Screen Producers Australia (SPA) and the Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA) have reached agreement on a new performers’ rights deal following three years of negotiation.
Under the new Actors Television Repeats and Residuals Agreement (ATRRA) broadcasters will have more flexibility to schedule and promote Australian programs, and performers will receive additional loading for digital platform streaming.
ATRRA allows producers to buy the rights to use an actor’s performance. The agreement covers TV plays and repeats, streaming rights, percentage of sales in Australia and overseas, and allows a performer’s pay to be calculated.
Previous ATRRA agreements placed restrictions on the number of times an Australian program could be played or streamed. This meant that foreign programs, purchased without the same restrictions, could be scheduled and streamed many more times than local programs.
SPA said almost no adult Australian TV drama programs have been re-licensed to television after the initial license period has expired due to the length of the license period eroding value in the program and because the repeat fees payable to performers under the old ATRRA were far greater than the market could afford to pay.
"This is a groundbreaking agreement that will unlock the potential that digital technology offers for the benefit of the Australian production industry, Australian broadcasters, and to the Australian viewer," said SPA CEO Matthew Deaner said.
"The impetus for change is that technology has transformed the available content distribution platforms and audience behaviour while the original agreement itself has remained substantially unchanged since 1982.
“We approached negotiations with the view that there should be something in it for each of the major stakeholders. Performers clearly needed increased fees for increased rights. Networks and investors needed greater flexibility to stream and play programs across multiple platforms to drive up audiences for Australian programs and increase recoupment from their considerable investment. Producers needed the opportunity to derive greater value from their intellectual property by opening up the possibility that programs could be re-licensed."
Performers will also now receive a new 10 per cent loading on top of their basic negotiated fee whenever their work is played on free streaming services like iView, and a 70 per cent loading for the premiere release of their work on subscription video on demand platforms such as Netflix and Presto, bringing internet into line with broadcast.
Performers will be paid for appearing in web productions with a 57.5 per cent upfront loading and a 10 per cent share of any revenue generated.
MEAA Equity said it was adamant the digital landscape and changed audience patterns of consumption were properly addressed.
“This agreement will bring the rights and residuals of Australian performers into the 21st century”, said Equity director Zoe Angus.
“The agreement that Australian performers have resoundingly endorsed is a groundbreaking reimagining of how the rights in your performance are valued in a digital age. We are now at the forefront of recognising and embracing technological innovation and what that means for content creators. This is a momentous day for our industry.”
Equity consulted with Australian performers throughout the negotiation process. The agreement was approved by the National Performers’ Committee before all Equity members were given the opportunity to have their say.
“When it was last negotiated back in 2004 TV was still king. There was no iView, no Presto, no Australian Netflix. It’s easy to forget how quickly and drastically things have changed. Performers’ work is now consumed anywhere, at any time and on any device. I am extremely proud that our membership has given us a clear mandate to bring their rights and residuals into the 21st century,” said Angus.
The new agreement comes into effect for new programs from today, although existing programs (including subsequent seasons) remain on the old ATRRA unless otherwise agreed to allow for a transition period.