ModelManagement.com, the digital marketplace for models, talents, and influencers built on the principles of transparency, trust, and safety, has announced a strategic partnership with Deel, a global payroll and compliance service provider. The partnership is geared towards bringing on-time payments to models around the world, marking a significant shift in the fashion industry, enabling models to get paid on their own terms.
Deel enables businesses to hire in a compliant manner, with hiring and onboarding international employees or contractors taking less than five minutes, with no local entity required. Businesses can quickly pay their teams in more than 120 currencies with just a click. This month, Deel raised $425 million in Series D funding at a $5.5 billion valuation.
ModelManagement.com said it is used by more than one million models and influencers worldwide. Also accessing the platform are 50,000 brands along with agencies and photographers. The site hosts more than 10 million model images.
ModelManagement.com CEO Andreas von Estorff has more than two decades of experience in the industry. He said he is passionate about leading the digital transformation of the modeling world, while leveraging innovations in artificial intelligence and blockchain technology to help models and their clients manage their image rights and payments with a greater sense of confidence and clarity.
Those searching for modeling talent can enter their search parameters and receive a list of people fitting the bill. They can also provide the terms and conditions of the job for models to review. Once agreed upon the terms are written into a smart contract and signed by both parties.
To date, ModelManagement.com has raised $2 million USD via seed and angel investments and is set to close its Series A round later this year.
“For too long, models across the entire industry spectrum – from newcomers to seasoned pros – have had to confront the harsh reality of protracted payment delays, and even non-payments pending completion of projects,” von Estorff said. “The partnership between ModelManagement.com and Deel is geared towards addressing this systemic industry pain point, and our teams are firmly aligned on a common mission to expedite payments for new swathes of industry participants.”
“On top of ensuring that models get paid on time, this partnership also gives the models the opportunity to get paid in the currency of their choice from USD to Bitcoin, a flexibility that is first in the industry,” said Alex Bouaziz, CEO of Deel.