Acting Lessons Learned with Tiwana Floyd

131. Agent Termination, Where's My Money?

• Tiwana Floyd • Season 1 • Episode 131

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Have you ever found yourself wondering why your agent's payment of your session fee or residuals is arriving late? Has it been happening more often than expected? Are agents facing financial setbacks due to commercial and television downgrades? It's natural to question whether agents are holding actors' monies until they collect big monthly payouts in interest.

Tiwana Floyd recounts a recent experience that led her to switch commercial agents due to $13,000 in residuals taking 60 days to reach her. This episode is an enlightening journey through the process of tracking down those elusive payments, interacting with payroll companies, and the absolute necessity to take action when something is a rye. 

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Music Pixababy "Mesmerized" 15617 & 11492_comamedia

Speaker 1:

Hey there, welcome back to Acting Lessons Learned. I'm Tuana Floyd and I'm just gonna jump right into the story I recently signed with a new commercial agent in March of 2023. Now, I'm not one to change agents. Often. I actually find the process to be exhausting.

Speaker 1:

I try to stay with agents for a long time, but not too like a codependent, underprivileged way, or like when it's a good fit, like a marriage until death do us part kind of way. I mean I have yet to have an agent die on me, thankfully, but I often leave when I feel the relationship has either run its course, when I don't feel the love, or maybe the agent has gotten me as far as they can get me, or if they have too much turnover in their office, because being under a new agent means that person has to get up to speed to learn how to submit me, and it's not guaranteed they will like me as much as the previous agent, and the reverse is true. I may not like them as a person or their communication style, and more than likely, I didn't choose them as an agent. So I feel like I'm being forced to accept this new person like a stepmother or stepfather. I mean, do I get a choice. I also leave an agency when there has been a significant disturbance in their order of operations. There are so many variables involved for all three of these reasons, but once I've decided to leave an agency, it's been well thought out. In my 18 years living in Los Angeles, I've had four commercial agents, making three occasions where I had to terminate and, as I've mentioned in my two previous episodes on agent termination, releasing an agent is a hard decision to make. It's discomforting and there's always the what-ifs that come up for me, like what if I'm overreacting, or what if I can't find a better agent, or what if I leave and never work again? And I don't make a habit of going back, because who wants to work with someone who quit on them? Although there is one theatrical agent I return to after leaving, but I'll share that story another time.

Speaker 1:

Prior to signing with my new agent, I experienced a significant disturbance in the order of operations of my previous agent financial problems due to delayed payments of checks. Although they were not stealing from me, my checks were arriving almost two months late. I had a national commercial running all of the Christmas season from November 2022 to January 2023, and it ran fast and furious, but my checks were not coming as expected once the new year started and the old agent was back in their office. Now I had been with them for six years and I knew their process and the timing of how checks were distributed at the top of the year I was initially passive about inquiring about the lateness of the checks. I mean, I trusted that they would send my residual checks as usual once they had received them. As we got into that second month I needed my money and these egregious late check arrivals disadvantaged me because I couldn't include the funds in my gross income tax collections due to the delay.

Speaker 1:

I'm a loan out company. All of my acting income is paid directly to my S-Corp and from there my S-Corp pays me and then the S-Corp reports the earnings to EDD unemployment. So I do all this via my CPA. We do these calculations to meet my business entity tax-required deadlines in December. Reporting the minimum income threshold helps me to qualify for the maximum payment of unemployment, which is $4.50 a week, and I know it's not a lot of money, but still it's enough to supplement an actor's income to have more time to audition instead of working a survival job that's energetically taxing and puts constraints on one's availability to audition more often.

Speaker 1:

Now, if you don't know how unemployment works, it can truly be a saving grace for artists. But now some creators have a misconception that unemployment is like welfare. It is not. Whenever you take a job and you're an employee paid on a W-4 tax form, the company pays into unemployment insurance on your behalf, so you are entitled to that unemployment if you're laid off. Now that's a really broad explanation of how unemployment works, and to better understand it, visit the EDD website in California or the unemployment sites in your state. Long story short, unemployment earnings supplement my income, especially during slow months and when I have revenue from booking jobs or receiving residual checks. I claim those earnings with EDD, which is mandatory to make the allotted six-month term of unemployment earnings last longer. And a disclaimer EDD tracks all of your earnings, so if you falsify claims saying you didn't earn money when you did, you will be flagged for fraud, which comes with problems you really don't want to deal with. So just claim your earnings. It's easier.

