I was a "scout" for TCtalent when they were transforming from Options talent. As an "independent contractor" for them, I was initially excited about the job because I have SERIOUS background experience in the entertainment industry.
I thought it would be a blessing to get paid for doing what I love to do. I also thought I could change lives and make dreams come true for people like myself.
We were paid commission only. We received a small percentage of each VICTIMS sign up fee. We were also advised that we would get residuals from the monthly charge of the VICTIMS account after a certain amount of time with the company.
Here's where it started getting funny for me.initially I attended all the "open calls" regularly, as all new "scouts" were required to. Now of course we were not paid for our time during these initial "open calls". I soon figured this was their strategy for getting a week or two of free labor from every new "scout" there.
(Get it?) HARDLY ANY OVERHEAD. Well except for the idiot that stands there and does a presentation about a field that he or she has little to no experience in, or maybe the office manager, or defintely the owner of that particular franchise who's getting filthy rich by selling some poor innocent person a pipe dream that will never come true... Not through TCT anyway). You see this process never stops for them. They continually get this free labor because once you finish your "required attendance" at the initial required time, there's another group of "scouts" waiting to replace the group that left.
You see this process NEVER stops because when I was there they were hiring new "scouts" every damn week! They knew that anyone smart enough would figure them out and would not be around for long.
Part 2:
For all the serious talent out there who actually have the experience or potential to model or act, and want to do this because it is your lifelong dream, not because some fake dummy approached you out of the blue with "YOU HAVE THE LOOK". Riddle me this: when you were sitting in that "open call" did you at least once look around the room and ask yourself, " How in the name of all sanity did that homely ass person get scouted?" Well, I know I did because I took it seriously. But I'll tell you how.
I started asking questions about the quality of potential talent that was coming into the office. I was told to scout whoever I could, just get them into the office and let them close the deal. When I voiced my concern they gave me this scenario:
"They can be an actor. Look at Danny Devito. He's 4'10 and not that good looking".
I'm like, well I sure as hell wouldn't scout Danny Devito unless I actually saw him performing in freakin' Broadway play or something.
And I guarantee you that that is not the means by which he achieved his success. The man is a good actor who paid many dues before anyone recognized his talent. No one walked up to him and told him he "looked" like he could act.
I felt that we were supposed to be looking for attractive people, (actors AND models), who have that spark. You know... That "it". Not necessarily perfection, but marketability.
Not the case with that fraud outfit. It came down to one thing, NUMBERS. So we wound up with "scouts" just in it for the buck, not the love and respect of the industry. Hell, Osama Bin Laden would have probably got scouted if he was in the U.S.
I would sometimes run into people who had already been scouted. They had opinions and concerns regarding money and telephone calls that were not returned. I would actually take their numbers and promise to follow up for them. Guess what, no one I talked to gave a s*.
Basically E-model a.K. A Options Talent a.K. A Transcontinetal talent a.K. A TCtalent a.K. A whatever the hell else they will be called next, is a fraudulent entity that prays on innocents VICTIMS who have a serious dreams. Their accounting practices are shady, they cheat their employees, and they cheat their "clients".
They have no integrity what-so-ever. But since I "worked" for them, I feel guilty by association. I'm actually embarrassed to admit it, but I can... Knowing I THOUGHT I was a part of something positive.
You want to know one last interesting tid bit:
I was considered one of the top scouts in my office. I did this full time. After leaving them I tallied up all my commissions vs. Expenses.
I did not even make minimum wage.
God bless all you VICTIMS.
John q
New York, New York
U.S.A.
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