Talent holding deal (sometimes spelled ''Talent-holding deal'') is a
contract between an entertainer or artist and a representing
agency
Agency may refer to:
Organizations
* Institution, governmental or others
** Advertising agency or marketing agency, a service business dedicated to creating, planning and handling advertising for its clients
** Employment agency, a business that ...
, valid while the agency is developing a movie, television program, live performance act, album or other entertainment venue for an artist. In this context, the "agency" may actually be a television network, music or movie production company, or an individual agent. It is a type of
retainer agreement in that the artist is compensated for work yet to be determined. The deals usually require exclusivity for a fixed period of time, in which the entertainer agrees to not sign or work with any other agencies during the period of the contract.
Uses and examples
There are a variety of reasons for an entertainer and an agency to enter this type of contract. Some examples include:
*
Vanessa Williams signed a talent holding deal with
ABC after coming off two successful consecutive television programs on the same network, ''
Ugly Betty'' and ''
Desperate Housewives
''Desperate Housewives'' is an American comedy-drama soap opera television series created by Marc Cherry and produced by ABC Studios and Marc Cherry, Cherry Productions. It aired for eight seasons on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from Octobe ...
''. The deal allowed ABC to keep an exclusive working relationship with Williams while they created a new show for her, while she was in between starring roles in their productions.
*
Diane Keaton had maintained a talent holding deal with HBO after a failed pilot for ''Tilda'', for work in future undetermined programs. allowing the network to maintain a relationship after failing previously to get her program broadcast.
* A talent holding deal may also be used as a prize for a contest, such as when
NBC held its ''Stand Up For Diversity Talent Search'', awarding the contract well in advance of developing a broadcast show or medium for the winner of the contest.
* Another use is when a network wants to recruit talent from a different network but doesn't have a specific show or program to offer the entertainer. An example is
Corey Reynolds, who had spent the past seven seasons portraying Sgt. David Gabriel in the drama ''
The Closer'', a program on
TNT. He was offered the chance to continue the role in
spin-off
Spin-off may refer to:
*Spin-off (media), a media work derived from an existing work
*Corporate spin-off, a type of corporate action that forms a new company or entity
* Government spin-off, civilian goods which are the result of military or gove ...
series ''
Major Crimes'' with costar
Mary McDonnell by TNT, but NBC was able to convince him by the offer of a talent holding deal.
Corey Reynolds Signs Talent Deal With NBC, Won’t Join ‘The Closer’ Spinoff On TNT
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* In her quasi-reality dramedy, " Fat Actress", Kirsty Alley signed a Talent holding deal with NBC while she tries to lose weight.
References
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Contract law