Film artistes' fees change welcomed

Two casting agents have abandoned charges for up-front fees from film artistes who join their books.

The change has been welcomed by BECTU which has been leading a campaign to scrap the fees.paid by background artistes, many of whom belong to the union's Film Artistes' Association section (FAA).

Until now, all agents who find work in film and TV for crowd artistes, stand-ins, and walk-ons, have charged an annual fee before putting them on the agency's books. The campaign has used the iminent threat of new legislation on employment agencies to increase pressure on agents to drop the annual fee, and charge artistes only on a job-by-job basis.

Up-front charging has now been dropped by the industry-famous Ray Knight agency, followed shortly after by Dolly Brook.

BECTU is hoping that other agencies will follow suite, dramatically reducing the price that FAA members have to pay for access to work.

BECTU Press Release

The beginning of the end of agency up-front fees

One and a half thousand background artistes are £100 a year better off as a result of BECTU�s campaign against upfront book fees. The Ray Knight casting agency � one of the longest established in the film and TV industry � has responded to BECTU�s intensive campaign and announced they are dropping the fees.

Upfront book fees are usually an annual charge of between £50 and £150 made by agencies to those registering, supposedly to cover the cost of producing the agency�s casting directory. However, artistes � employed in walk-on parts, as stand-ins and to make up crowds � often register with several agencies to maximise their chances but many are not actually found work. So the up-front charges make background artistes virtually the only people in the country whose employment leaves them financially worse off.

And some cowboy operations are set up specifically to rake in upfront fees from background artists with no intention of finding work, and then disappear with the loot.

In a letter to BECTU official Spencer MacDonald, on 16 October Ray Knight stated he had made the decision because "I am aware that the yearly charge was extremely unpopular with artists and has led to the pressure for a change in the law governing the operation of entertainment agencies." He added that he was replacing the book fee with a rise in commission from 11% to 15%.

MacDonald commented: "Background artistes on the whole won�t mind having Ray Knight�s commission charges raised by 4%, because unlike book fees, they will only pay them if they work. I congratulate Ray for responding so positively to the views of background artists, and for showing the way for the rest of the industry. "

Since then the Dolly Brook agency has declared that it too is dropping the fees. This agency charges £75 over two years.

MacDonald added: "We hope this is the first big crack in the wall of upfront fees, and that the rest of the agencies will follow." Nevertheless BECTU, supported by the Ray Knight agency, is continuing to campaign for a change in the law to outlaw this practice completely.

Issued by BECTU press office. Further information: tel: 020 7437 8506. 25th October 2000