Careers in the UK's audiovisual performing industry are under threat due to significantly lower than typical earnings, despite surging profits for streaming platforms, according to research by the University of Glasgow that calls for action on legislative change.

Audiovisual performers also risk losing work due to Artificial Intelligence (AI). Just under a quarter of those surveyed have been asked to provide images or audio to create a digital lookalike or soundalike (19%). Eight percent have had a digital lookalike or soundalike made without their consent.

The independent survey of audiovisual performers - conducted by CREATe, the Centre for Regulation of the Creative Economy based at the University of Glasgow, and commissioned by the British Equity Collecting Society (BECS) - found that the median annual earnings for audiovisual performers fall well below the national minimum wage.

Median earnings are £17,500 per year, substantially less than the typical median amount for UK workers of £34,963 - and lower than the minimum wage of £23,795 (assuming a 40-hour work week). The situation for audiovisual performers with disabilities is even worse, with median annual earnings being only £7,500.

The research found that 69.3% of performers believe the value of initial fees are decreasing, with an even higher percentage (84%) agreeing that the value of residuals and royalties that they receive under contracts is decreasing.

In addition, 64% of performers are not confident they receive all the fees, royalties and residuals due to them under their contracts. They are reliant on producers to pay them accurately and on time, but lack the means to verify the accuracy of payments.

Ninety six percent of performers perceive buyouts (contracts where performers are offered a lump sum at the outset of the contract, with no further payments after the initial transaction) to be increasing. As more accept buyouts, the practice becomes more entrenched, leading to further declines in the overall financial health and stability of audiovisual performers.

These findings emphasise the power imbalance between performers and producers - a significant issue that is exacerbated by increasing competition within the industry.

Actor John Hollingworth, (best known for Poldark, Mr Bates vs The Post Office and The Crown) said: "It has never been more difficult to survive as a performer - of the actors surveyed half of us earn less than £17,500 per year from the acting work that we do. It’s a double whammy - we are paid less at the start of the job and robbed of those longer-term royalties and remunerations that kept previous generations of actors afloat. Too often we are presented with ‘take it or leave it’ contracts that carve out previously enshrined rights to royalties and residuals for subsequent exploitation of our work. If we don’t do the job, someone else will."

CREATe’s Dr Amy Thomas and Dr Arthur Ehlinger, who led the reports, said: "Our research comes at a time of declining earnings for creators across multiple creative industries. Last year’s SAG-AFRA strikes - the largest withdrawal of creative labour in Hollywood history - meant the ‘behind the scenes’ working conditions of performers gained global prominence. In particular, it highlighted that new modes of distribution, particularly streaming, have disrupted traditional routes to payment for performers.

“At CREATe we have undertaken similar surveys of authors, freelance journalists and visual artists, which are all telling the same story - the time for change to protect careers and the creative outputs that we collectively enjoy as a society, is long overdue."

Legislative tools to mitigate the harmful effects of performers’ weak bargaining position, and reliance on producers, have been implemented elsewhere, and are being advocated for in the UK. Many countries implement levies on sales of devices to compensate performers when their works are copied by private end users.

The Culture Media and Sport Select Committee report on its Inquiry on Creators’ Remuneration recently recommended implementing such a scheme in the UK - the “Smartfund”. Audiovisual performers in many other countries also benefit from statutory rights to remuneration for certain uses of their performances, collected only by collective management organisations. The value of these rights in mitigating the harmful effects of a performer's weak bargaining position is that they are unwaivable and unassignable - i.e., they cannot be given away under contract.

There are also calls for policymakers to consider changes to legislation to introduce personality rights in the UK, similar to the “No Fakes Act” being debated in the US, to prevent the creation of digital look and soundalikes without consent. Ratification of the Beijing Treaty, which was signed in 2012 but has still not been ratified in the UK, presents an opportunity to improve audiovisual performers’ moral rights and introduce statutory remuneration rights for some uses.

Tayyiba Nasser, CEO of BECS, said: “The report highlights the real struggles our members face and how the landscape has changed significantly. It breaks the myth that actors are well off and shows how the vast majority of actors earn well below the national minimum wage. Amounts BECS currently collects for its members are all from use of their work in other countries which have some form of statutory remuneration. We know from our members how vital this is. If such remuneration also existed in the UK, it would help address the issues raised in the report.

“The Government’s urgent support to introduce statutory remuneration which will benefit audiovisual performers, such as the Smartfund, will help to ensure the UK’s incredible Film and TV Industry can remain the powerhouse it has always been and continue to boost the UK’s soft power globally. If there is no legislative change, the alarming statistics on the number of people leaving the performing arts will worsen. Actors must be able to make a sustainable living from their profession - that is the only way we can continue to nurture the acting talent pool for which the UK is renowned.”

Behind the Scenes: The Realities Facing UK Audiovisual Performers

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First published: 3 October 2024

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