BBC Radio Talent Union Agreements

1
BBC Radio/Talent Union Agreements

• Nicola Hill,
• BBC Rights Negotiation
• 26th May 2006

2
Todays 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

3
Overview 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

4
Overview 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

5
Rights 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

6
Rights 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

7
Rights 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

8
Rights 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

9
Rights 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

10
Repeats 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)

11
Repeats 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)

12
Repeats 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

13
Commercial 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

14
Commercial 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)

15
Commercial 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

16
Commercial 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

17
Incidental 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

18
Employment Issues Equity

• Schedule D tax status
• however
• IR introduced regulations so that the Class 1
  National Insurance paid on
• Engagement fees
• Repeats
• Commercial uses

19
Employment 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