One of my favorite enewsletters comes from the plethora of enewsletters published each day by MediaPost. If I subscribed to them all, I would probably go mad.
This one is called Online Video Daily and today the top story was a VidBlog by Daisy Whitney titled:
Managing Online Video and TV Campaigns: Tips from Production to Talent Rights
The part of that headline that caught my eye and prompted me to click through was the “…to Talent Rights” part.
As we struggle each day to keep rates to a level where we can continue to make a living in this business, it is refreshing to see people advocating for payment for additional usage. Of course, the resource for the article is Extreme Reach, a group that specializes in all things related to delivering and managing video advertising and is used to using Union Talent.
Make sure you know whether a TV ad can run online. “Commercial talent and third-party rights are often restricted on specific ads. Some are not allowed to run on the Web. Some are for Web only. Most ads have rights expiration dates. When an ad runs where or when it is not allowed to, those terms are violated. As a result, agencies and brands can incur significant fines and additional unexpected costs,” Robert Haskitt, CMO of Extreme Reach said.
The advice offered by Extreme Reach may not be enforceable outside of a union contract, but the bottom line is something we should all remind ourselves and the people we are working with – usage counts.
Connie,
I have no pithy remarks. I actually was canning emails really quickly and I thought your subject line said “Spread the Word. Think about sausage.” I believe my lunch must be well overdue.
As long as I’m here…
As for enforcement outside of a union contract, though, not necessarily so. Many hirers of talent believe, often falsely, that if terms aren’t specified, then it’s auytomatically assumed to be a buyout. If, for example somebody sends you a script and says in the body of their email words to the effect of “Looking for somebody to record this for a tv spot. We have $800 to pay – buyout.” Then this becomes the covenant – meaning they have full buyout for “tv”. This has been succesfully challenged in courts of law and compensation for actors, artists, and other creatives has been obtained, as wellas occasional punitive damages.
Although, I am not a lawyer and anyone interested in their rights and responsabilities should consult a proper professional for their opinion.
And now you have succeeded in making ME hungry for sausage.
Simply a reminder to think about usage – and make sure to ask questions when the word buyout is used for a radio or TV spot, because there are so many more places for spots to run these days than just on radio or TV.