One Source Talent
(www.onesourcetalent.com)
Questions / Complaints
To Whom It May Concern:
MONTHS ago I applied to a website for a profile on their site. http://www.onesourcetalent.com/ was the site.
Just a few days ago, I got a call from a - pushy, short and uninformed "rep" of that website wanting to set up a phone interview with me. Because they were interested in representing me.
Today I got the phone call - it was little more than a long sales pitch from a model who claims to have shot for vogue recently (and yet works as a telemarketer... heh), her pitch was long winded and just a build up as to how "great" a model I could be (even though she had only 1 photo of me and it was outdated) - and because I was a SERIOUS model the company wanted me.
She went on to push how expensive comp cards were $400 - $500 on average - and that comp cards are outdated. Online comp cards were all the rave though - so they would give me a discount....charging my ONLY $30 a MONTH to be on their site....$30 a month to get access to their casting calls only.
Long story short - I hung up. Just another [photo mill] scam.
To Whom It May Concern:
While bored one day, I stumbled across the OneSourceTalent.com website. I filled something out and included a picture to be reviewed, and totally forgot about it as I continued surfing the net.
A few weeks later, I was called by a representative and asked to go to the New York office for further evaluation.
I went, brought some photos, waited a long, long time (there were other suckers there, too, like me).
I finally met with a "talent consultant" who liked my look and asked me to come back for a second interview.
A week later, I went to the second interview with my parents, and the talent consultant said how if they signed me, I would be getting lots of great modeling jobs, that she'd look into jobs for me and call me frequently, that I'd get marketing supplies, such as a digital comp card, my own E-mail address at the website, and so on. She even said something about signing me up for an Ashlee Simpson promo!
I was so excited—and my parents were, too. We agreed to pay nearly $400 upfront for me to be signed, plus an additional $30 a month to "maintain" my comp card. I was bummed out about the money, because they never told me that I had to pay a monthly fee ON TOP OF the upfront fee. But, my consultant had raved on and on about how awesome my look is and how I should have no trouble finding jobs, so I thought I'd make the money back very soon.
She also said I didn't need professional photos, but that I might be interested in having them done anyway. So the next week she introduced me to the company photographer, who was receiving a neck massage as we walked in. He seemed very irritated and like he did not want to be bothered with me.
It didn't help when I received the photo shoot pricing guide. I was under the impression that the professional photos were considered a "marketing supply" and were therefore included in the upfront $400. However, I was wrong. The price for photos was between $395 - $1,295!
Since professional photos were not really a necessity, I decided to wait. I read a lot of Success Stories at their website, and the Comp Cards of many people with success stories just had snap shots, nothing professional—so I knew I didn't need them.
I would log onto the site every day and apply to castings.
No word from anyone.
My consultant left the company just a week after signing me, and OneSource Talent never even assigned me a new one. If I hadn't called them to complain, they would have left me on my own (while still paying them!).
I called and asked for another consultant. The receptionist left me on hold so long that I eventually hung up and called back. He then connected me to another consultant, who seemed utterly bitchy and informed me that the consultant can't really do anything, that us talent have to look for jobs all on our own.
I was so angry that I went on the website, and in the Success Stories section, I wrote about how upset I was with OneSource and why. Someone from the head Detroit office read it, and contacted me. She went on and on about how great their company is and how the only problem is that I do not have professional photos.
Whatever.
My mother called the head of the New York office a few days later, and told him how upset we were about the inconveniences going on. He said he would take care of me from now on, help me find jobs, and said that I DO NOT need professional photos. He was supposed to call me later on, but never did.
My father finally called him and discussed further how upset we were, how he never followed up, and so on. He apologized and told my father that a consultant would be in touch.
She, the new consultant, called me soon after, and said that I need professional photos.
I told her that the head of the New York department, her boss, said that I do not need them at all.
She said something like, "Honey, I don't know what he was thinking, but ya DO need professional photos, otherwise you won't get any jobs?"
I GIVE UP.
In a nutshell. To be signed with One Source Talent means:
-Paying $400 upfront.
-Paying $30 a month.
-Paying $395 - $1,295 for professional photos.
-Logging onto the website and finding jobs ALL ON YOUR OWN (which you can do for free at sites like Jurgita.com or elsewhere).
What.A.SC*M!
To Whom It May Concern:
I was looking on monster.com one day for jobs, and I found a listing for One Source Talent (well, actually I found quite a few listings for One Source Talent). Though I wasn't at all interested in the job(s) they had listed, I was bored and went to check out their site. They had this little thing that was like "Become a Model/Actor Today."
