T

5 Messages

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124 Points

Tuesday, April 6th, 2021 7:48 PM

2

TA & TM Representation history for Credits

IMDb is a tool that is promoted as "industry wide" resource but there is currently a pretty significant gap in the tool related to a major  industry role "Representation".  Currently, when representation is changed, removed, etc - so does the credit associated to that booking/production as it related to the talent agent and managers that worked the booking. 

Why is this important?  There is a TON of work that is done by those who are Talent Agents and Managers in the business regardless if they rep a cast or crew member. Those in those roles also take pride in their credits (as would an actor or Director etc.) This portal is a go to that not only is a resume for entertainers and creators but those that manage them and actively put a lot of work effort behind the scenes. 

Example/Problem scenario: Actor John Doe was rep'd by ABC Agency when he booked that hot series on a network and worked 75 episodes.  Then 5 years later she/he will change agent representation and or manager and the new one appears on the actor's page as not only a current contact but the actor page shows ZERO history as to whom they were repped by during the progression of their careers. That one change now erased all of the work behind that booking done by the TM/TA as if they never had credit for rep'ing for that booking.

If you take a look at this scenario using a bigger picture - IMDb is not only a resource and central repository of benefits that is for actors and production but it is also seen as a record and link to support the TM/TA side of this business too.  Something so minor is actually a topic of contention in a way because a TM/TA should ideally get the credit they deserve.  It also stops someone from trying to impact the TM/TA business in a negative way by eliminating all the hard work when there is a parting of ways.

How do we achieve this?  An actor credit on their page should have a link to who "at the time & while working the job" was representing them in those roles (agent/manager) and should they change "current" rep. This should not be editable or hidden but something that an agent/manager - from their own "paid for" pages should be able to "claim" so it is managed by them, not the actual talent. This supports "their" side of the bigger picture which is ultimately, as I state above, a professional business gap.

UPDATE:  I should probably add that the linkage is also to keep linking to articles in tact too. You cannot do this from a general "About Me" bio free form text field in this platform. 

10.6K Messages

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225.3K Points

3 years ago

This is an interesting idea. The IMDb site authorities won't post a response here, but they may (in the distant future) order an upgrade of the IMDbPro system so as to remedy the concerns presented here for the sake of all talent representatives who utilize IMDbPro's facilities. Hopefully the implementation would be easy, but it may not be; a difference which would impact how long it would take to produce more suitable accommodation.

5 Messages

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124 Points

Thank you for the reply.  Understood.  I attended a round table discussion and in attendance was a member of the IMDb development/PS team. We spoke about the platform and limitations/capabilities. There may be a way to introduce this enhancement should it garner enough industry interest by parties impacted. My understanding is that they recognized it as a gap for one of the super users of the platform.  It seemed to be positively received. We will see. I think it would resolve a lot of things and bring some processes full circle.

 Thank you for your input!