But even modest payments can be essential to a lower-tier performer's livelihood. “Residuals, that's how we live,” Cox said. “There are our initial paychecks, which helps, but then there are our residuals which help us with our groceries and our day-to-day lives.”
Residuals are especially important for actors who work in TV and film, where shows and movies can be rebroadcast, streamed or released on home video for years to come.
Streaming services like Netflix and Hulu have transformed traditional pay scales, and residuals that once helped actors stay afloat between projects have often diminished to pennies. For starters, residuals are payments performers receive for TV and film projects after initial compensation.
Residuals are financial compensations that are paid to the actors, film or television directors, and others involved in making TV shows and movies in cases of the cable reruns, syndication, DVD release, or licensing to streaming media.
Actors only get royalties if they negotiated a deal with producers, like the stars of Friend did and they get 1.75%. Otherwise ALL speaking actors get residuals that scale down by 10% each year from all NEW licenses including those for streaming.
Why Should Actors Get Residuals When No One Else Does? - Open Mic
What is the difference between a residual and a royalty?
“Royalties are a separate agreement between production companies and actors, directors, producers and writers." In other words, residuals are part of collective bargaining by industry unions while royalties are negotiated for on a deal-by-deal basis.
While the exact amount isn't actually known, cast members have revealed that the reruns pay them 6% of their original salaries. If a star made a mere $150,000 per episode across all 20 seasons, that would come in around $200,000 per year in royalties.
As it stands right now, actors are not getting residuals from their work being exhibited on streaming services like when their show is on linear platforms.
Does an actor with a residuals contract receive money every time the film or TV show airs? FYI, there's no such thing as a “residuals contract.” Residuals are included in standard union (and some non-union) film and television contracts. Forever, as long as the show airs, they get a union residual.
This means residual payments may continue well after the performer's death. Although SAG-AFTRA is responsible for administering these payments, residuals are the personal property of the performer, who may leave them to anyone in a will or trust.
Striking actors are sharing their minuscule residual checks on social media: 'I pull in $. 03 each quarter for unlimited streams on Hulu and Disney' Achieving success in Hollywood doesn't always translate into substantial earnings, striking actors have shown by revealing their residual checks.
According to USA Today, all of the Friends cast members—Courtney Cox, Jennifer Aniston, David Schwimmer, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, and Matthew Perry—receive 2% of the syndication revenue, or about $20 million per person annually, out of the $1 billion in revenue generated for Warner Bros.
One of the most common ways actors survive financially is by diversifying their income streams. Many actors take on additional jobs, such as waiting tables, bartending, or working in retail, to supplement their income between acting gigs. This allows them to have a steady cash flow while pursuing their acting career.
Who is entitled to receive residuals? All performers hired under or upgraded to a principal performer agreement whose performance remains in the final product are entitled to residuals.
What does streaming have to do with the actors strike? Actors also want to make up for what the union has called an erosion in residuals payments — pay that performers get when a movie or TV episode they appear on re-airs, which in previous decades has supplied steady incomes to actors who aren't big stars.
Residuals are due within 30 days of the date of telecast. For reruns occurring on The CW, payment is due within 30 days of the date of telecast. For all other reruns in syndication, residuals are due within four months of the date of telecast.
Most often non-union projects do not pay residuals, as there is no regulated system in place to track someone down decades later (much less years) and compensate them. However, SAG-AFTRA performers hired under (or upgraded to) a principal performer whose performance remains in the final product require residual pay.
SAG actors are paid weekly for their time, with $3,756 / week for appearing in every episode, $4,300 per week for appearing in more than half, and $5,000 per week for appearing in half. If an actor appears in less than half of a season's episode order, talent would then be classified as a major role (guest star).
https://www.sagaftra.org/membership-benefits/residuals/history-residuals. The history of residuals starts back at the mid-20th century. By the mid-1950s, both SAG and AFTRA had been successful in negotiating residuals for TV programs re-runs.
Residuals are subject to the 10 percent commission only if they are "over scale." Therefore, minor amounts will not result in fees to agents. When the residuals are subject to agent fees, the commission is paid to the agent who obtained the work, not the agent at the time of the payment.
So, do all actors get paid for reruns? According to the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, some do, and some don't. For principal performers, royalties can lead to long-term payoffs that trump the original salary.
Let's delve into the various ways actors earn money during their downtime. 1. Residuals and Royalties: Actors receive residuals and royalties when their work is aired or distributed beyond its initial release.
The “Full House” cast never saw much in terms of residuals for reruns of the original show, according to Bob Saget. “There's no 'Full House' money. I didn't own the show. You get nothing.
