Party Hosting Opportunities
One area that remains a Pandora’s Box for models starting out in the business is how to deal with their first request to host or emcee at a club or party. I’ve dealt with this many times working with Bria Myles. This is largely a contractual matter, and I’ve included a Sample Appearance Contract with this article for convenience.
Money
One question a lot of models ask is how much they should get paid to host a party. If you’ve garnered enough attention that someone has asked you to host a party, you’ve probably been on the cover of at least one major magazine or been prominently featured in a popular music video. That being said, I think starting price for this sort of thing should be at least $500 (if this was 5 years ago, I would say higher). If you’ve been in the game awhile and been on multiple magazine covers and in several big music videos, I don’t think you should get paid anything less than $1,500
Payment
For some reason, hosting requests are one area where people tend to be very flakey. I can’t tell you how many times Bria has had someone put in a request for her to host an event, only to back out later. (I think guys use event hosting as a ploy to interact with models they like.) Often, by the time the promoter backs out, significant time and energy has already been expended. For this reason and to weed out the flakes, always request at least half of your fee 2-3 weeks prior to the proposed engagement date. The money should be wired to your or your manager’s account. Until that money hits your account, keep contact to a minimum with the promoter. If possible, models should have an agent or manager act on their behalf until the last possible minute in these negotiations, for the reason I mentioned above.
The balance must be paid to you before you step foot in the venue. All of this should be spelled out in the contract.