Residuals: the gifts that keep on giving.
Residuals are those fun little paychecks (aka royalties) that are paid to actors in cases of reruns, syndication, DVD release, or online streaming release.
Getting residuals in the mail can be quite the pleasant surprise. Sometimes it’s a nice payment for DVD sales of a feature.
…and sometimes it’s a 47 cent check for the rerun of a show you did 10 years ago. Womp womp.
Residuals are typically paid between 1 and 4 months after the air date. Over 1.5 million residual checks are processed every year 😱
Residual calculation can be complex and depends on several variables including initial payment, time spent, type of production (e.g., network TV, DVD, ad-supported streaming, online purchases), and whether it involves a domestic or foreign market.
Residuals can also change a lot: SAG negotiates new contracts every three years, and residuals for primetime TV tend to increase every year 🎉
All performers hired under or upgraded to a principal-performer agreement whose performance remains in the final product receive residuals (background actors do not receive them unless they are upgraded to principal performers).
In TV, residuals are calculated using a formula that utilizes the number of runs and percentage of minimum rate of compensation for the actor. For example, for reruns in syndication, the actor is paid 40 percent of the applicable minimum rate for the first rerun program, dropping to 30 percent for the second rerun, 25 percent for the third rerun, and so on until it reaches 5 percent for the 12th rerun and beyond. But these percentages can change per show.
So what do you do with those 47 cent residual checks? Well, you could cash it because #everypennycounts or you can save them for when @residualstavern opens back up and exchange them for a free drink (checks must be under $1 to redeem).
Are you still getting residual checks?
#themoreyouknow #TheCastingDirectorsCut #terminologytuesday