Streamers are trying to change how stars are paid in Hollywood
When I scroll my stream, I have to admit that if I see a famous face in the thumbnail, I take that title a little more seriously. Streamers know they need those faces to get regular people to click.
But we have a situation where we no longer have enough stars.
And while some shows have great reviews, e.g Reindeer baby, able to outshine the stars, it seems that streamers need stars. And stars need streamers in order to make them more famous and get their money.
How could this work?
Well, streamers are trying to find a new way to pay the stars of their shows.
Let’s dig into that.
Why are broadcasters changing their pay structure?
Jenna Ortega as Wednesday Addams in Episode 104 of the series “Wednesday”.Courtesy of Netflix\u00a9 2022
At the beginning of the streaming era, stars were paid a lot of money up front. The thinking was that since they wouldn’t get any reward at the box office for appearing in one of these films, they should be paid now.
Well, a lot of the movies being streamed online weren’t huge hits, yet the stars were still getting paid.
According to a Bloomberg report, Apple has already met with high-level talent representatives to propose a new way to pay actors in these roles, in order to level the playing field.
SAG and the WGA went on strike last summer because they felt as though they weren’t sharing in the revenue share of streamers’ traffic. So there’s a little bit of a disconnect here. Especially since the actors who usually receive such large compensation were just the two leads, with the others not getting the protection they would if the film was released in theaters.
So what is the new proposal?
Apple’s leaked deal details that the talent will receive performance-based rewards determined by a points system. The points awarded will be calculated based on three factors:
- Acquire new subscribers: The number of people who subscribed to streaming channels specifically to watch the show.
- Total viewing time: The total time viewers spend watching the show.
- Cost effectiveness: The cost of producing a show relative to the size of its audience.
Talents participating in the three highest-scoring shows will be eligible to share a bonus pool of up to $10.5 million per season.
Now, we don’t have details on how to track these things – so it’s a bit of a moot point without these capabilities.
For any of this to happen, streamers have to provide real numbers to actors and lawyers. This comes on the wings of Netflix saying that they have finished releasing the numbers to the general public and investors.
Transparency has always been key in all of these negotiations, so I don’t think any plan that makes whether or not the show is a hit or a star a more ambiguous star will work or not, but time will tell.
Let me know what you think in the comments.
(tags for translation)stars