All you had to do was answer a couple questions and submit a photo (optional), and someone would call you within the next couple of days. The "optional" to submit a photo should have raised a red flag right there, but I just submitted my stuff to see what would happen and went on my merry way.
A couple days later, I did in fact get a voicemail from One Source Talent, saying they wanted to meet me. I didn't feel like returning the call, so I figured that was the last I'd ever hear from them. The next week while I was out, however, my cell rang. Who was it but One Source Talent? ! ; The person on the phone said again that they wanted to meet with me, so I was just like "sure, why not?" and agreed to go in that Saturday to their office.
First of all, I had NO idea that when I would get there there would already be 20 or so people wating in line to see someone from One Source Talent. I had nothing else to do that day, so I waited in line... for a rather long time. Eventually, after probably an hour or so of waiting, they pulled everyone out for individual "interviews" and when I went they asked me to come back on Monday with some snapshots. I said "ok."
So, I went back on Monday. My appointment was actually for 3 pm, but they said to get there early. I did. Didn't really matter though, as I waited for TWO HOURS to even see anyone. This woman asked me into an office, and then asked me a few questions before taking the picture disc I brought and leaving to look at my photos. I don't know if they even looked at them, and I don't know why they couldn't have looked at them there, since there was a perfectly operational computer sitting on the desk.
She came back 10 or so minutes later and said "We think you're marketable, and we want to work with you. We even have a casting for you for an independent film on Wednesday." (Funny how I might get a casting right away for an independent film since earlier when they were "interviewing" me I had said I thought it would be interesting to work on an independent film.) Before telling me anything about the supposed casting, other than it was at 4 pm on Wed at their office (also funny), she whips out this sheet of paper that she wants me to sign.
In hindsight, it looked quite unprofessional for a contract, but the most important thing was that in the second or third bullet point down there was a clause stating that I was to pay $395 for a "digital comp card" along with the $29.95 they requested for monthly fees. When I said that they had made no reference to a $395 fee at the Saturday interview, she told me they had, almost in a sort of "yes, they did and you are insane" tone of voice.
When I still voiced concerns, she said that if money was a problem, I could pay $195 or so now, and get the rest to them within 2 weeks. She said again how they "really wanted to work with me" and wanted to get started right away so I could attend that Wed casting. I left with an unsigned contract.
There were several things about this place that bothered me:
1) They asked me to pay this money up front. They said it was for a "digital comp card," which is basically a space on their webpage with a few pictures on it. I could make one myself if I wanted to in perhaps 10 minutes and for far cheaper than $395. That bit doesn't really matter, the part that worried me is that they were asking me to shell out a big sum of money without any guarantees that it would lead to a job. I have yet to hear of a legit company that's in the business of finding clients modeling or acting jobs that doesn't work on commission. Real agencies only get paid when they find you work. One Source Talent said that they're not "a modeling agency," and that "don't work on commission," but if they don't, what motive or ability do they have to find me work?
2) They were saying that they were going to set up this "digital comp card" without me even going to a professional photographer. Even though I do some photography and some of my photos were self portraits that I did for art reasons, I know they're not acceptable for being on a professional comp card. If I know that and I'm not even in the industry, what does that say about them?
3) Everyone who came in for an interview that I saw walk out the door walked out with a folder that seemed to signify they'd been signed with One Source Talent. No matter what they looked like.
4) The place came across as being entirely unprofessional. No one should have to wait 2 hours for a scheduled appointment. Even the worst doctor I've been to wasn't that bad. And there was no one telling the people waiting that things were going to take longer than we'd initially planned. It's just odd that on this sheet I got for my second "interview" they were saying how important punctuality is, and how you should arrive at least 15 mins prior to your appointment, when they were making us wait 2 hours to even see someone! It also didn't look like there was a single person working there over 30. There is nothing wrong with workers who are in their 20s, but it's a little strange when you go into a business and it doesn't appear that a single person there has been working for more than a couple years.
I went home and looked on the internet to see if I could find out anything about this company. I found report after report of people spending money for services they didn't get or employees not getting paid for work they did. My conclusion: there are better (and more effective) ways to get into modeling or acting than through this agency. I feel lucky that I didn't sign anything and give it to them. I get the idea that many people have, only to find out later that they were ripped off.
One Source Talent Letters Index
