lisa b
2007-03-23 06:31:46 UTC
Easy Background Check
Diamond Productions, Inc. aka Diamond Productions Talent Booking aka Commercial Cast (http://www.commercialcast.org/) by Christina Aston
Superb "Magazine"; Animations "International"
March 15, 2005
[Last Updated: September 13, 2005]
Addresses
5602 Baltimore National Pike Suite 200
Catonsville, MD 21228
3500 Dolfield Ave.
Box 68012
Baltimore, MD 21215
2226 MADISON AVENUE
BALTIMORE, MD 21217
Inquiries
Several people, both parents and aspiring models and actors, have asked about Diamond Productions, wanting to know if it is legit. The following information was developed in response to public interest.
Report
March 15, 2005
[Last Updated: September 13, 2005]
Ownership/Leadership
Diamond Productions Talent Booking is owned and operated by Christina Aston, an aspiring actress in Baltimore, MD.
Website
The Diamond Productions website is not www.diamondproductions.com, but www.commercialcast.org.
Licensing/Bonding
It was confirmed in March 2005 by the Maryland Department of Labor that Diamond Productions does not need a license (state licensing requirement was repealed in April 2003), but it does have to pay a surety bond in the amount of $7,000, and it has paid this fee. Diamond Productions, therefore, can do business as a modeling and talent agency in Maryland.
However, one of the prohibited acts under the employment law for talent agencies is charging registration fees or advance fees: "An employment agency may not. . . . charge a client a registration fee or collect in advance from a client a payment for service to be performed for the client to obtain employment."
Consumer Comments
Consumers have reported Diamond Productions asked them to pay a registration fee in the amount of $75.00. This was called a job guarantee fee.
BBB
The Better Business Bureau (at the time of writing) received complaints, but it has no unresolved complaints. However, the BBB also noted Diamond Productions has not been forthcoming about basic business information: "The Bureau has requested basic information from this company. The Bureau has not received a response."
Comments
Before doing business or giving money away, consumers should ask Diamond Productions what information they refused to give the BBB and why. The BBB's standard request for information is not invasive and only intended to protect the public, and most companies provide the requested information.
Background
Diamond Productions claims it has been in business for 10 years (http://commercialcast.org/sys-tmpl/faqaboutus/) [March 15, 2005]. The website of the Maryland Department of Assessments and Taxation, however, records it was registered in 1998: "Date of Formation or Registration: 09/10/1998." The record also showed DP's status was "Forfeited," which means "its existence has been ended by the State for some delinquency." The details for DP: "THE ENTITY WAS FORFEITED FOR FAILURE TO FILE PROPERTY RETURN FOR 1999." "Good standing": "No."
References
All of the references or "Testimonials" DP provided on its website were html text which could not be verified. You cannot tell if they were made up. The About Us page did not provide the names and testimony of any industry leaders or major clients recommending CommercialCast and its unusual practices.
Unusual Practices
Diamond Productions aka CommercialCast is not your typical modeling and talent agency. In fact, after reviewing many different modeling companies, it is fair to say there is nothing like Diamond Productions. It is quite unusual, and not in an obviously good way.
For example, DP says it is not an agency (even though the Maryland law defines an agency as a company that "provides a client with information to enable the client to obtain employment"), but it has paid the surety bond, which is required of every employment (modeling/talent) agency. A model on one modeling website, CurvyChick.com, sarcastically called Diamond Productions a "'non-agent' agency."
It is also called Diamond Productions Talent Booking, according to the BBB. Booking agencies for modeling and acting jobs typically charge no fees for anything before talent works. DP charges a registration fee and charges talent for several extra services. Typically modeling agencies always take a commission, usually 20%; whereas DP says it does not collect any commission.
DP says it also does "a phone audition service which guarantees talent participation in on-the-spot auditions." (http://commercialcast.org/sys-tmpl/animationsinternational/) [March 15, 2005]. This is highly unusual. Unknown talent receive notices of guaranteed bookings or "Booking Confirmations" for commercials, etc., when they have never even met with the client.
Normally, talent goes to an audition or more than one audition, actually speaks in front of the client or casting director, who can evaluate their look and discern their talent. You have to wonder what kind of clients book talent they have never met. Telephone calls are no substitute for meeting one-on-one.
