talentscout
Junior Member
I live in California.
I recently submitted photos of a friend (per his request) to an adult entertainment studio. Initially, they were interested and much to my (pleasant) surprise the studio's booker said in his response email: "After successful completion of the performance filming, you will receive a onetime referral fee of $[sum]."
Upon further scrutiny, they decided NOT to cast my friend. However, motivated by the referral fee incentive, I began scouting for other talent to send to the studio (and other similar studios) as referrals and have since found a couple very promising candidates.
I do not have a talent agent's license. However, basically all the info I read about talent agents says that agents are compensated via a % of the performer's (whom they represent) earnings from the studio who gives them work. In my case, the performer who not be paying me anything but rather the studio would be paying me.
It seems as though my role is "talent scout." In my research, a talent scout is defined as "an individual employed, appointed, or authorized by a talent service, who solicits or attempts to solicit an artist for the purpose of becoming a client of the service." Furthermore, a "talent service" is defined as "a talent counseling service, a talent listing service, or a talent training service." Although that doesn't quite describe the studio's role, one might interpret that to mean that the studio = the "talent service" in this dynamic since they are the ones paying me the referral fee. Furthermore, while I am certainly not "employed" by this studio in any official capacity at the moment, might I be considered as having been "appoint" or "authorized" to be a "talent scout" for them? It is unclear to me whether "talent scouts" need to be licensed.
Finally, I want to ensure that I do indeed get the referral fee if they proceed to cast the individuals I scouted and connected them with (given they successfully complete their filmed performances). Does the email correspondence ensure that I will be paid? Or does my lack of a license render me ineligible to receive a referral fee in the first place? Should I draft contracts between me and the studios for each referral I send to ensure that I be paid the referral fee? If so, what should that contract include or say? (Most "referral fee" template contracts are for real estate and I'm having a hard to applying it to the talent/entertainment realm.
At the moment, I am stalling before I submit the couple of talents/performers that I have scouted to the studios as referrals until I can be certain I am eligible to receive the referral fee and certain that the studio will be obliged to pay it to me. I am 99% certain the talent/performers I have scouted will be cast by the studios I have been corresponding with and have mentioned in our emails their respective "referral fees." But I just don't want to hand them over until I am certain I will be compensated.
Thanks in advance to anyone with expertise in this realm who can answer my questions and advise me on what I should do in this situation.
I recently submitted photos of a friend (per his request) to an adult entertainment studio. Initially, they were interested and much to my (pleasant) surprise the studio's booker said in his response email: "After successful completion of the performance filming, you will receive a onetime referral fee of $[sum]."
Upon further scrutiny, they decided NOT to cast my friend. However, motivated by the referral fee incentive, I began scouting for other talent to send to the studio (and other similar studios) as referrals and have since found a couple very promising candidates.
I do not have a talent agent's license. However, basically all the info I read about talent agents says that agents are compensated via a % of the performer's (whom they represent) earnings from the studio who gives them work. In my case, the performer who not be paying me anything but rather the studio would be paying me.
It seems as though my role is "talent scout." In my research, a talent scout is defined as "an individual employed, appointed, or authorized by a talent service, who solicits or attempts to solicit an artist for the purpose of becoming a client of the service." Furthermore, a "talent service" is defined as "a talent counseling service, a talent listing service, or a talent training service." Although that doesn't quite describe the studio's role, one might interpret that to mean that the studio = the "talent service" in this dynamic since they are the ones paying me the referral fee. Furthermore, while I am certainly not "employed" by this studio in any official capacity at the moment, might I be considered as having been "appoint" or "authorized" to be a "talent scout" for them? It is unclear to me whether "talent scouts" need to be licensed.
Finally, I want to ensure that I do indeed get the referral fee if they proceed to cast the individuals I scouted and connected them with (given they successfully complete their filmed performances). Does the email correspondence ensure that I will be paid? Or does my lack of a license render me ineligible to receive a referral fee in the first place? Should I draft contracts between me and the studios for each referral I send to ensure that I be paid the referral fee? If so, what should that contract include or say? (Most "referral fee" template contracts are for real estate and I'm having a hard to applying it to the talent/entertainment realm.
At the moment, I am stalling before I submit the couple of talents/performers that I have scouted to the studios as referrals until I can be certain I am eligible to receive the referral fee and certain that the studio will be obliged to pay it to me. I am 99% certain the talent/performers I have scouted will be cast by the studios I have been corresponding with and have mentioned in our emails their respective "referral fees." But I just don't want to hand them over until I am certain I will be compensated.
Thanks in advance to anyone with expertise in this realm who can answer my questions and advise me on what I should do in this situation.
