By Steve Gorman
Whether actors must give consent for snippets of their film
and TV work to be displayed online, and how much they should
earn for them, was the No. 1 disputed issue cited by the Screen
Actors Guild after labor talks broke down last Tuesday.
Studios want to freely distribute YouTube-style clips of
old TV shows and movies without seeking actors' permission and
pay them a flat fee rather than bargain on a price with each
performer individually.
The actors' union staunchly opposes that move.
"What they're asking us to do is erase 50 years of our
customs and practice," SAG President Alan Rosenberg said in a
recent interview.
The debate is the latest example of how the economics of
traditional media are being upended by the growing popularity
of video-sharing Web sites like YouTube, and how audiences'
tastes and habits are being transformed in the process.
According to Internet marketing research firm comScore, 134
million Americans view online videos each month, with YouTube
alone attracting 80 million unique visitors monthly.
The bulk of what they see consists of homemade footage and
unauthorized clips of TV shows and movies, some of it blended
into video "mash-ups" like the popular "Brokeback to the
Future" parody trailer poking fun at the "Back to the Future"
movies and the gay cowboy romance "Brokeback Mountain."
OLD RULES, NEW MEDIA
But when reusing clips as entertainment, such as inserting
outtakes or excerpts from one TV show into another, producers
must get consent from every performer appearing in that clip
and bargain with each separately on a rate of pay.
Under SAG contract rules originating 50 years ago, each
performer in a clip must receive at least the "day-player"
minimum of $759, even if the clip is just a few seconds long.
Those rules stood the test of time in the pre-digital era,
but as companies seek to develop a "legitimate" market for
clips to compete with the explosion of pirated footage on the
Internet, studios say the old rules have become too onerous.
Instead, they are seeking a fixed payment to actors for
re-use on the Internet in lieu of the bargaining process.
SAG says actors fear losing control over their images,
especially when it comes to advertising and video "mash-ups."
"We're willing to help them build this new business, but
they don't take our concerns seriously," Rosenberg said.
Television Producersfilm and TV actors
(Editing by Bob Tourtellotte and Doina Chiacu)
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