Could
you key our readers in on MAO's history?
The
company started in June 1999. It's four and a half years old.
My business partner and I started together at university and
got our degree in business. I always wanted to work with artists
and photographers-to be a link between the creative side and
the market- but I never knew how to implement that concept until
the opportunity for the company came up. In Europe at the time
the idea of agenting was not that evolved. Now it is. But at
that particular time it was not a developed business.
Really! What was happening? Photographers were just winging it
as they went along?
Or using business managers.
Europe didn't have this established idea of having an agent the
way it was standard in the United States. Europe is still very
fragmented, still very localized even though people talk about
a common market. Every market is its own different language-not
only in terms of the spoken language-but even in the way business
is done. It involves different ways of talking with clients,
different styles of negotiation. But going back to MAO's background.
I got a job offer, came to NY, worked with another agency for
two years before starting this business. And the reason we opened
this business was because we felt the old idea of agenting photographers
as it was done in the 80's and 90's was over. We thought it was
important to define where you are now-in terms of career - and
where you want to be in 2 years, in five years. And this is true
too, for your relationships with the clients. That's what the
agent does…understanding what the client's needs are,
understanding where the client is coming from. What is their history?
What are the roots of their aesthetic? Then you communicate all
that with the photographers so they can create the right picture
for the brand… for the product without pushing it too much. Otherwise
you could lose the clients and thus go backwards. Strong agenting
is not just about fielding a phone call for a photographer.
Photos: Steven Klein for McQueen
On
the reverse of this, do you find that you have to help
corporate clients understand the photographers and their
creative process?
The process of making a picture can be more difficult that
might be presumed. Fortunately the level of the agency is
such that we don't really get a client who has to be educated
from scratch. The clients we have understand the language
of fashion and image-making.
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"It's about giving the artists management …setting up goals for their career…their creative goals, their financial goals and then moving them into branding" |
We're speaking a lot in terms of photographers but MAO also represents
other talent.
We represent photographers, we represent
creative directors. We also started a separate section that reps
stylists and very recently, hair and make-up artists as well.
Knowing the way other agencies work, from the beginning we put
a lot of effort into structuring the organization. We started
that new section here in NY in June 2003. In September we started
the office in Paris. It was a lot of work…hiring the right people,
giving them direction but it was definitely worthwhile. We represent
our talent worldwide. We have a really great team in place here
and in Paris. We have 2 other agents we work with, one is in
Italy and another is in Germany.
London is covered from Paris?
Exactly.
What would you say was the prime inspiration behind
the formation of MAO?
I wanted to create an agency that would be different from the
others in terms of the servicing, both in terms of the artists
and the clients. With the artists, it's obvious that a strong agent
negotiates the best rates he can for his artists. But what more,
what beyond that can you provide? It's about giving the artists
management …setting up goals for their career…their creative goals,
their financial goals and then moving them into branding. There
are certain photographers who at a certain point in their career,
whom I really believe can go in that direction. You can enlarge
the name of the photographer to beyond the classic fashion circle
to a wider spectrum. 
Photos: Stéphane Sednaoui
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