Speaker 1:

Now, instead of me accusing my ex-agents of purposely withholding the checks, I gave them the benefit of the doubt and assumed that the checks were lost. Maybe there was an error on the payroll company's end. Now I had yet to learn how many checks were missing. I figured maybe one, two and maybe $4,000 the most. To keep track of my income, I use a spreadsheet, so when I compare the year-to-date column on my last check from the agency to my spreadsheet, I noticed that the year-to-date didn't match. The best thing I could think of was to contact the payroll company. I called them multiple times to request a year-end summary of my earnings, but unfortunately I couldn't get anyone on the phone Now at this time.

Speaker 1:

I had received one check from the agent in January and when I looked at the check, the check was dated December 19, 2022. However, the US post-it stamp date was January 5, 2023. Now I figured maybe the check came in before the agents left for hiatus and then when they came back on the 4th or 5th, that's probably when they put the stamp on. But the postal mark date was January 19, 2023. So I was confused as to why the check, which was presumably cut on 1219, would be mailed out almost actually a month to the date later, on January 19, especially since the agent had returned to the office on January 5th of 2023. So this was giving me anxiety.

Speaker 1:

I had some late payment issues with the agents three years prior and it was right before Christmas break. But I brought it to the attention of one of the owners. Not only did she apologize profusely about the check being late, but she was able to cut a check for me that day that I was able to come and pick up. It was the first time that it had happened. So I can make an allowance for a mishap, because we're humans and computers err. But now this.

Speaker 1:

This was a huge era, but still I wanted to have all of my facts in order before making the inquiry. I emailed the head accountant at the agency. I was used to dealing with her around money and anytime my commercial was released, we had a report. I requested that she send me a year-end summary of my commissions and my earnings, which I do every year, to make sure the math was math. They sent me the summary, and not only was the math not math.

Speaker 1:

There were 12 checks they had listed on the summary that were not in my possession, to the tune of almost $13,000. Ten of those checks were from the months of January 2023, when the agents were back in the office. Two of the checks were missing from October and November of 2022. This was alarming for me. I needed that summary from the payroll company because it would tell me when the checks were sent. Still, I couldn't get anyone on the phone and there was no email address listed on the website. So I reached out to my community of actors and I asked if anyone had a direct contact to the payroll company. Someone did, and they gave me a different link for the site that had not come up in my Google search. I went to the site first and I learned that I already had an account on there. By virtue of being in their payroll system, I was able to pull up my account and listed with every check that had been paid to me over the past ten years.

Speaker 1:

When I looked at the twelve missing checks, my face dropped. My stomach sank. I couldn't believe what I was reading. My account showed the dates of when all twelve checks were cashed. The October and November checks were cashed in those months, but the bulk of the other checks were cashed January 4th and January 13th, and this was February 1st. I had all the proof. I needed to present evidence to the agency that there was presumably a mismanagement of funds. This wasn't time for accusations or to be outwardly emotional or belligerent. After all, this is still a business and computers error. So I still extended the benefit of the doubt to the agency, composing an email detailing the date and amount of the check, the buyer reference number, the agency reference number, the date the check cleared, the advertising agency and the name of the spot. I didn't want there to be any confusion in my claim.

Speaker 1:

I inquired about the missing funds and that they explained their check processing and distribution structure to me. I sent this email to the director of talent payment. Now I know I should have cc'd all of the partners and my agents as well, but I guess I just assumed this is their business, so they should know already. Right? The director of talent payment got back to me immediately offering to reissue the checks. She didn't make any apologies for anything, as that would be an admission of guilt and, like I said, maybe they weren't guilty of anything. What was missing from the email was the explanation of the check processing distribution. So I followed up with an email and asked again. She gave me a broad explanation. But what do I expect? Right? Why would they give me intel on how they do their business?

