Mother Agency
The agency that originally signed and developed a model. The mother agency typically takes a smaller percentage of every job for the model's whole career, even when other agencies book the work in different markets.
What it means in practice
Mother agencies place models with main agencies in other cities — New York, Milan, Paris, Tokyo. They earn 5–10% commission from all placements. They manage overall career direction and tend to hold the longest relationship with the model. In Western markets the mother-agency cut usually comes out of the local agency's 20%, so the model's take doesn't change. In Asian markets the mother-agency 10–15% may be charged on top — meaning the model loses 30–35% total commission.
How it affects what you get paid
Knowing where commission is taken — once or twice — is the difference between getting paid 80% of gross and 65–70%. Read the contract. Ask the agency to walk through commission flow on a sample job. Mother agencies aren't a problem; opaque commission structures are.
Related terms
See also
Researched by Bec. Last updated 2026-05-02.
