Porn Valley- On KSEX’s Two Live Jew Show which he co-hosts with Daphne Rosen on Thursday nights, Harry Weiss got into the issue of agents in the adult industry. Weiss, in fact, is one himself. Whether he was addressing comments made earlier by Ric Williams on the Internet, Weiss wasn’t saying. But Williams posted something about industry agents on the website, www.pornstarperformance.com.
“In this industry there’s a lot- and I don’t know if they’re too bright or just don’t know what they’re talking about- licenses and agencies,” Weiss remarked. “There’s a lot of talk and I just want to set the record straight because there’s a lot of confusion out there. People are just confused.
“The whole licensing of agencies was to help and protect the mainstream actor,” said Weiss. “However, now it’s the we need to do this in porn thing: if you’re not licensed, blah-blah-blah. All you have to do to obtain a license is to fill in an application and post a bond. There’s no test. You’re not measured on your ability to do a good job. So there are licensed agents and agencies out there in porn but that doesn’t mean they’re able to do a good job. It doesn’t mean they’re honest. It doesn’t mean that they’re going to follow correct labor policy, labor board procedures. Not even if they treat people nice. None of it.
“Here’s the way it works,” Weiss continued. “What the license does is just help the agent, because being licensed allows you to make sure that the producer pays the fee- not to the talent- but to the agent. So what happens is your agent can decide to take you money, your check- they cash the check and then decide what percentage they’ve earned and give you the rest. That’s the only thing a license is doing in helping the agent. It doesn’t protect you. It doesn’t get you more work. It doesn’t negotiate a better deal or contract for you. It’s just the way it is. It doesn’t make a legitimate thing at all. If they’re out there and they’re incompetent, they’re still going to be incompetent. You’re still going to get shit out of it, representation-wise.”
Another important thing to remember, Weiss stressed, is that talent doesn’t work for the agency.
“The way I see it- me personally- is that you work together,” said Weiss. “It’s a partnership.” Weiss illustrated by saying that while he represents Rosen, she’s out there representing him.
“She goes out there, she doesn’t do the job, she’s not prepared, it reflects on me. And I lose, in general, work,” Weiss added. “People when they know me and have the trust in me and know my people are prepared and on time, when I say Daphne will be there on time, they don’t worry that Daphne’s going to show up on time.”
Rosen added comments to say that a lot of times women in the industry are seen as a “piece of meat” that get thrown around from one thing to another.
“And everybody else controls the woman.”