2015Legal / Business Practices forum
Royalty payments for below-the-line crew in television and film production
What the thread found
- Traditionally, royalty payments for reruns go to above-the-line personnel such as writers, producers, directors, and actors, while below-the-line crew members do not receive them in most arrangements
- Some unions have negotiated new collective agreements that include royalty provisions for their members, which has prompted resistance from networks and production companies
- Technical crew members may occasionally receive profit-sharing arrangements as an alternative to higher upfront pay, but these deals often fail to materialize as expected when a project underperforms commercially
- Profit-sharing deals structured with high break-even thresholds can result in no actual payment even when a project reaches moderate box office success
Depends on
- The discussion reflects practices in different countries and potentially different union structures
- The profit-sharing example involved a film project rather than television, so applicability to ongoing series reruns may differ
- The negotiated union deal mentioned is described as recent but without specific details about its structure or terms
- The anecdote about the 5% royalty deal is a single case experience rather than representative industry data