Friday, March 26, 2010

The joy of residuals

For The Huffington Post, David Dean Bottrell describes the pleasure of 'magic envelopes' - ones that contain payments for residuals.
Although, I've never gotten rich from residual checks, they are always a welcome sight. And I thank my two wonderful unions, SAG and the WGA, for having made these magic envelopes possible.

Although the original thinking was that artists should participate in the profits being earned by the recycling of their work, the most revolutionary outcome of this plan was that for the first time in the history of show business, it became possible for lesser-known artists working in TV and film to actually become respected, middle-class citizens. Finally, instead of living like vagabond gypsies, one could buy a nice little place in the Valley and raise some kids.
(In this country, of course, the WGGB negotiates residuals agreements for writers as part of its Minimum Terms Agreements)

1 comment:

  1. FROM THE CHAIR OF THE TELEVISION COMMITTEE

    We all love residuals but let's remember they're part of our fees and are carefully constructed into the WGGB agreements we sign. They're not a gift from the writing gods.

    And with digital, there are new platforms and audiences, which mean new residuals. The Guild is negotiating hard to make sure writers get the maximum due to them, as directly and cost effectively as possible, so that the money goes into the right pockets. And then we can blow it on luxuries like paying the leccie.

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