Fees, Fees, and More Fees
Diamond Productions charges talent advance fees. After they are "booked," they are asked to pay a $75.00 "job guarantee" fee.
> I recently replied by sending a head shot and resume for a casting call
> to a website called www.commercialcast.org. I received a response stating
> that I had been selected to appear in a television ad for XXXX. A speaking
> role for a spec commercial. It seems pretty detailed with an address, the
> amount of pay and shooting date. They do however require a $75.00 job
> guarantee fee. Here is all the information that was emailed to me. I am
> supposed to pay and respond by XX-XX so if you have any information it
> would be greatly appreciated.
This socalled job guarantee fee is not common of modeling/talent agencies and it is widely regarded as unethical to charge talent any registration fees, no matter what terms, phrases, or words are used to conceal or blur the fact they are registration fees.
Talent, further, are asked to pay audition fees. "To participate in the current auditions, you will need to pay a one-time access fee of $60 to Diamond Productions to obtain full access for a period of one year." Reputable modeling and talent agencies do not charge audition fees. (http://commercialcast.org/sys-tmpl/animationsinternational/) [March 15, 2005].
Diamond Productions has devised as many ways as possible to take your money before you work. For an internet "marketing tool" or scrapbook, called a "magazine," you must pay $25. You can pay even more if you want to be featured on their website:
SUPERB MAGAZINE IS AN ONLINE MAGAZINE TO BE VIEWED BY SUBSCRIPTION HOLDERS ONLY. TO BECOME A SUBSCRIPTION HOLDER, YOU MAY RECEIVE ONLINE COPIES OF EACH MONTHLY ISSUE FOR THE AMOUNT OF $25 FOR 6 MONTHS. . . . 1 MONTH APPEARANCE FEE = $50.00. (http://commercialcast.org/sys-tmpl/scrapbook/) [March 15, 2005].
Consumers also report they were asked to pay DP for classes by video. This was highly unusual and self-serving, because the talent had apparently already been booked--before the training!
Why would an agent book talent if it had not been trained or it felt that training was needed? Obviously it normally would not do this, but in the DP case, it gets paid a nice chunk of change.
> I am an aspiring actress and had submitted to this company who now
> says it will book me in a commercial for XXXXX. All I need to do
> is come up for a preparation workshop to guarantee my spot. They
> sent me an email with a contract that looks very good. Please let
> me know about this as I have to sign up by XXXXX to reserve my
> spot.
DP's commercialcast website indicates they book talent in California:
Commercialcast New York is our Talent Booking Division for New York based talent. This division handles talent to be cast in the New York, New Jersey and the Washington, DC areas. A wide rangs [sic] of bookings are handled in the Los Angeles area of California as well. (http://www.commercialcast.org/sys-tmpl/door/) [March 15, 2005].
California law, however, is extremely strict with respect to advance fees charged to talent. Labor Code 1700, for example, prohibits talent agencies from charging any fees for anything before talent gets work. Talent agencies are not even allowed to collect fees, even if they keep none of them for themselves. The law is set like that because so many scams charged talent advance fees.
How the scheme works
Since DP is uncommon in its fee schedule, not charging commissions, you have wonder why. The only rational explanation is DP thinks or knows it can make more money from charging talent fees instead of getting commissions. What other explanation is there?
There is not enough information available yet to call DP a scam, even though it charges advance fees for registration and classes like many modeling scams, but there is an obvious scheme. The scheme is designed to get talent to pay them before they work and even if they don't work.
The lure is very strong when talent receives a "Booking Confirmation" notice. This makes it appear as if talent has already got a job. Excitement takes over. It appears as if they are so close to working as an actor or model, the hardest part is complete. Now all they have to do is show up or pay a little fee to guarantee a job. The fee seems so trivial in comparison to the mega bucks they could earn; it seems worth it. This has the effect of stringing talent along.
Then they are told about the acting seminar or video. Less than $200? Nothing compared to the big bucks they'll earn from commercials and residuals, right? Not so fast!
The fact that DP does not take commissions could mislead talent into thinking they are getting a deal, i.e., after they work, they keep all the money, nothing gets cut for the agency. If the payout, however, is very small, because the job was very minor, it does not help talent, and it is certainly not a "deal."
Money Back
If you want your money back, know that DP paid $7,000 into an "insurance" fund for those who feel they were misled, and you could make a claim for a portion of this money. (First-come, first-served