Hollywood eyes TikTok stars
Top union offers membership for social media producers under ‘influencer agreement’
Social media creators have a new way to join Hollywood’s biggest union.
The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists has approved an “influencer agreement” that expands coverage and membership options to online content creators.
The term influencer is interchangeable with creator or content creator.
The terms will apply to individuals who are paid to advertise products on social media platforms.
“The Influencer Agreement offers a pathway for both current and future members to cover their influencer-generated branded content under a SAG-AFTRA contract,” the union’s president, Gabrielle Carteris, wrote in an email. “Our goal is to support these performers in a way that reflects the unique nature of their content.”
There is no minimum follower count for influencers who want to join the union, although eligibility for health and pension plans is based on certain work requirements.
Getting one’s “SAG card” has long been code for breaking into Hollywood (the Screen Actors Guild merged with the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists in 2012). Performers within the union are more likely to get work on a variety of film and TV projects, and it provides many with access to health and pension plans. Aspiring actors may toil away for months or even years as unnamed extras in order to earn enough credits to qualify.
Now, the definition of covered work within the union has expanded to include what successful creators do, which is make sponsored content for brands. It’s the latest sign that the business of influence has become a crucial part of the entertainment industry and a gigantic revenue stream: Brands are poised to spend up to $15 billion on influencer marketing by 2022, up from $8 billion in 2019, according to an Insider Intelligence and Mediakix report.
The guild represents about 160,000 professionals in film, television and radio — many of whom struggled to find work over the last year as production dried up during the pandemic, which further propelled the trend of entertainment industry professionals turning to social media to build new revenue streams by advertising products to their followers.
As traditional entertainment professionals have taken to social media, casting agents and producers have increasingly scouted for new talent there, recruiting internet stars for roles or promotional campaigns for film and TV.
SAG-AFTRA’s new agreement opens membership up to more YouTubers, TikTokers, Snapchat stars and anyone else creating sponsored videos or voice overs.
Dixie and Charli D’Amelio and Addison Easterling, some of TikTok’s highest-earning creators, are now eligible to join the union — as are any creators doing sponsored video and voice-over work, such as creating sponsored TikTok videos or Instagram Story posts.
In addition to offering benefits, the union will able to advocate on behalf of content creators and pursue legislation to serve the creator community.
It can also offer assistance with collective bargaining and help settle payment disputes between influencers and the brands that hire them.
“If you were a merchant, why would you accept payment in an asset that could be worth 20% less a day after you receive it?”
Lee Reiners, who teaches fintech and cryptocurrency courses at Duke University School of Law
SILVER SPRING, Md. — The seemingly unstoppable rise of Bitcoin continued Tuesday with the cost of a single unit of the digital currency rising above $50,000 for the first time.
The same Bitcoin just one year ago would have cost you $10,000. The price is up almost 200% in the last three months.
Bitcoin is rallying as more companies signal the volatile digital currency could eventually gain widespread acceptance as a means of payment. The vast majority of those who have acquired Bitcoin have treated it as a commodity, like gold, with few places accepting it in exchange for goods or services.
Companies have been leery because of Bitcoin’s volatility and its use by parties who want to avoid the traditional banking system for a myriad of reasons.
The price crossed and recrossed the $50,000 barrier before settling at $48,793 Tuesday, according to the tracking site CoinDesk.
Last week, the electric car company Tesla sent a tremor through the digital currency markets, saying that it was buying $1.5 billion in Bitcoin as part of a new investment strategy, and that it would soon be accepting Bitcoin in exchange for its cars.
Then Blue Ridge Bank, of Charlottesville, Virginia, said last Wednesday that it would become the first commercial bank to provide access to Bitcoin. The regional bank said cardholders can purchase and redeem Bitcoin at 19 of its ATMs.
BNY Mellon, the oldest bank in the U.S., followed the next day, saying it would include digital currencies in the services it provides to clients. Mastercard said it would start supporting “select crypto currencies” on its network.
While most expect a slow evolution toward widespread usage of bitcoins as currency, Richard Lyons, a finance professor at the University of California at Berkeley, says it’s inevitable.
Lyons predicts Bitcoin and other digital currencies “will become transactional currencies increasingly over the next five years. It’s not going to happen overnight,” he said.
Lee Reiners, who teaches fintech and cryptocurrency courses at Duke University School of Law, said BNY Mellon’s move makes sense because “there are now numerous high-net-worth individuals and investment funds embracing crypto as an asset class to be added to their portfolio.”
But Reiners believes companies will remain hesitant to accept Bitcoin for payment because of its volatility.
“If you were a merchant, why would you accept payment in an asset that could be worth 20% less a day after you receive it?,” Reiners said.
Investors will have to grapple with that volatility as well.
The price of Bitcoin has soared and dipped since its debut on the futures market in 2017. A year ago, Bitcoin sold for below $10,000. Those fluctuations, analysts warn, could wreak havoc on a company’s bottom line and deter investors.
Assuming Tesla bought Bitcoin at the volume weighted average price of $34,445 in January, the company is sitting on a gain of about 38% with its investment. But in the regulatory announcement unveiling the investment, Tesla warned about the volatility of Bitcoin, its reliance on technology for use and lack of a centralized issuer, such as a government.
“While we intend to take all reasonable measures to secure any digital assets, if such threats are realized or the measures or controls we create or implement to secure our digital assets fail, it could result in a partial or total misappropriation or loss of our digital assets, and our financial condition and operating results may be harmed,” Tesla said.
“Tesla is going to have to be very careful and comprehensive in accounting for its Bitcoin investment on its books,” said Anthony Michael Sabino, a professor of law at St. John’s University. “Like any other financial asset other than actual cash, it might fluctuate.”There appears to be some reluctance among traditional companies regarding Bitcoin, at least as an investment vehicle.
During a recent conference call with investors, General Motors CEO Mary Barra said her company had no plans to invest in Bitcoin, but would continue to “monitor and evaluate” potential use of digital currency.
“If there’s strong customer demand for it in the future, there’s nothing that precludes us from doing that,” Barra said.