Mad Fish Management

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jnrshenton
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Mad Fish Management

Post by jnrshenton »

As a new parent to this business and to agencies, I only have wonderful things to say about the ladies from Mad Fish Management - which is a brand new agency.

Emma & Sarah work hard, having their own children, a full time singing school and now a Talent Management company. They always respond to my queries with lots of useful and additional information. They have made us feel welcome.

We are not local to them but this has not stopped them from doing all they can to encourage and develop our DD.

Thank you ladies and we look forward to seeing you all again in your wonderful studio for the Les Mis Workshop in June. :D
Last edited by jnrshenton on Thu Jan 30, 2014 6:39 pm, edited 2 times in total.
PoppyLily
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Re: Mad Fish Management

Post by PoppyLily »

That's so encouraging. I am a new parent in this business too, what a minefield!! See my posts under, Agencies "Choosing the right agent, help" We are auditioning in June for Mad Fish, so fingers crossed my dd's will be successful. Thank you for sharing your positive experience. :)
cupcakephoebz
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Re: Mad Fish Management

Post by cupcakephoebz »

Did you not get asked to send a self tape in?
One day everyone will make it, but for now I'm still waiting http://www.starnow.co.uk/phoebespence1
PoppyLily
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Re: Mad Fish Management

Post by PoppyLily »

No we did not. I sent just photographs of my dd's (age 8 & 9) and was invited to attend a meeting with them in June.
cupcakephoebz
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Re: Mad Fish Management

Post by cupcakephoebz »

Oh, they asked me to do a self tape asap xx
One day everyone will make it, but for now I'm still waiting http://www.starnow.co.uk/phoebespence1
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Goglehat
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Re: Mad Fish Management

Post by Goglehat »

I have been asked to go to the les mis workshop in June - I cant wait! :D
Sometimes you dont realise the value of a moment until it becomes a memory

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hopesanddreams
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Re: Mad Fish Management

Post by hopesanddreams »

They contacted me too asking if I can do a selftape i'm going to record on Monday and send, I hope they ask me to come to the workshop! I was asked to attend a client meeting in early June too :D

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irrelevant
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Re: Mad Fish Management

Post by irrelevant »

We've been considering changing agency (have to give notice to the current ones by 1st June if we want to change) so I emailed Mad Fish, over a month ago, but never even got an acknowledgement, which was a little disappointing. The complete lack of any contact details on the website doesn't help my confidence.
Doodoos
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Re: Mad Fish Management

Post by Doodoos »

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Last edited by Doodoos on Thu Jan 16, 2014 8:42 pm, edited 1 time in total.
irrelevant
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Re: Mad Fish Management

Post by irrelevant »

doodoos wrote:Mad Fish do state on their website homepage that if you do not hear from them you haven't been successful.
I have nothing but praise for this agency, They represent my DD wonderfully. Always friendly, full of support & advice,
Best of luck to those auditioning! If successful you couldn't be in better hands! Their workshops are fab, your DC's will have the most enjoyable day! :)
The problem with a "if you do not hear from us" is that you don't even know if your email was received. Email is not a guaranteed-delivery service, and Hotmail is not exactly renowned for it's reliability (and actually using a hotmail address in the first place isn't very professional, especially when they do have a domain name they could have used for their email!) and quoting individual mobiles numbers? How do I know which person to call, and do I want to be spending over the odds to call a mobile anyway?

I did finally find the contact details on the site ... on the front page, printed in black on a black background. No wonder I didn't see them in the first place; I had to view-source before I spotted them. Actually, the whole site is very basic, and whilst I'm a great fan of keep-it-simple, you do need something to show that a bit of time and effort has been put into a website. Plus, "will open its books in March 2013" gives the impression that it was set up once then abandoned.

To be fair, I'm sure they are very good; there have been a lot of positive comments on here which I am very happy to accept, but they are being seriously let down by their online presence. In this day and age this is the first face of an organisation that most people will see, and the first impression to me is, I'm afraid, not good.


(Although currently only active in a hobby capacity, I'm a developer that has been involved with commercial online services since 1985 (yes, even before 'www') so I've seen pretty much everything! If they are interested, I would be happy to offer more specific advice.)
Last edited by irrelevant on Tue May 28, 2013 4:11 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Ladymuck
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Re: Mad Fish Management

Post by Ladymuck »

Glad i found this ive been looking at agencies and Mad Fish was one of them. I agree I was immediately put off by books will open in March and we are nearly in June so wont be pursuing. Mad Fish do have a good reputation for children in the west end but really looking into agencies lately the children are only taught singing by them as they have a singing school but not represented by them as an agency so aren't really in the west end because of them managing but they are new so time will tell.
Doodoos
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Re: Mad Fish Management

Post by Doodoos »

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Last edited by Doodoos on Thu Jan 16, 2014 8:42 pm, edited 1 time in total.
irrelevant
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Re: Mad Fish Management

Post by irrelevant »

I know, and I was very hesitant in making any criticism, however I was just trying to relate my difficulties in finding their contact details.

