Model Compensation

How do models get paid? Compensation for a model varies depending on several factors including the model’s reputation, the model’s experience, employment status, and job booking. Models don’t always need an agency to help them book jobs. One way that models market themselves is through brand deals. Brand deals are when a company uses the popularity of a model to better market their products and make money. Ms. Uduak explained to us the different ways a model might leverage their name and reputation to make money:

Models can monetize their content by gaining an online presence & receiving brand deals/contracts from companies. One common way models get paid from a brand deal is the model gets paid per post on social media every time they produce content related to the brand. Ms. Uduak explained the various agreements models may enter to make money:

Another way that models can get paid is through affiliate partnerships with companies. With affiliate partnerships the model makes commission from the product sales they influence consumers to purchase (D'Souza, 2022). 

A third way for a model to monetize their content is through a brand collaboration. A brand collaboration is when a brand might work alongside a model to create online content that is mutually beneficial. The Federal Trade Commission requires all models/influencers that collaborate with brands to provide several disclosures as part of their online profiles, sponsored posts, or on their websites. This includes, but is not limited to, whether or not the collaboration was paid, a receipt of free products, whether or not a discount on services/products was given, etc,. (Rocket Lawyer, 2023). 

Ms. Uduak mentioned that sometimes big name models will also sell licensing of their media content to brands.  A model will authorize use of their IP rights in exchange for money and this can be in the form of a fee, a royalty, both, or as otherwise agreed upon by both parties. A model may choose to also monetize their name and brand through social events in which a model will host an event where she will bring other brands and companies in for promotion purposes. 

Whichever way a model decides to monetize their reputation with brands, the income that comes from it varies greatly on the person’s number of followers, content, demand for their content, content quality, and their location. Typically brands will pay models around $1,000 per 10,000 followers. However, this does depend on the size of the market, the size of the company, and the overall demand for the specific brand (Trend Hero, 2022).

As a model, having representation for your brand is incredibly beneficial. Models who are represented by an agency have contracts that specify the logistics, such as when and how the model and the modeling agency will get paid. Agencies typically get a commission on the model’s bookings.  The contract should indicate the percentage that the model pays to their agency.  It should also specify who is responsible for taxes, licensing, and other expenses (Dengel & Eletu, 2022).

Current legislation proposed in California seeks to protect models by requiring that all modeling agencies be licensed by the state Labor Commission and by requiring that the state Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board adopt standards for models. The bill also mentions that models must be treated as employees, not independent contractors, so they can benefit from all workplace protections granted for employees (Harvard School of Public Health, 2016). In New York,  agencies cannot guarantee work for models. In New York, models are not to look to their agency as an employer, but rather as an agent that obtains modeling jobs for them. These modeling entities are considered model managements. Under these clauses, they’d be considered independent contractors unless otherwise stated. 

Models can ask their agency to not incur any specified amount without their consent.  In a modeling contract with an agency, it should outline the expenses that will incur during the duration of the contract, and how these expenses will be handled.

Once a model signs with an agency, it is up to the agency to decide how they want to handle the costs of the model’s portfolio shoot.  There are four main ways in which these expenses can be split: 

  1. The agency will cover the expenses of the portfolio shoot up front as a 'tab' for the model and later take the cost of the model’s shoot back out of the model’s paycheck once they start booking work,

  2. The model will pay out-of-pocket,

  3. The agency will arrange a test shoot where the shoot will either be free or heavily discounted. The model will then later pay the cost of prints, or

  4. The model will set up the shoot with the photographer on their own (My Model Reality, 2019)

Any and all expenses that the model incurs that are business-related may be eligible for a tax deduction. Write-offs are important because they can add up and can sometimes result in a refund for the model around tax season. To be considered for tax deductions, a model  must be professionally modeling and earning a solid income from it, and they can show this by having proof of payment (Todd, 2023).

Of course, it is important to get paid. Michelle Ye shared with us an unfortunate situation where she was not paid for modeling work she performed:

References

D'Souza, L. J. (2022, February 23). (￣￣;). YouTube. Retrieved May 14, 2023, from https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/celebrity-endorsement-models-partnering-influencers-d-souza/

Harvard School of Public Health. (2016). California introduces legislation to regulate modeling industry | News | Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Retrieved May 11, 2023, from https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/hsph-in-the-news/california-modeling-industry-regulation/

My Model Reality. (2019, July 31). Who Pays for a Model's Portfolio. My Model Reality. Retrieved May 14, 2023, from https://www.mymodelreality.com/post/who-pays-for-a-model-s-portfolio

Pagliara, N. (2014). INFLUENCER & MODEL CONTRACTS. Pagliara Law Group. Retrieved May 11, 2023, from https://pagliaralawgroup.com/infliencer-model-contracts/

Rocket Lawyer. (2023, March 24). The Legal Side of Influencer Marketing: A Comprehensive Guide to the Influencer Business. Rocket Lawyer. Retrieved May 14, 2023, from https://www.rocketlawyer.com/business-and-contracts/service-contracts/business-service-contracts/legal-guide/a-guide-to-the-influencer-business-and-marketing

Todd, A. (2023, March 23). Modeling Taxes- The Basics. My Model Reality. Retrieved May 14, 2023, from https://www.mymodelreality.com/post/modeling-taxes-the-basics

Trend Hero. (2022, October 28). How Do Instagram Models Make Money and How Much Do They Get. trendHERO. Retrieved May 14, 2023, from https://trendhero.io/blog/instagram-models/