A: Cindy, thanks for writing in.

Your situation is becoming quite common now, as more and more talent agencies are trying to underwrite their cost of doing business by charging their "clients" for things over and above the commissions they take.

Not all talent agencies do this--the ones that do tend to be smaller shops.

However, a number of agencies are charging money to talent to place their head shots and demos on their websites, some for a flat fee and others per year. But I've never heard of any agency charging for an informational seminar on the talent industry. That's something I think should be free.

My advice: submit to other agencies and see what kind of response you get from them. And if you do decide to sign with the agency that's offered to represent your daughter, consider looking elsewhere if you aren't happy with them after a year.

Good luck!

Sincerely,
Marc Cashman

Cashman Commercials © 2008

MARC CASHMAN creates and produces copy and music advertising for radio and television. Winner of over 150 advertising awards, he also instructs voice acting of all levels through his classes, The Cashman Cache of Voice-Acting Techniques in Los Angeles, CA, and is now also offering one-on-one coaching via email or phone. He can be contacted at cashcomm@earthlink.net or his website, www.cashmancommercials.com.