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As Hollywood continues to adjust to AI's steady march into the business, SAG-AFTRA has launched an exemption for artists who are working on personalized audio ads incorporating the technology.
The Actors Union's “Dynamic AI Audio Commercial Viewer,” announced to members on Tuesday, seeks to manage how union members' voices perform in AI-powered commercials. are used and compensated for that change according to the particular audience or context. (An example of a given union is if a commercial, on a podcast, changes its greeting from “good morning” to “good afternoon” to “good night” depending on the time of day.) ).
The new agreement sets out a number of rules governing consent and compensation in these circumstances. Performers must be aware in advance that, under the terms of the contract, their vocal work will be used for digital sound reproduction and give written consent to such use. They should give the green light to use this replica in a commercial, knowing which products will be advertised. When a new commercial is produced using voice dubbing, the performer is required to be paid according to the criteria specified in the exemption.
Additionally, “producers must also undertake to take commercially reasonable steps to ensure the safety of the digital sound duplicate and the material used to create it, and the digital sound duplicate upon termination of the employment relationship.” And all material used to create it must be deleted.” The union has included a frequently asked questions document about the exemption.
The exemption was approved by the union's Commercial Contracts Standing Committee and the National Executive Committee before it came into effect. The Joint Policy Committee — the group that represents advertisers and agencies in labor negotiations with unions — also provided input into the terms of the waiver, according to SAG-AFTRA. (THR The Joint Policy Committee has been contacted for comment.)
The waiver is only available to signatories to the union's audio commercial contract, and so the union reminds members that if a company does not abide by the terms of the waiver, “claims may be filed, and The employer may be pursued for appropriate compensation, penalties, and fees.”
In his announcement of the waiver, SAG-AFTRA National Executive Director Duncan Crabtree-Ireland told members that the agreement “further ensures the union's goal that whenever AI is used in ways that affect SAG-AFTRA members To be done, proper precautions, informed consent and proper compensation are always required.”
The dynamic AI audio commercial viewer is the latest example of SAG-AFTRA clearing the way for union members to participate in jobs where AI is being used. On January 9, the union and voice technology company Replica Studios announced an audio agreement covering the use of digital replicas in video games and other interactive media.