The Stage

BECS rakes in £2m secondary payments

Published Thursday 8 July 2004 at 10:25 by Joanna Taylor

UK actors have received more than £2 million in the last 12 months from extra payments for the secondary use of their television, radio and film work in Europe.

This is by far the highest yearly figure amassed by the British Equity Collecting Society since it was established four years ago in the wake of changes to European legislation governing video lending rights and the retransmission of programmes on cable TV. The statutory changes included the introduction of a blank tape levy in France and Spain on blank video cassettes and recording equipment in order to compensate performers for their TV works being recorded in the home.

The money has been distributed to approximately 14,000 performers and also includes £75,000 for the use of archive radio material on BBC digital radio station BBC7.

Chairman of BECS Graham Hamilton said: “BECS has delivered great results for actors whose TV and film work has been used in other European countries. We can now pay actors for classic films like The Great Escape and more recent ones such as Billy Elliot, for which they may never have received secondary payments.”

BECS has distributed more than £4 million to British performers since its first payout in 2000.