Hi Hollywood Mom,

I am currently considering changing agents for my 7-year old daughter. She has been with her current agent since January 2009 and has been on about 10 to 15 auditions and booked one commercial. I don’t doubt that the agent is submitting her, but I just feel that the connections with the youth market are not there. My daughter has the opportunity to be represented by a larger, more prestigious agency however when I mentioned to her current agent that we are considering changing, she wasn’t very happy about it. In my opinion, the larger agency has better connections with the youth market, they are listed w/ATA and are SAG-franchised. None of this is the case with my daughter’s current agent. Could you give my your opinions on the pros and cons of changing agents?

Thank you,
Belinda G.

Todays question answered by contributing guest expert: Manager Stacy Carter of Joy Stevenson Talent

Dear Belinda,

Re: Changing Agents

As long as your daughter isn’t under a contract/agreement with an agent, you can change agents at any time.

It is true that some agents are better connected with certain casting directors than others, but it doesn’t guarantee that your daughter will get more auditions with one agent over another.  For the most part, agents get auditions for their clients using the same methods (ie: online casting databases such as LA Casting, Breakdown Services, etc).  Therefore, the problem often is with the headshot being submitted, as some headshots get a better response than others.  That being said, there are times when casting directors may give more audition spots to an agent with whom they have a good relationship and other times the casting directors will bypass the online databases and give audition times by direct calling a few of the agents whom they work closely with and requesting those agents top kids.

It sounds to me like your daughter is generating on the average one audition a month, and considering that she booked one spot out of 15, she’s done well so far.  If you choose to give her current agent a chance, then I would speak to them about changing your child’s headshot and give a new headshot a trial run. If you find after 90 days, the amount of auditions hasn’t increased, then I would consider going elsewhere.
Stacy Carter, Talent Manger, Joy Stevenson Talent Management
Contributor to Hollywood Mom Blog