Representation?
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- diet
Just a general question about artistic representation.
http://www.wearesimpatico.com/
http://www.yellowhouse.tv/france…
http://www.nottoscale.tv/There are hundreds of companies like these. I'm really just curious - what does it really take to own and operate something like this? Do these people just have really great industry contact/connections that most other people don't?
Because I'm a little confused - couldn't anyone just toss up a domain name and start 'representing' people? Meaning... list a bunch of artists, accept work offers on their behalf, send them to the artists, and if they agree, then just setup the contracts and whatnot? That sounds incredibly naive but I'm curious as to what else really goes into it - or what sets a GREAT representation company apart from a good/bad one?
- quack0
don't do it.
- ideaist0
Anyone can lead an artist/illustrator on with the promise of work based on their "style" and set up a portal capitalizing on art's current market worth in advertising.
It's simply becoming another middle man in a market dominated by middle men where advertisers don't want to find artists themselves and artists don't want to deal with business...
- diet0
But are reps mostly passive, or mostly aggressive? Meaning, do these rep companies actively pursue contacts in all major agencies for their artists, constantly trying to get them work? Or do they mostly sit around, waiting for agency figures to 'stumble onto' their listed talent and make them an offer, and then the reps handle the mundane business stuff for them?
- cannonball19780
if it smells bad it is bad
- pepe0
it really depends. The most successful ones have a strong and active reputation within advertising agency circles while also understanding how to speak to creative projects their represented companies encompass. Most of them simply act as the middle man to connect studios with agencies they dont already work with but dont foster the relationships a ton. We have reps and they are sort of hit more miss, but what we find is its up to us to do great work and it will sell itself.
- diet0
Hrm. I was always curious, if 1-2 people wanted to do creative representation for.. lets say just local artists in California, or wherever. What's the bare minimum the rep company is expected to do for them? I'm not exactly looking to do this but the actual business/expectations of this stuff intrigues me.
- arthur0
I've hired and fired reps over the years. Some are very proactive and others sit back and wait. Some use tired old mediums (which can be very expensive) and other embrace newer technologies.
Its like anything - some are good, some are bad. I've tried to align myself with good reps but sometimes you just don't know until you're on the inside.
That said, I've toyed with the idea of being a rep myself. I know more about the industry than the bad ones but likely not as much as the good ones.
To answer your question, I think the bare minimum to get started would be to have at least 5-7 diverse artists (in my case, I'd choose illustrators), don't require them to pay you a dime on advertising until you start making money with them, then take whatever expenses you want reimbursed out of their first few projects at an agreed-upon percentage. Not requiring them to pay you upfront will lessen their immediate expectations and foster more trust in the long run.
- pepe0
ya. i find the best is to give them a percentage of jobs booked. anything else is a waste and allows for the reps to get lazy honestly.
- pepe0
in regards to setup you simply need to have connections to place artists with clients. the clients part is important. I found the most successful reps tend to build their client base as apprentices to older reps which makes sense esp, in something as specialized as motion graphics or live action production.
- diet0
I totally get the whole 'get paid when they're paid' thing but still wondering.. if you enlisted 7 local artists and said "I now represent you - free until you make money" -- what the AVERAGE expectation is on that rep? Should they be aggressively pursuing work gigs for them?
Do all reps have the same business process once a gig comes in? Like.. a standard practice for handing off briefs, communicating between client/artist, negotiating money...
- pepe0
they all work differently, but mostly they broker the introduction, and connect the artist or studio with the client project manager then get their pre determined % when done., usually 5-10% sometimes more. They usually determine a sense of the budget but it is up to the artist to book the gig and negotiate that. Some reps represent designers and studios that bill millions a year and some that dont. If you want to make 100k a year you gotta get a million bucks worth of work to make your 10% just for example.
- arthur0
I agree with everything pepe said, though illustration reps take around 30%.
My first couple reps started off with me by saying I needed to pay $3k up front to advertise in the annuals. They say it's such a deal because they get a rep discount. It's all total BS. That's what I'm talking about when I say no upfront costs.
Overall, I find the average expectation of a rep is pretty low. Other illustrators I've talked to say their reps account for about 20% of their annual work/income. For me it's closer to 10-15%, and I have a fairly big name rep. It's supplemental income, nothing more. People know to not wait around for reps to bring in work, you gotta hustle on your own too.
If I were to start being a rep, I'd hope to start bringing in work to my artists within the first 2 months. That's the expectation I'd set. Of course you'd be aggressively pursuing work.
Some reps like to retain power and continue to be the middleman throughout a project. Others put the artist and client together and stay in the background until the project is complete and then they take over the billing and collections. I'm a fan of the latter.
- diet0
Interesting. Thanks for the information guys.
I do know a lot of great local artists with very little web presence - and they'd be much better suited to doing installation work, murals, etc. I've always flirted with the idea of doing some representation for them online but I'm absolutely newb at that sort of business angle, and would never do something like this unless I knew the expectations and could deliver on them.