I had read the many positive comments on here, and wished to contact them. I use email as a contact method primarily, as it ensures I have a record of my message (which a PM here would not give me) and because I can take the time in ensuring I can ask all the questions I need to ask. Plus I generally don't have the time to think about these things until late in the evening, when trying to phone people would not be appropriate. I therefore sent an email explaining our position and, basically, asking for more information about them. I heard nothing back.

Now, as far as I'm aware, agencies are just another business out there to make money for their owners. There will always be a difference in outlook with regard to our children - we want them to have every opportunity to shine, but the agencies want kids that will get the most work, (and casting directors want kids that look the part and will do the best job, and production companies just want to make a programme they can sell to a broadcaster.) Agencies are, I feel, in a difficult position. They need to sell themselves in two different directions at the same time - they need to show us parents that they will do the best for our child, and they need to show the CDs that they are professional and respectable and not just Pushy Mums By Proxy.

So, just as I would be picky and research choosing an insurance company, bank, supermarket, or brand of beans, I should consider carefully all aspects of an agency, and want to see details of what they can do *for us*. Sadly, the website in this instance gives hardly any information that I would consider useful in assessing them. Bells and whistles I don't need, but information, well-presented, is what I look for. Black-on-black doesn't work, and will actually count against them in google page ranking.

With regard to name and phone numbers. To be honest, I don't care whom I speak to when I phone a company for the first time, as I don't actually know who would be more appropriate to speak to. I just need to know I'm getting through to someone who can help me. Starting by just listing names and numbers is counter-productive - it causes me to have to make a choice. What if i get the wrong person - do I then have to phone the other one, at even more expense? What I would expect to see is a number given for enquiries, perhaps separate ones for performers and CDs, with direct numbers then given for individuals once you know whom is dealing with your enquiry. Getting a UK-wide 03 number can cost as little as a flat £1 a month(+vat) ringing on as many phones as you want, and it won't cost up to 10p/minute to call from a landline. And it looks somewhat more professional.

It all boils down to the impression you wish to give out. Even trading standards say "BEWARE of traders who only provide a mobile telephone number". Hotmail addresses and mobile numbers are true throw-away resources these days. You need to be distant from that.


Sorry this has been a bit of a ramble; I'm sure Mad Fish are great, which is why I tried to contact them, and I've ended up getting into this far more than I intended, and most of my comments can be applied to a good proportion of websites out there, not just theirs!
pg
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Re: Mad Fish Management

Post by pg »

Irrelevant - I do agree with you. The "shop window" of a business these days is often the website. The telephone number being difficult to read and some of the information being out of date doesn't give a particularly good impression. I also completely agree with you about the hotmail email address. I would prefer to have names, too. I think all of the points you have made are good ones - and agencies are businesses and we do need to research them when considering what they have to offer. I think you have raised some really important questions.

This a new business too, so they have a reputation to establish.

However, to continue the shop analogy, there will be shops with beautiful displays that rip people off and sell over-priced and shoddy goods and other shops that are dusty and unkempt that do good business - and indeed are well-respected in their own niche/market place - because word of mouth has ensured that people know they can get value for money there. The shop owners spend their time in the back office and ignore the window display.

In terms of an agency - most agencies can get away with a less than perfect website (though, just in terms of general business image I think it's important for it to be as good as it can be). If one can find out that the agency doesn't charge upfront fees (which MadFish doesn't), that they don't insist on using a photographer tied to the agency (which MadFish doesn't) , if they insist on meeting potential clients (which MadFish does) then that is probably enough to apply and then ask further questions at a meeting.

(I know that you have applied, by the way - and I also take your point about email not being a guaranteed method of delivery, so an acknowledgement would be useful).

The reason I don't think websites matter too much to agencies is that the "customers" they want to woo are not normally the actors. They are normally awash with submissions. Indeed, many agency websites are deliberately brusque with the information they provide to actors - they have no need to entice them and want to make sure the only get submissions from those that are serious. The employers of actors are the ones the agent needs to impress - and I don't think they look at agents' websites very much. All the information the employer needs to see will be on Spotlight and most of the business they do will be via phone and email (perhaps they have a different email for CDs and Directors).
TomS
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Re: Mad Fish Management

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