New waiver provides protective terms for the use of digital technology in creating personalized, audio-only digital ads.
Dear Member,
We are pleased to share with you our new Dynamic A.I. Audio Commercials Waiver, which will open up new work opportunities for our members, providing protective terms for the use of digital technology to create highly personalized, audio-only digital ads.
This new waiver was approved by the SAG-AFTRA Commercials Contracts Standing Committee, as well as the National Executive Committee, and capitalizes on the success of the Dynamic Audio Waiver, which has created hundreds of jobs for SAG-AFTRA voiceover performers since its approval in 2019. That waiver set terms for the fair compensation of professional voice performers in the creation and use of personalized digital audio commercials that include customized elements which reflect a listener’s specific context, such as the current weather, time of day, or listener location.
Both the Dynamic A.I. Audio Commercials Waiver and the Dynamic Audio Waiver are part of the Audio Commercials Contract and all other provisions of that contract apply.
The principal difference between the new Dynamic A.I. Audio Commercials Waiver and the previous Dynamic Audio Waiver is the added terms that cover the use of A.I. technology to generate these highly personalized ads. The new waiver provides A.I.-specific contractual protections for members, requiring a performer’s informed consent for the creation of their digital voice replica, and additional consent for the use of their digital voice replica in any ad. Performers will always have the ability to opt out of the use of their digital voice replica in an ad, and each time a new commercial is created using their digital voice replica a performer must be compensated per the terms of the waiver.
The waiver also requires producers to take reasonable steps to ensure the security of voice material and to prevent unauthorized use of actors’ voices by any third party, and to delete all copies of an actor’s voice at the end of the employment relationship.
This agreement furthers the union’s goal of ensuring that whenever A.I. is used in ways that impact SAG-AFTRA members, appropriate protections, informed consent and proper compensation are always required.
Want to know more? Find the Dynamic A.I. Audio Commercials Waiver HERE and check out the FAQ about this waiver HERE.
In unity,
Duncan Crabtree-Ireland
National Executive Director & Chief Negotiator
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.