SAG-AFTRA Reaches Tentative Agreement Covering Music Video Performers

SAG-AFTRA announced that at 11:30 p.m. PT on Thursday, Sept. 19, after three days of bargaining, SAG-AFTRA and the major record labels reached agreement on a successor contract to their Music Video Agreement. The new, three-year deal achieves important economic and safety gains for performers working in music videos. Details of the new agreement will not be released until after it is reviewed by the SAG-AFTRA National Board at its October meeting.

“It was an intense negotiation, but in the end the labels and our negotiating team were able to find a shared path toward the future. I’m proud of the process and look forward to joining my fellow members in working under these new contract terms,” said Danielle Towne, dancer and national chair of the Music Video Negotiating Committee.

“This negotiation exemplifies the diligence and smart, forward thinking brought to the table by the members of the Music Video Negotiating Committee. The gains in this contract position our members well, not just for the industry of today but also for the industry of tomorrow,” said Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, SAG-AFTRA COO and general counsel, and lead negotiator.

The new agreement will be submitted to the SAG-AFTRA National Board for ratification and will be effective from May 1, 2019, through April 30, 2022. The major labels party to the agreement are Warner Records, Atlantic Records, Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group, Capitol Records and Hollywood Records (Disney).

About SAG-AFTRA

SAG-AFTRA represents approximately 160,000 actors, announcers, broadcast journalists, dancers, DJs, news writers, news editors, program hosts, puppeteers, recording artists, singers, stunt performers, voiceover artists and other entertainment and media professionals. SAG-AFTRA members are the faces and voices that entertain and inform America and the world. A proud affiliate of the AFL-CIO, SAG-AFTRA has national offices in Los Angeles and New York and local offices nationwide representing members working together to secure the strongest protections for entertainment and media artists into the 21st century and beyond. Visit SAG-AFTRA online at SAGAFTRA.org.