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Do 'celebs' who are interviewed on BBC radio pay for the privilege?
maltshovel
Posts: 9,911 Forum Member
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I was listening to BBC Radio 2 this afternoon and Steve Wright was interviewing Toby Young about a new book he had written. Surely Toby will have paid to come on the radio in order to advertise his book?
Do all famous people pay to be interviewed on BBC Radio 2?
Do all famous people pay to be interviewed on BBC Radio 2?
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Surely it depends on what they have come on the radio to discuss. In terms of Toby he was plugging his own book - a blatant advertisement! Whereas the star of a new BBC TV drama series talking about it will just be raising interest in a BBC programme so why should he/she pay?
Okay thanks I get it
On the other hand one could argue what benefit I gained from listening to Toby spouting on about a book that I have no intention of buying:D
Agreed - me too and that's why I had to ask the question.
I heard Seth Rogen asked about this once, he said it had never been a contractual obligation on him as an actor and as a producer he'd never seen such a clause in anyone else's contract...
An implied obligation perhaps? Or just the fact that the actor has an interest in making sure the film is a success, so they get offered more work?
Because if that was the case, the writer wouldn't be asked in the first place!:cool:
Indeed, you are quite right.
However, it's not uncommon for the broadcaster, out of courtesy, to lay on a taxi for the guest.
That is why the Daily Mail's frequent carping about "BBC Taxi use" is so off the mark, as most of these are guests on BBC local radio.
Taxis are in the event of the BBC specifically inviting the guest to talk about a chosen subject, and not for promotion.
The money an actor/writer/singer would get for doing these shows would come from the marketing agency/department responsible for the film/book/album
As for fees, to my knowledge, "promotional" interviews are not paid for, and nor are "speaker opportunities" (e.g. "expert" commentary on a news item), though expenses are reimbursed (or taxis paid for etc.) Non-promotional appearance fees (say, on a chatshow) used to be around £200-400 in the 90's IIRC. Live (or mimed!) musical performances are paid for, albeit at minimum union rates, though accompanying dancers, band members & backing singers will be paid for by the record company rather than the BBC.
Dont get me wrong, sometimes that is an actor sat in a London hotel room for a day, whilst they answer the same questions from "journalists" 500 times, but its something they do.
Coming to the UK however, after the appearance on Graham Norton and the (admitted) chore of speaking to journalists from all medias, what else do you do? daytime /early evening talk shows have fallen out of favor (for quizs hows), but The Alan Titshmarsh show was never the right demographic. Its seems odd that stars do interviews for Steve Wright in the Afternoon.
Ever heard of The One Show where you can talk rubbish about your latest film or TV series and no-one will ever challenge you.
Yes this.
Also you've got to give them a consideration for the contract granting any copyright to be valid, and £60 ish is enough of an incentive for most guests to sign the contract and put a stamp on it.
It is what was done on the Children in Need Perfect Day recording, everyone got the Musicians' Union minimum rate irrespective of how big a star they were. Said at the time to be for contractual reasons, most would probably donate it to the charity.
Even if no payment is paid for an interview, I suspect that there is discrimination by importance (or perceived self importance!). The lower level might be told to get a taxi and reclaim the cost, others have a taxi prebooked to collect them, then some sent an Addison Lee (or similar) car (again with different grades of car depending on who it is).
Musical performances have to incur a fee for copyright reasons. However usually the broadcaster will own the rights to the performance. It's why 30 year old episodes of Top of the Pops can be repeated so cheaply: The BBC doesn't have to pay PRS or PPL charges, since it owns the performances itself.