My greatest hope for all of you actor and model hopefuls (and those currently working in the industry) is to equip yourselves to be well informed business people.
Whether you've got an agent/manager, are freelance, or have the best of both worlds, knowing basic business savvy will take you a long way in your career. Not to mention, decrease your odds of being taken advantage of.
This blog post is for both models and actors as it relates to the concept of usage terms. In a nutshell, usage terms are the very important piece of information about a gig that explains how, where, and for how long your image/likeness (print and/or video) is going to be used for.
Being unfamiliar with this term and how it operates can set you up for an unpleasant surprise down the line, so it only felt right to tackle this subject as we prepare for what I've been hearing will be a busier upcoming year for all of us Creatives.
WHERE DO YOU FIND USAGE TERM INFORMATION?
When submitting to acting/modeling gigs on casting sites, the project breakdowns (the details of the gig) is where you'll find usage term information. It might not always be included but 9 times out of 10 there's going to be a sentence or two talking about how the resulting images and/or video footage will be used.
Casting sites present their casting breakdowns differently. Some might have a specific area titled "Usage/Terms," while other sites may have this info in a different area like "Work Requirements." Either way, look for verbiage that talks about how the footage will be used and if there are conflicts/restrictions that apply.
THE BASICS OF USAGE
Where. It's important to know where your image/likeness is going to be used if you end up booking the gig. Examples include but are not limited to:
- Company website
- Social media accounts
- Print advertising (i.e. banners, magazine ads, flyers)
- Broadcast (i.e. television)
- Online (YouTube and other digital ads that pop up on various websites or in pop-up windows)
- Internally (within the company only and not for public view)
Duration. How long is your image/likeness going to be used by a particular client/company/brand? The time period ranges widely from project to project. For some, the duration could be as short as 6 months, while others might need to use the photos/video for up to 1-2 years. I haven't mentioned the term "perpetuity" yet but don't worry, I'll cover that soon enough.
Potential Conflicts/Restrictions. Here's where it's vital to understand what you're reading in a casting breakdown BEFORE you submit to the gig. Booking a project with a well known client/company/brand with a large payout is always a win BUT be aware of whether or not accepting that gig will make you off limits to competitors (aka paid work) in the near future.
Pay attention to any listed conflicts/restrictions mentioned in the breakdown. For example, let's say you come across a casting in search of actors for a commercial ad campaign for a well-known airport. When you look for info related to conflicts/restrictions, you see this:
Conflicts: None
That means you don't have to worry about conflict of interest if you happen to get booked for a different airport in the future. This is the ideal scenario.
But if the details in that part of the casting breakdown say something like this:
Conflicts: National airports within the US
That's crucial to know. Let's say you submit and end up getting booked and everything goes great. Then 1 year later you either come across a similar acting job for a competing airport or your agent submits you and you're offered the job from that competing airport...you are legally not allowed to take that job or any other job dealing with any national airport within the US. That means a missed opportunity and missed paycheck.
How long will this be the case? It'll depend on the stated duration for that specific project. If the original airport acting job you booked plans to use your image/likeness for 2 years, that means other airport acting gigs are off limits to you until that 2 year usage period is up.
Actors/models who freelance while also having an agent need to pay extra attention to any stated conflicts/restrictions when looking for gigs to submit to. Too many actors/models simply see a pay day and don't think twice about submitting to and accepting gigs.
Being impulsive in this way could lead to you unknowingly knocking yourself out of the running for future work, and because you sign contracts agreeing to the usage terms, your agent's hands will be tied, meaning there'll be a section of work they can't submit you for until that duration time has expired.
One exception to something like this working out in your favor is when it comes to clients/companies/brands that are local. Oftentimes, doing a commercial or ad campaign for a local business means their reach for usage is going to be regional (i.e. within a designated county, area or state). Clients on this level tend to not have conflicts/restrictions and if they do, it's a much smaller pool of competing businesses they're referring to.
For example, I once came across a casting for a commercial campaign for a plumbing company but they were only going to use the footage regionally within certain parts of California. There were no conflicts/restrictions stated. Had I booked that job, I would have been in the clear to submit to other gigs related to plumbing companies in other states or nationally without any consequence.
In the off chance that smaller businesses/companies have conflicts/restrictions, that's when you'll really need to ask yourself if it's worth it.
THINGS TO THINK ABOUT WITH CONFLICTS/RESTRICTIONS
Are you torn about whether or not to submit to a gig that has conflicts/restrictions attached? Actors/models without agency representation should ask themselves the following:
- Is it worth it to take the pay day upfront, knowing that you'll basically be unable to submit to competing projects for a period of time?
- Is the particular industry/company niche enough that even if you were off limits to competitors for a while, it wouldn't impact the amount of gigs you could submit to?
Those with agents, when in doubt, forward the casting to your rep and get their input. Remember, not all agents allow their talent to submit work on their own so only have this convo if you are able to do self submissions with your rep's blessing.
If this all sounds very tedious, that's because it is. This is why I wanted to blog about this topic specifically because there are factors to consider when determining which acting/modeling jobs to submit to and making sure that you're in the loop about where your image/likeness ends up.
And just so you know: the odds of negotiating with the client about changing the usage terms is extremely low. Only agents/managers have that kind of authority to broach the subject. Even if you are able to successfully accomplish this as a freelancer, don't expect it to be the case for everyone you work with in the future.
WHAT ABOUT PERPETUITY?
One term that also applies to this whole topic is that of Perpetuity. This particular usage term is a big one, so much so, that to add my thoughts into the mix will make this blog post longer than it already is. Don't hate me, but the Perpetuity talk deserves its own post, which will be on my docket for January.
Before you lose minds, let's not forget that the new year is coming at us a lot faster than we realize. I promise you, sharing my insights about Perpetuity in January isn't going to radically jeopardize anything you've got going on already with submissions.
To wet your whistle a bit (in case you haven't come across this term yet, or if you have and are clueless about what it means), the basic definition as it applies to acting/modeling is that Perpetuity means forever. Yep. Until the end of time. Off top, that sounds like a major red flag -- who would willingly agree to have their image/likeness appear somewhere until the end of days? As it turns out, a lot of people.
It's THAT mindset that my next blog post will tackle in greater detail. So enjoy what's left of 2024 and chill, I've got your back...in January 2025, I'm prepared to do even more to illuminate your minds with great content to help maximize your potential for success in the new year. Until then, cheers!
Comments