Speaker 1:

Two days after the email correspondence I received a big pack with most of the checks. But this is where my eyebrow raised, because when agents send me my checks, they also send the original checkstub. If the checks were missing in the mail, I would not receive original checkstubs for the reissue check. I would receive photocopies of the stubs, but this packet of checks had the original checkstubs, which I had to believe the checks had been sitting in their office and I don't know if, maybe because I sent an email, they tried to rush to send them out, but still I just didn't want to believe that there was any malintent on their end. So I assumed perhaps there was a tray of checks sitting in someone's car waiting to be mailed out. Maybe some assistant or some associate or an intern or maybe a new accounting person forgot to press the button to release all the checks.

Speaker 1:

Look, I really didn't want to believe these people were holding my money, okay, but I did wonder if this was an isolated incident. Was it just me? Was it other actors? The director of talent payment didn't seem like it was a big deal and that bothered me also. But what I was most bothered by was my business had been negatively impacted by these delayed checks. As I started thinking about, what would Italian mob bosses or any mob boss do, or any kingpin, drug kingpin, what would they do when the money is funny and I was like you know, they would do more for less, like if you're late with what? $200, you're losing a pinky or a tooth or getting gut punches. So I had a hard decision to make, but I wasn't in the mood to look for a new agent. This whole thing wasn't sitting well with me, but what if this happened again? I mean, we just came out of a quarantine. Streaming and new media has changed the game on residuals. What if this was the beginning of on set financial issues? And if I stayed? I'll look back on this time as, like Tawana, you should have left the what-ifs that I talked about earlier.

Speaker 1:

I was having a conversation with two fellow actors who have been working as long as me and longer than me, actually and I shared what I had just experienced to make sure I wasn't overreacting. It's so helpful to have a community of working actors to share information with and to support one another. One of many things I am thankful for is the community of great actors that I have, because, look, sometimes I take things out of context and I need a second ear to hear what I may not have heard, and occasionally I learn that I am not the only one dealing with an issue with an agent or a casting director or the industry at large. When you've been in this industry for as long as I have, or longer, you easily recognize the actors who are unwilling to share information or who act out of self-interest, trying to get as much information from you but never reciprocating value. I really believe reciprocity is essential in all relationships and I'm good at eliminating the crab and the barrel types. I'm so grateful for my community of savvy actors. I know it keeps saying that, but it's true. I appreciate them.

Speaker 1:

So during my discussion with both of these actors, they expressed their past experiences and concerns about the issue I had encountered with the mishandling of money. They highlighted some potential negative impact that could affect my career in the future, which helped me to realize the seriousness of the situation. They reminded me of the mandatory 14-day check disbursement agents are supposed to follow. One of the actors was so annoyed with what I had experienced that she said look, tawana, no pressure, but if you're considering changing agents, I'd be happy to refer you to my agent for a meeting. Damn, yeah, I have a problem here. Somebody else is seeing it way clearer than I.

Speaker 1:

Am my first acting teacher in LA, stuart K Robinson, the CEO of BBR. He advised me way back in 2005 to always take a meeting if offered, because there's always something to learn and it's good to connect with someone I may not have access to prior, and I've never forgotten that advice. But let me backtrack for a moment. I had considered leaving the ex-agent before this referral was given to me and there was only one office that I was considering, because I have been hearing great things about them for my entire 18 years living in Los Angeles and I knew a lot of their actors and most of them work often. But I needed to go deeper and to researching them and it wouldn't make sense to only consider one office if I wasn't prepared to start the whole representation race. I asked my fellow actor who their agent was. It was the same agency, the one, the sole agency that I was considering. That to me is serendipitous. That to me is fate. I accepted her referral to meet with the agents if they were interested.

