Industry Night

I went to a party tonight that one of my agents was throwing. I felt a little like a party crasher, because it was really intended for the exclusives, and right now I'm still a two-agent guy. Which is a big improvement from the old days. Now I'm just a bigamist. When I started I was a total polygamist -- I had 7 agents at the very beginning! Nuts.

Anyway, it was very cool of them to invite me. It's funny how these things go. I was conflicted for a long time over going exclusive. Two agencies wanted me and I had a hard time deciding. One had been with me from the start, consistent over a number of years. The other had also been with me from the beginning, but suddenly they came from out of nowhere and were working their asses off for me and getting me lots and lots of stuff.

And it all comes down to my very latest piece of advice when people ask me about agents. There's a huge distinction between agents and agencies. Agents come and go (and, in fact, some agencies come and go), so you really have to know whether the great (or poor) service you're getting is because of your agency or your particular agent.

It's important, because this other agency that came on strong? The agent who was responsible for that -- she was very highly regarded around town, I loved the hell out of her, she would even give me hugs when I came into the office. But she's gone. And it's very different now.

So going exclusive can be a risk in that regard. Still, it was nice hanging with the ladies (and 99% of the agents are ladies) tonight. Definite food for thought.