On Friday 9 October 2015, John Barnett Chair of South Pacific Pictures (SPP) told Kim Hill on Radio New Zealand that:
“… any of the productions that we make, the writers, the directors, the actors, are all participants in the pool, so as long as that money keeps coming in they will continue to receive something”.
Equity would like to correct this statement.
SPP does not provide any royalty payments or profit share to its actors on Shortland Street and until recently, it did not provide royalties or profit share on any SPP program. In the more than 20 years prior to 2014, no actors have received royalty payments from SPP, nor have they shared in the pool of profits.
In 2014, a landmark industry-wide agreement was signed by Equity and SPADA which provides a small royalty share to key performers engaged on all NZ based productions. At SPP’s insistence, Shortland Street actors are excluded from this agreement.
Equity would be delighted for SPP to provide royalty payments to all its actors as it claims to provide to other creatives. Copyright protection is important and all creatives should be able to share in the benefits of their work.