Speaker 1:

The thing about receiving referrals, especially one that I didn't ask for is meaningful to me because it's a great honor. It shows that the person who's referring me or wanting to refer me, or has faith in my abilities and respects me as a professional. Wise actors are very careful about referring other actors to their agents. I'm very careful about referring other actors to my agents because not all actors have the temperament, the business acumen or even the talent to maintain a healthy relationship with agents, which can reflect poorly on a person who is referring them. And a little advice between me and you Don't refer just any actor to your agent. Pay attention to how that person operates. Ask them questions on how they work with their agents, how they communicate with their agents. Do they expect their agents to do everything? Do they think that their agent works for them? Well, the agent doesn't really kind of work for us. They actually work for the agency, but we are clients and they do help us to move the needle forward.

Speaker 1:

Anyway, but I digress, my fellow actor friend sent my materials to her agents to see if there was any interest. The following day she got back to me and informed me that her agents were interested in meeting with me. So I contacted them as requested and we set up a meeting via Zoom. Then I got nervous. I thought, oh gosh, like what do I say regarding the so why are you leaving? Question? I mean, look, I know not to badmouth anyone because, look, both of those agents could be friends, but also I don't want to defame anyone's name. La is a litigious town and I'd rather watch courtroom drama on TV than it be in my life. So I decided that I would broadly state the truth.

Speaker 1:

When I connected with the two agents on Zoom, I appreciated their friendly, welcoming attitude. They didn't seem distant and formal like my previous agent, who were more corporate executive types. We chatted about our mutual acquaintance with the fellow actor who referred me, exchanged pleasantries and then got down to business. Agent 1 explained that if I were looking for more auditions, their agency was probably on par with my previous one. I let her know that that wasn't the reason why I was leaving. I acknowledged that there was a decline in union jobs due to concerns about non-union work, but I also knew that there were other factors at play. I shared my recent achievement of receiving a certificate from a renowned media program and that I learned advertising agencies were either establishing new media departments or redistributing more than 50% of their budgeted funds to social media departments. I elaborated on how this information gave me a better understanding of the current market and the traditional marketing, such as national commercials, and how it was going to continue to decline.

Speaker 1:

Both of the agents appeared impressed that I was watching the market in a way that they may not be aware of and, additionally, I didn't approach them with any complaints about wanting more auditions. That's not what I was there for. I was looking for a trusted home with a proven track record in the industry, people who represent commercial actors whose work I admire, who are innovative and open-minded, believing in limitless possibilities and recognize the value that I can bring as a national Class A contract actor. Ultimately, I was looking for a strategic commercial agent who loves what they do and a soft place to land that would make sure that I continue to audition for the roles that suit me. And then the question came so if it's not more auditions you're looking for, then why are you leaving? I simply said because of a mishandling of funds. They looked uncomfortable and I'm sure they knew who I was repped by. I mean, it was still on my IMDB page at the time, but I didn't go into full detail. I explained that it had all been remedied and whether it was unintentional. It left a bad taste in my mouth. They understood and we moved on.

Speaker 1:

They told me about their office and then they said we don't have anybody like you, tuana. We're a boutique agency on purpose, because it allows us to have a better handle on getting our clients opportunities, and that really spoke to me. I'm older. When the older you get in Hollywood, especially when you're a woman, especially when you're a black woman, the opportunities can start to dwindle. So I really liked the idea of being represented by a warm or smaller office.

Speaker 1:

They made an offer to represent me and I knew immediately that I was going to work with them. I accepted their offer and I let them know I was out of contract and I had to go through the proper protocol to terminate the old agent. And once we entered the call, I typed up a proper email to the soon to be ex-agent and I sent it certified mail that day. Then I sent them an email to let them know that I was leaving, so they wouldn't be really taken by surprise by a cold letter. Instead they were getting the cold email. Here's the letter that I wrote Dear agents there are three of them I have decided to move on from your agency.

