If you look at the profiles of models from the United States, you will see that they are in several agencies. But how is this possible if many agencies need exclusivity? With a high probability, this is because they are international models: they have a mother agency (mother agency in English), usually from here, and later they are represented in model agencies in other countries.
The mother modeling agency is normally the first modeling agency you enter to work for and carry out your professional career.
Why do mother modeling agencies exist?
Not all modeling agencies are big enough to have offices in several countries, but sometimes they do have high-potential models in their portfolio, and this is where the figure of the mother agency or main agency appears.
The booker of the mother agency is in charge of presenting the model to agencies that are in other countries and signing contracts with them. These foreign model agencies welcome the model into their portfolio, moving the photos from their book among their clients, having, so to speak, the image rights of that model in that country.
The mother agency always acts protectively with its model, having control of the jobs, castings, go&see , etc., even if they are in another country.
There are a few models that have their mother agency in different countries around the world and later have signed contracts with agencies in New York, London, Paris and Milan that represent the model in those countries and know those markets well. In fact, they also have their model composites there, and even on the websites of these foreign agencies, you can see their files with book photos and even Polaroid photos.
And what does the parent agency gain from all this?
In addition to promoting your career as a model internationally, agency fees are usually 20% of the profits from the jobs they get you.
The more you work as a model, with better jobs, the more you earn (and so do they).
In the event that the model gets jobs abroad, the commission is usually divided equally between the mother agency (10%) and the agency in the country in question (10%).
The importance of an agency acting as a mother
There are great models with certain profiles who hardly work in Spain, but who do not stop working in other countries because they are much more valued there. Why close yourself only to the Spanish market if you have universal potential?
Of course, with the passage of time, these models that accumulate experience and are seen in editorials, begin to be seen with different eyes in Spain, counting on them in many more jobs.
If you are just starting out, find yourself a good modeling agency that knows how to take your professional career as far as possible.
