If you ever have any doubt over a clause in a child modeling agency contract, then query it directly with the modeling agency. If you are not completely satisfied by their answer, be sure to consult a trusted lawyer. Consider the importance of what you are doing and the impact it can have on your Child Model – any contract you put pen to paper on will be legally binding. As such, you need to be absolutely sure that you are comfortable with its terms.
We strong advise that you get legal advice on any modeling agency contract (or any other contact, for that matter) you are offered before signing it. You absolutely must have a full and complete understanding of all clauses before putting pen to paper on the dotted line.
So what kind of agency contracts are there when it comes to Baby Modeling, child modeling, and Teen Modeling? Well, there are two primary types of contract used. They are known as ‘exclusive’ and ‘non-exclusive’. It is our strong recommendation that you look to negotiate a non-exclusive modeling agency contract.
Let’s talk about exclusive contracts first. As the term suggests, an exclusive contract ties your kid into the modeling agency in question exclusively. That means that your child may not be involved with any alternative agencies, nor accept any modeling work at all outside of the contract. This isn’t good for you – it basically gives the modeling agency contract of your kid’s career for the length of the term of the contract. It should be obvious that such an agreement is heavily weighted in the modeling agency’s favour.
Now if an exclusive contract is proposed to you by a modeling agency, you should look to challenge why it is being offered, and ask why it is necessary. The modeling agency might argue that they do not want to go to the trouble of finding work for your child, only for it to be clashing with alternative work that you have found through other channels. Such a situation could damage the client/agency relationship, and would also lead to the agency essentially doing work for nothing. Having said that, this argument only really holds water if your child model is in high demand. If you are just starting out with your modeling career, then such an argument makes very little sense.
If the modeling agency is pushing hard for an exclusive contract, and you are really keen to go ahead, then make sure that the contract is worded in such a way to protect you against poor performance. Consider it this way – if you are tied into an exclusive contract for a year, and your modeling agency finds you no work at all, they have lost little, whilst you have potentially lost a year’s worth of earnings. So negotiate a release clause that can be activated if the modeling agency does not find your kid a certain amount of work within a given time period.