Speaker 1:

As I understand, the termination clause in our agreement states that either of us may terminate the relationship after four years of vacant job offers. I am choosing to do so with immediate effect. I sincerely appreciate the success we've enjoyed over the past six years, but recent events of late payments of funds disadvantage my business for the 2022 tax year. Still uncertain as to what transpired and what caused almost $13,000 to take over 60 days to pay out in February. Although the checks cleared on your end in early December, it is no longer mutually beneficial for me to continue partnership with your agency For the contract. I will send this letter via certified mail for your records. Thank you very much for all of your work on my behalf over the last six years. I know you worked diligently and I very much appreciate each of you, and I will make sure that any future commissions for work you helped me procure are paid to you. Thank you again and all the best to WanaFloid.

Speaker 1:

I won't read their response, but it was very kind. They were saddened that I had wished to leave, but understood why, and they wished that they had the opportunity to work this through Because, as I said before, I hadn't CC the owners or the agents on all of the correspondence that I've had with the director of talent payment and if I had to do this all over again and I hope that I don't I'll be sure to make sure everyone is aware. They called me a class act from the start and how they were proud to represent me. I keep saying they. While there were three agents, this email came from one person representing all three. Ugh, such a gut punch. You know, I didn't know that. They thought that I was a class act and I was again wondering did I make the wrong decision? But the offer to be repped by a new agent was so easy and effortless and it was the one agency that I was looking for and I really love the idea of being repped by a smaller agency who is equally as competitive in the commercial business with no one like me. So, yeah, I think I made the right decision. And then I got the sign that told me I definitely did.

Speaker 1:

When I saw that one of the agents not the one who wrote the letter, who I thought I was cool with unfollowed me on Instagram, I said beeeeeeeeh Like, really. And the reason why I know that is because I have an unfollowing app on my phone, so I know when people unfollow me right away, and that, to me, spoke volumes why the need to unfollow me on Instagram Doesn't matter. It was great while it lasted. But if any agency is making it mandatory to accept checks on my behalf and just so we all know that is not even a law, it's an agreement the very least they can do is make sure that they pay me on time. This happened at the top of the year I believe it was the end of February and the reason why I'm even talking about it now because I wasn't going to share this story. But the other day I was at an audition and ran into a colleague who is also with my new agent and she was welcoming me. She asked me why I had left the other agency, who I had left, and I told her and she immediately said oh, were they withholding your money too? It's almost like a movie when you're watching the whole thing and you're really believing that everybody is upright and upstanding, and then you get to the end and find out that they weren't. Now, this is hearsay. I recognize that, but I have a hard time believing this was an isolated incident. I like my new agency. I had my first avail with them this past week. I'm still hearing great things about the agency from my peers and they have been welcoming me, sending me Facebook messages. Hey, I hear you're over here now. Welcome, you're going to love it here.

Speaker 1:

It's not easy making the decision to leave an agency. I say this all the time, I'm going to continue to say it and sometimes it's really hard to discern if something bad is happening or if it's just a clerical era. But this was such a harsh mishap that I just couldn't ignore it. And because I'm an S corp now I have to treat everything as if my business is my child, in a way that I've never treated my business before. Having those checks be delayed as long as they were for the amount that they were really put me in a place where now, here it is, in 2023, I'm not even going to file for unemployment because I don't have enough funds to make the maximum and it just doesn't make sense to do so now. But here we are in a strike and I really could use that supplemental income. So I'm very glad that I decided to leave. I hope this story was helpful for you. I will never tell anybody how to run their business, even though I say you should do that, but the truth is the decision is up for us to make, and so if there's any time that you feel like something is not right in your gut, the way I did, really examine that and figure out what works best for you.

Speaker 1:

Thank you for listening. That is the end of Acting Lessons Learned, episode 130. And hey, if you'll do me a favor, would you please either rate this podcast five stars or leave a kind review. Acting Lessons Learned is written, directed, produced, edited and marketed by Tuatahaloid me. I do all the things. If you like what I do here and you want to buy me a coffee, please do so. The link is in the description, along with my Instagram and my TikTok and YouTube. I'll be back in two weeks and we'll talk again, or I'll talk to you and you'll be listening, but you'll probably be talking to me in the car or something when you hear me speaking. Anyway, be well, just stay in good spirits. Bye.

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Tiwana Floyd

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