Duncan Crabtree-Ireland Talks Performers’ Rights in the Digital Age

The Consumer Technology Association returned to Las Vegas in January for its prestigious CES technology event in person, after going online last year due to the pandemic. Considered one of the most influential tech events in the world, CES welcomed more than 40,000 attendees who perused new gadgets and heard remarks from industry leaders at Samsung, General Motors and health care company Abbott Labs, among others.

SAG-AFTRA National Executive Director Duncan Crabtree-Ireland joined the global roster with a featured talk in C Space Studio moderated by James Kotecki, addressing performer rights in the metaverse.

“We’re always concerned about the rights of our members being protected,” Crabtree-Ireland stated. “Especially their right to consent to the use of their image and their likeness.”Current performance issues include an artist’s work being used to create virtual actors, deepfakes, digital scenes, AI-enhanced music and NFTs, long after the contracts with companies have been concluded.

“If you’re one of the creators and consented to it, then it just becomes a question of whether it’s being monetized and are you being included in that,” Crabtree-Ireland noted. “People involved in the original creation are entitled to participate in its exploitation.”

As digital tech continues to develop, decisions regarding the structure of regulatory and contractual frameworks will be paramount to ensure artists can protect themselves in these environments, according to Crabtree-Ireland, and creating appropriate boundaries between companies and performers is a SAG-AFTRA priority.

This item was originally featured in the SAG-AFTRA magazine spring 2022 issue.