I checked out the link that melody polo-klein posted in her comment above and in her defense, it genuinely looks like talent 6 provides a positive experience and it appears that they have a news item that proves it...
Don’t believe me? have a look again; i'll wait...
Http://www.prweb.com/releases/2009/04/prweb2365304.htm
Back so soon? okay, now look closely...
‘anything strike you as being “interesting”? or perhaps “fishy”
It should.
To borrow part of a quip from ricky ricardo of “I love lucy”-fame allow me to “eh-splain”.
Here's a link to a news item off google news;
Http://www.timesheraldonline.com/news/ci_13238150
You will notice;
1.) the name of the business at the top of the page
2.) the reporter's name & date at the top of the article, and…
3.) at the bottom, the contact information of the staff writer
These three items are what make news accountable. this is reputable reporting and it’s from a small paper in a small town about a significantly smaller story about a much much smaller building.
If you go back to the link, which “what’s-her-face” so conveniently provided for us…do you see a reporter’s name, date, and contact information?
Nope.
Here, i’ll help….
Http://www.talent6.com/portfolio.php?menu_view=viewportfolio&view=761194
“wait, that’s melody!” I hear you say in a confused tone. indeed that is she. I found that on google too!
I suspect that someone at talent 6 wrote that “news” item…but fist some information about the item itself.
Look, one more time, at the web address provided. I know it’s exhausting, but not as exhausting as the run around that talent 6 provides by hiding monthly fees and not allowing any refund until 90 days later
…and i’ll get back to that…
About the link – you’ll notice that the domain is a place called “prweb” dot-com and not an actual news agency with staff writers. it is, in short a fake news feed service. and I can get away with saying this because in their terms of service, they actually state it, (but not in those words);
“prweb is a newswire service which distributes press releases on behalf of our users” (interpretation is everything)
It’s painfully obvious that talent 6 is a user. no i’m not saying they’re on drugs, but anyone would have to be to hop into bed with them - and by the colorful colloquialism, you can bet that as with anyone you’d want to get into bed with, I mean to say that you should get educated first. (in laymans terms, (pardon the expression), read the fine print. it is also obvious they are a user of that service by the two blatantly-placed ads, (cough-propaganda-cough), on that page.
Now, I mentioned that I suspected that someone at talent 6 wrote that new item. I have no way of knowing for sure, because prweb’s policy states;
“prweb takes privacy seriously. as a pioneer of online visibility and search engine optimized press release distribution services, we are committed to establishing and maintaining policies and procedures which protect the privacy of personal information gathered from our customers, prospects and other visitors to our website.”
All that legalese pretty much translates to the fact that they don’t provide the information on who wrote the “news” unless it’s provided in the text of the “news” itself.
At this junction, i’d like to announce, officially, that I am, in now way, shape or form, (wonder twin powers active!), flaming prweb. they do provide a useful service to businesses and if I had need of their services, I very well may pay for it. yes, they charge. they’re a business too. makes sense.
Http://www.prweb.com/pr/press-release-price.html
See? prweb, i’m not flaming you. i’m advertising - I just provided your price sheet.
In fact I find their informational and quirky video-link which explains their process to be quite entertaining! kudos to the production team over there at prweb!
Http://www.prweb.com/pr/prweb-in-plain-english.html?utm_source=prweb&utm_medium=video&utm_campaign=pg_fp
But…and that’s a big but…talent 6 stooped to releasing a fake news item in an attempt to defend themselves against the truth. and yes, they've pulled your leg so hard that you can stand level on a steep grade, now.
*anyone* can get a free account through prweb dot-com and make themselves “appear” reputable on the surface.
Http://www.prweb.com/pr/get-started.php (your welcome prweb)
I say “on the surface” because I just found this little ditty authored by “nykea26” over on measured up dot com;
I haven't had much time to take the opportunity to set up my account with talent6 as I thought I would be when I sign up for it. I paid my membership fee of 45.00. I wasn't aware or I just missed the fact that they charge a service for of 19.98 each month. being as which I don't use the service due to my job and children I decided to cancel my membership. I was told that I would have to wait 90days before I could receive a refund. when I asked about the 19.98 service charge would that be refunded also and the guy I spoke with said yes. the time came for me to call back for my refund I spoke with melody and she was the rudest person I ever talked with. now I am a customer service rep and there’s no way melody should have talked to me the way she did. and as far as my refund she didn't verify any info to make sure it was correct. I called back to speak with the manager moe which was just as rude as she was so I guess she was trained to be rude. he took his employee’s side 100% and never acknowledged my frustration. and to be honest I don't know if their going to give me my money back. but fair is fair and policies are policies I am determine to get my money back so if your interested to and action or modeling agency don't try talent6
And like a reputable news agency would report – here’s the link - http://www.measuredup.com/review/refund-2030
It doesn’t stop there either, someone called “pumpkin” commented on his post by saying the following;
I call ones this company and on the pfone was woman who ask me many times for my credit card number. when I told her that I am not comfortable to give my card number she continew to say:don't worry go grab your card. and I never call again. I never call them back.
Sure, he has issues with spelling but you get his drift.
Now, it wouldn’t be fair of me to omit any positive outlook on talent 6 so I give you dara’s outlook from measured up dot-com.
