Unions, Advertisers To Meet on Deciding New Media Compensation

Actor representative bodies SAG and AFTRA will meet with the advertising industry’s Joint Policy Committee on Broadcast Talent Union Relations (JPC) tomorrow to discuss the commissioning of a joint study researching how actors can be more fairly compensated for commercial work that appear on TV, radio, and in the growing array of new media, such as the Internet and mobile devices.
The current contract is set to expire on Oct. 29, but everyone has agreed to consider extending that deadline to enable review, should more time be needed. “We need a new, equitable approach to talent payment — one that recognizes that consumers are viewing commercials on cell phones and iPods, and advertisers are using digital editing to customize messages for very narrow audiences..”
In a related backgrounder story, Barry Layne, executive VP of National Lampoon said negotiating with the unions isn’t feasible until new-media content has proven to be profitable…”We’re taking the financial risk, so until someone can prove to me that there’s a really significant proven economic model that works in new media, I think the standing of the trade unions is a little less. I’m not suggesting that their argument is not valid; what I’m saying is, their argument is valid in a proven economic environment.”
Some more info in the release here.

Comments have been disabled for this post