Examining the Entertainment Career Connection “Scam”
We’ve all heard the statement, “If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.” This is good advice overall—provided that whatever you’re talking about really is too good to be true. Sometimes, however, something seems too good to be true, simply because it operates on different parameters than other things that are out there. In those cases, skeptics can label it a scam prematurely—as has sometimes been alleged of a company called The Entertainment Connection. Let’s examine this company a bit, and try to discern whether there is an Entertainment Career Connection scam.
This particular company has been in business for 25 years, and claims to be able to help people get an education (and subsequently, a career) in the film, radio and recording industries. It presents itself as a school, and is, in fact, fully accredited as such. All of this seems normal; what raises red flags is the cost. The Entertainment Connection charges remarkably less for its service than its competitor schools—in some cases almost 90 percent less. Because of this low rate, when a misunderstanding arises with a customer/student (as happens in any business), any cry of “foul” raises more suspicion that perhaps it is “too good to be true”—that it might be a scam.
However, Entertainment Connection’s education strategy is not too good to be true; in fact, it isn’t even new. The school keeps its costs low by using an ancient approach to education: the mentor-apprentice approach (which actually pre-dates schools). Rather than place students in a separate, sterile academic environment, the school actually pairs each student with a working professional in the field, who mentors the student one-on-one through a guided curriculum in a real-life work environment. Here, the student learns the trade by doing it, often learning more effectively than in a traditional school. And because there are no buildings or equipment to maintain, and no full-time staff to pay, the costs are considerably lower. That doesn’t sound like an Entertainment Career Connection scam, does it?
The other side of the mentor-apprentice approach is that for it to work, the student has to commit to the process with more self-discipline than in an academic environment, because it is more a guided approach than a programmed one. It cannot be viewed through the same lens as an academic approach. There are many ways where the ball can be dropped without being noticed, and sometimes the program itself can be blamed for this. But this does not make Entertainment Connection a scam—neither does the low cost. Scams are fleeting, making their money dishonestly and then disappearing before they can be caught. This particular program has been around over 25 years, remains very visible, and thousands of people have gone through the program and gone on to have fulfilling careers.
Not everything that seems too good to be true really is too good to be true. The Entertainment Connection cannot be classified an Entertainment Career Connection scam simply on the grounds of using a different approach.
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