Talent6 is one of the premeire talent casting agencies period. just do a google for "talent6 & la ink" or "talent6 & biggest loser" or "talent6 & prison break" or talent and just about any major reality tv production including big brother, survivor, and will be assisting with american idol next season. I highly doubt kat vod d or biggest loser would use them as an exclusive source for contestants if they were not legit. don't take my word for it, look yourself on google. t6 has over 1.3 million members and hands down is the largest talent database period. with that many members you can always expect a certain number of people that do not understand what talent6 is and fire off a [redacted] expecting steven spielberg to call two days after joining. best bet is to research it out completely, but talent6 is a legit company and if you take a proactive approach and use the tools, you will be successful.
~dara~
Talent6
3 year part time member
16 gigs so far
Link - http://www.measuredup.com/review/talent6-does-work-12712
Oh, i’m sorry, she works there. ‘not exactly non-bias, it is? and not exactly spell-checked either, is it, dara? fyi, it’s “premiere” not “premeire”.
But, yes, I agree with her, if you take a pro-active approach to anything, you will be successful. for instance, I took a proactive approach in revealing what real people think of their bait-and-switch practice. as “nykea26” mentioned, “they charge a service for of 19.98 each month”, so watch out!
Now, why have I ranted on about talent 6?
Being unemployed, I thought that I could do this whole “extras” work because I know they pay well. I fell into that work in my past and not only is it fun, it has the potential for paying for dinner and gas…you just about break even for the day if you get a gig. so, I was two-digits away from finishing dialing their number and that little voice in the back of my head shouted at me. loudly. to be honest, it sounded like my wife. I fell back on my skepticism, bolstered by the confidence that if I didn’t i’d get what-for from my aforementioned wife, and as it turns out, i’m glad I did.
After writing this comment, I actually called the 800 number listed and let the n00b read his little script, (poorly), and I let him explain that extras make anywhere from $100.00 to $300.00 a day and continued to inform me that there was a $45.00 fee for setting up an online profile (just like melody’s, above).
He, then, became persistent in asking me for my “information”, (probably because he’s working off a commission). I asked about payment methods and hem very quickly mentioned “credit/debit card” before getting back on the “getting my information” bandwagon. I had to pretty much use a crowbar and high explosives to get him to admit that there was an additional $19.95 monthly fee that would be charged to my credit card to access the information you’d need to get the listings for extras work “in my area”. and let’s be honest – where I live isn’t exactly where moviemakers come to film.
I told him that in light of not being able to get a refund for 90 days, and in light of the fact that he wasn’t up-front with the hidden monthly fees, I wasn’t interested and hung up.
And just when I thought I was finished writing this, I did some more digging to discover that talent 6 considers it common practice to go to craigslist.org and steal postings and post them on the “list” that costs $19.95 a month…. the hidden fee for a free bit of information.
Don’t believe me? check out what kathy williamson writes on complaints board dot-com ;
I am coming from the other side, as a talent seeker. I posted an ad on craigslist looking to hire a vocalist to sing 2 songs in a masonic hall in rural maine. talent6 got my email address from the ad and sent me a spam claiming that I have an account with them. they re-posted my craigslist ad on their site, assigned me a user name and password and told me i'd have to log in if I want my ad removed from their site. I have reported them to craigslist and to my state attorney general and I urge you to do the same.
Link -
For every one of these posts, it seems that a representative from take 6 mysteriously posts the companies definition, their goals, their values and all that other marketing mumbo jumbo in a feeble attempt to make themselves appear legit. legit is one thing, but reputable is quite another. quite honestly, any company who has to back paddle this much has something to be embarrassed about.
Before I go I will leave you with this gem from a man simply called “michael”, (found on the same page as kathy’s post above). it’s men like this i’d surround myself with if I ever went into business for myself because he’d not only slap the stupid off me on a regular basis in efforts to make my business grow, he’d likely do worse to anyone trying to scam me as hard as talent 6;
Now, after reading all of this messages and from other complaint links in support of talent6 the question is: who of you works for and is being paid by such company to post this messages in support trying to cover up the crap these companies really offer, I mean, people! dont be fooled!.. 0ut of all the thousands or perhaps millions of you who pay for this services I bet only about 5 % are lucky to get a job in the entertainment industry, every one else's money is being invested and maybe refunded after the 3 months, but not before producing interests or gains for the company, so in less words, your money is being used to run other business while you're waiting for your phone to ring, this is what many other companies do, like those who offer you to work from home for them, they always ask you for a deposit that will supposedly cover for the first kit package costs, you pay for it, and soon after you receive a package with a head ache in it that will last you for at least a week, your money is gone and there is no one to tell you where it is, they work or hold every one’s money in their banks for 3 months earning interests before agreeing to refund it generating thousands of dollars in gains for their own. the best thing to do is to search for yourself and contact the entertainment companies directly, there's plenty of information always about castings and openings with some of the most popular ones online or through the news channel's web pages. and learn something, any one who asks you for money in advance for uncertain or questionable services is allways a thief! pay only to those who are showing you, or walking you to the product physically.
In closing, it is my sincere hope that anyone who reads this will also think twice, or three times before jumping two feet first into anything that sounds too good to be true. follow good old noggin-slapping michael and get educated.
Thanks for reading and I hope your job search goes better than mine.
Oh and one more thing – any reputable talent source out there doesn’t charge for their services.
Shame on you talent “666”
