Title: BBC Radio Talent Union Agreements
1BBC Radio/Talent Union Agreements
- Nicola Hill,
- BBC Rights Negotiation
- 26th May 2006
2Todays Agenda
- Overview of Agreements/Contracts
- Rights Acquired in Engagement Fees
- Other Public Service Use Fees
- Commercial Use Fees
- Incidental Uses
- Employment Issues relating to Equity contributors
only
3Overview agreements
- Equity
- Acting, reading and singing engagements
- reviewed annually June/July
- Musicians Union (MU)
- session musicians, pop groups, chamber musicians
and orchestral players - Review was due in January 2006
- Incorporated Society of Musicians (ISM)
- conductors, vocal and instrumental soloists,
church musicians - Reviewed annually in March
4Overview contracts
- Under our contracts we are able to use the
recording(s) of the Artists performance in
accordance with the terms of any agreement
between the BBC and the applicable
Union/Society which may for the time being be in
force and applicable - this is important to us as it allows us to
negotiate with the Union/Society in order - Revise existing terms e.g. commercial audio
rights - Introduce new terms e.g. AOD very important
at present as there is a significant amount of
new media activity
5Rights Acquired at point of contract Equity
Actors Current Agreement
- Acquired in the actors engagement fee - either
- BBC National Radio Networks (e.g. Radio 4) 2
txs, or - World Service 2 tx cycles (tx cycle txs
within an 8 day period to allow programme to be
heard throughout the world), or - Digital Radio Services (e.g. BBC-7), reduced fee
(66) 1 tx cycle (tx cycle 9 tx days within 3
year period) or - Local/National Radio reduced fee (66) 1 tx
- and
- EBU uses
- NB all fees include streaming on the internet
- In addition
- Plus supplementary payment of 3 to acquire
audio-on-demand (AOD) use for a term of 14 days
following the radio tx
6Rights Acquired at point of contract Equity
Actors Proposals to Equity (1/2)
- Drama, Comedy and Readings
- 3 AOD supplement to be replaced
- Had aimed to acquire new public service rights
for a period of time - Likely outcome will be series stacking for
limited period (programmes will be available
streamed from bbc.co.uk timed-out/DRM protected
download) - Podcasting of certain strands
7Rights Acquired at point of contract Equity
Actors Proposals to Equity (2/2)
- Proposal to Equityminor acting contributions in
factual programmes - 10 to acquire New Public Service Rights for 5
years term - Covers all public service uses except repeats on
Network Radio, World Service, BBC-7 - In effect this means series stacking, associated
programming on bbc.co.uk and podcasting
8Rights Acquired at point of contract Musicians
Union
- Acquired in the Engagement Fee
- BBC National Radio Networks station 1tx or
- Digital Radio Stations unlimited txs 1 year
term and - 3 txs on Radio 3s Through the Night Service
and - World Service TX cycle (txs within 8 day window)
and - EBU uses and
- World Non-Theatric Rights - trapped
audiences/educational establishments - In Addition
- Generally - 3 supplement to acquire all uses for
a 1 year term (i.e. all licence fee funded
service excluding BBC National Radio Networks
channels, local radio, World Service) - agreement has provision to acquire all uses in
perpetuity on payment of 10 supplement BBC
will probably apply this to all engagements in
the future
9Rights Acquired at point of contract
Incorporated Society of Musicians
- Acquired in the engagement fee
- BBC National Radio Networks station 1 tx and
- all licence fee funded services - excluding BBC
National Radio Networks channels, local radio,
World Service - for a 1 year term and - 3 txs on Radio 3s Through the Night Service
and - EBU uses
10Repeats on BBC National Radio Networks, Local
Radio and World Service
- All agreements - we pay a percentage of the
artists original fee - Network Repeat e.g.
- Equity 33 x full engagement fee or 50 x
reduced engagement fee - MU and ISM 50 fee for studios recordings
- MU deal for progs made pre-1980 txd in an
archival slot one off payment to MU - World Service Repeat Cycle Fee (txs in 8 day
window) e.g. - Equity 23 x full engagement fee or 35 x
reduced fee - MU 15 x fee
- ISM 25 x fee
- (NB MU/Equity contributors there is a repeat fee
escalator for repeats made 3 years after tx
i.e. percentages increase)
11Repeats on BBC Digital Radio Services BBC-7 and
6 Music
- Blanket Licences have been agreed with Equity and
MU for use of actors/musicians performances on
the digital-only channels - Equity
- agreement up to December 2007
- report each programme tx and cast to British
Equity Collecting Society (BECS) - MU
- agreement up to March 2007
- no reporting required for MU Benevolent Fund
(MUBF)
12Repeats on BBC Digital Radio Services BBC-7 and
6 Music
- Payment to BECS and MUBF calculated negotiated
taking into account - size of audience
- type amount of programmes broadcast
- channel status
- Stations can tx anything from our archive e.g.
Radios 1, 2, 3, 4, Asian Network, World Service,
etc - Very beneficial for the BBC
- limited amount of administration for the station
- Costs are set for the station for the year
- Channels could not exist without these blanket
agreements
13Commercial Rights general
- Terms for all media throughout the world
excluding CDs/commercial downloads, merchandising - Typical commercial activity sales to other
broadcasters, airlines and British Forces
Broadcast Services (BFBS) - Option to use royalties or residuals in most
cases - Royalties
- Equity 17
- MU 5 all programmes except music
- 17 music programmes ex those with Equity
contributions - 25 music programmes also featuring Equity
contributors (e.g. pop/opera) - ISM 6
- Residual figures vary according to territory and
uses
14Commercial Rights Audio Publication
- Equity
- Royalties vary according to territory/number of
copies sold/type of sale (audio book club/usual
retail/budget re-issue) - Drama multi-voice readings recoupable 50
advance - Single voice readings recoupable 1000 advance
- Session singers BPI agreement for music product
- proposal with Equity hoped for introduction
in June 2006 - advance to apply to physical product only i.e.
CDs, cassettes, DATS - No advance for download to own (DTO)
15Commercial Rights Audio Publication
- MU
- Buy-outs available
- Session musicians BPI agreement for music
titles - Session musicians residual payment for spoken
word titles - ISM
- No terms in contract
16Commercial Rights looking ahead
- BBC.com under discussion
- Content from bbc.co.uk streamed and on-demand
programmes - Probably US only
- Limited level of advertising wrapped round site
- Considering how to remunerate talent at present
blanket licence likely to be most appropriate
method of payment
17Incidental Items
- All agreements have following provisions for
- Use of extracts in BBC programmes (NB not
Library rights) - News Access provisions
- Excerpts from 3rd party productions
- Trailers/Promotional Use
18Employment Issues Equity
- Schedule D tax status
- however
- IR introduced regulations so that the Class 1
National Insurance paid on - Engagement fees
- Repeats
- Commercial uses
19Employment Issues Equity
- Pay for Leave not taken (holiday pay)
- Working Time Regulations November 1999
- All workers due paid holiday regardless of
length of contract - Entitlement 4 weeks of leave per year
- Not less than half a days leave can be scheduled
- Therefore typically in radio we pay for leave as
the short engagements means that we cant
schedule leave - 2.78 for each part day
- 5.55 for each day