YouTube Clips, Possible Cause for Actors to Strike

Negotiations between the Screen Actors Guild and major studios, concerning the payment of actors for their performances in video clips featured on websites like YouTube, have reached a dead end. It appears that the two parties couldn't reach an agreement regarding the fee that actors are supposed to receive for appearing in videos shown online.

According to SAG President Alan Rosenberg, in an interview for Reuters, movies studios are really asking actors to give up "50 years of our customs and practice." It appears that studios intend to distribute the work of several actors, in YouTube-style clips, without asking them for permission first. The studios are asking for the payment of a flat fee, instead of an individually negotiated price.

In response to this, SAG is standing behind the rules of a contract signed 50 years ago, which states that each performer in a clip must receive a minimum of $759, even if the clip is only a few seconds long. While rules of this type were more fit for the pre-digital era, in today's reality, they fail to stand out. This is mainly due to the fact that legal clips can't compete with the rising number of pirated footage and videos available on the Internet.

Studios are saying that what they're doing is to really try to establish a legitimate market for Internet video clips. And, according to Rosenberg, actors do intend to help studios build this new business, but only if their concerns are taken seriously. Arguing the actors' position, the studios' negotiator stated that the existent rules make up for a difficult administration, while also providing the means by which the clips black market can flourish.

According to Reuters, the labor negotiations between the studios and the Screen Actors Guild are expected to resume at the end of May.

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