to another already working.
One post, and their first post on this site of experience stating favourable experience with this agency, with all due respect is not something I'd view as a recommendation. Take warnings from experienced postees on this site please.

[YoungBristolActress]

i wouldnt advice anyone to go with Impact media management, i went for a interview for which i didnt even have to act - most agents will ask for you to prepare a monologue or sight-read or do a screen test if theyve not seen a showreel or been to one of your performances. I found this very odd as this is how agents decide what castings to send you for and know what sort of roles that you suit. They then went on to tell me about their headshots and showreel packages - the showreel package was around £400-£500 and would only included one scene - however showreels should show you playing a variety of roles to show off your versatility. Then headshot package came with a make over - this has always been recomended not to do, nor have headshots that have been heavily airbrushed or photoshopped as agents/casting directors want to see a realistical portrayal! They then went on to tell me that id have to come up once a month to do a hours long acting workshop with a eastenders actors whose name they didnt remember - (not very professional or organised in my eyes) that would cost £50! To be honest, it all seemed a bit like a scam. I dont seem why i would have to go to that specific workshop when i already do acting classes and go to a drama school. They said none of it was compolsary and that theyd still represent me without buying their headshots. They then thanked me and said theyd offer me representation. I left the meeting feeling confussed. A week later i received a email from tiffany, whom i hadnet even met, saying that they werent going to offer me representation due to my lack of experiance! It all seemed odd as i have numerous credits to my name and lots of training, it felt like the real reason was i wasnt prepared to buy all of their packages which really seemed like a rip off!

[pg]

Hello Everyone!

My daughter has had quite a few castings with them and they have been great with fitting it all around school (a lot of agents that we have had in the past have not been so accommodating).

Rebecca

I'm afraid this could be a bit misleading...

Casting Directors will often try to arrange auditions/castings for school age children outside school hours - but it is not always possible. It will NOT normally be an agent that decides when a casting will be held - although of course you could ask your agent whether they can try to arrange alternative times with the CD if you are unavailable at the time you are called. It will only be if the CD is really keen to see you that they will arrange a time to suit you.

I (also) agree with Paulears that you should not expect too much from an agent, BUT you should always be free to use a photographer you choose, not one specified by your agent. An agent may have recommendations for good photographers and may recommend that you get new headshots done, but any tie up between agent and photographer reeks of scam to me.

By the way, as far as I know you don't need a bit of paper to say that you can act as an agent - I think anyone can act as/claim to be an agent (it's not obligatory to be a member of the association) that's why one needs to be very careful - it is also why I think you should never pay anything up front to an agent! An actor will be expected to pay for Spotlight and photos - but these sums don't go to the agent. If the only way an agent earns money is from commission, then they will only be successful if their actors work...

Don't ever think that an agent is successful because it has lots of actors on the books. The best agents are particular about who they take on. If there are hundreds on the books, find out how many staff they have. You probably need an agent or assistant for every 30 to 40 clients I would guess (unless it's an extras agency, obviously). Don't be afraid to ask questions (politely!). Intelligent questions about the business will not put a good agent off, though it may well discourage an agent who hopes to make the most of naivety.

I agree with Genevieve that talent and the right attitude are no guarantee of success. The business really doesn't work like this and it will save a lot of expense and heartache if this is understood early on.

Photographs for actors should never, ever be after a "makeover". Showreels should ideally be clips from broadcast work - and if you don't yet have this, then you need to be very circumspect about paying for "shot from scratch" material - it's difficult to get right.

If an actors agent has not seen you perform they will not be able to represent you properly. Be very wary indeed about signing with an agent who has not seen you perform, especially if they want your money for something!

[essexgirl]

SCAMMERS SCAMMERS SCAMMERS!!!!!

I know how tempting it is to give something a try & find out for yourself.... BUT REALLY DON'T BOTHER!

IMPACT MEDIA MANAGEMENT ARE ONLY AFTER YOUR MONEY...

....either by saying you need new headshots taken by them, or something else... maybe you need a £100 workshop before they can take you on... whatever they say you need, if you talk them out of it they come up with something else.

They move about from hired rooms/premises within office buildings to another??? They are not a genuine established agency AT ALL

I WILL ADD MY OWN POST WITH MY DAUGHTERS EXPERIENCE WITH THEM IN FULL.


PLEASE BE WARNED! However nice they may seem...IMPACT MEDIA MANAGEMENT are only after your money!