The Better Business Bureau has warned consumers for years about talent search firms whose primary goal is to collect money from would-be models, singers or movie stars. Some talent search businesses are mostly interested in taking financial advantage of the ambitions of people seeking to become a star, and not-so-much interested in identifying talent or advancing the career of the people who audition or try out.
Along this line, the Better Business Bureau serving Louisville, Southern Indiana and Western Kentucky is receiving inquiries about a Louisville-based business operating as The Next Star 2010. This talent search business operates a website at www.thenextstar2010.com. Telephone numbers listed on the website are 502-472-6750 and 502-297-2490, and the address listed is P. O. Box 99704, Louisville, KY 40269.
A consumer inquiry received on March 10, 2010 stated, "My daughter auditioned for (The Next Star 2010). She was accepted for the next round...providing she bought 10 tickets for $30 each." The consumer noted that the only address listed for the business is a P. O. Box. She stated that this fact, coupled with the request for the sale of $300 worth of tickets in order to advance to the next round in competition, caused her to question whether this is a legitimate talent search business or a scam.
Following is information about this business that anyone considering participating in the auditions may wish to consider:
· The request to purchase 10 tickets at $30 each, or $300 up front, to “advance to the next round” is a huge red flag. The company's position is that this charge is justified in order to cover the cost of the Nashville event on April 3 where second-round auditions will be conducted and those who made it past the first round will have an opportunity to perform in front of their family and friends.
· The website is a “private registration” hosted on a server in Pennsylvania, meaning that information about who established the website is hidden. In BBB experience, a "private registration" is rarely used by an established, trustworthy business.
· The Better Business Bureau called the phone number listed on the website as the Information Line, 502-267-2490. The phone was answered by a man identifying himself as Jay Davis, who said that he has been in the promotion business for many years. He identified his primary business as Old School Entertainment and advised the BBB that this business is located in Florida. When asked for an address, he declined to provide an address. While on the phone with Mr. Davis, the Better Business Bureau located the website, www.oldschoolentertainment.com, which lists a P. O. Box address in Framingham, MA. When asked whether this is the same "Old School Entertainment" that he mentioned, Mr. Davis stated that this website is operated by his business.
· The website www.thenextstar2010.com has no “About Us” page or privacy policy, and contains no business history or other indicia that this talent search is sponsored by an established, trustworthy business.
· The phone numbers listed on the website: 502-472-6750 is a cell phone number and 502-297-2490 is shown on whitepages.com as an “unlisted number.” The e-mail address listed on the website is Thenextstar2010@gmail.com. There are legitimate reasons that a business may choose to list a cell phone number use an unlisted number, or to use a free public e-mail address. However, established businesses will rarely use a cell phone as a primary phone number, have an unlisted phone number, or use free public e-mail address such as this one, whereas businesses that might be considered "fly by night" operations frequently do.
The Better Business Bureau and the Federal Trade Commission have issued general advice related to modeling scams. The information and advice in this article would be equally applicable to a business such as The Next Star 2010. Go to http://www.bbb.org/us/article/4868 to see this article. For more information call 1-800-388-2222.