Details of SAG-AFTRA and Replica Studios Agreement

Union of voice actors as well as actors SAG-AFTRA with Replica Studios While the agreement between the two attracted the attention of many people, it also created controversy among the voice actors. One of the reasons for this situation was that the agreement was not clearly announced at the first stage. So what does this agreement cover?

The agreement caused controversy

Honkai: What we know from games like Star Rail and Genshin Impact Emi Lo, “I love that we pay every month to a union that outsources our jobs to AI.”, while SAG-AFTRA describes this agreement as “for voice actorsA safe way to find new employment optionsDuncan Crabtree-Ireland, who is also the chief negotiator of the institution, says that many members are satisfied with this agreement.

Meanwhile, collective negotiations for SAG-AFTRA continue

In the USA, almost every profession has a union umbrella and a collective labor agreement is made under this roof. Thus, individual producers or workers gain a basis for struggle against companies. Both the voice actors and the companies these artists work with are parties to this contract.

The agreement in question is currently “interactive media agreementIt is referred to as ” and on one side 140 thousand artistson the other side Electronic Arts, Activision Blizzard, Take-Two There are giant companies such as. In the contract, one party receives rights such as minimum wage, basic rights, right to strike, and in return, companies guarantee that they will receive certain services at a certain quality. Disagreements in these contracts were also at the root of the contract crises in the NBA or the Hollywood writer crises of recent months. I mean, this is quite serious in the USA.

So why are people upset about SAG-AFTRA?

The agreement between SAG-AFTRA and Replica Studios seems to pose a problem at this point because Replica Studios is not a party to this agreement. The current agreement was also reached independently of ongoing contract negotiations. on the other hand Crabtree-Ireland, While he says that Replica Studios is not part of the negotiation and that its job is to produce digital replicas of the sounds, he argues that the agreement is compatible with the ongoing contract.

What will Replica Studios do with these digital copies?

Basically Replica, A SAG-AFTRA-certified third-party AI voiceover provider will provide services to gaming companies. However, the company will not be able to use the voices it has as it wishes. According to the agreement, artists will be paid fairly, strict measures will be taken against unauthorized use of artists’ voices, and these files cannot be used without the artist’s approval. Sounds 1 year can be licensed, and this period can be extended with the approval of the artist. In case of extension, the artist will be paid again.

Artificial intelligence It was one of the central issues in the latest agreement. With this agreement, SAG-AFTRA showed its expectations to game companies in this regard. On the other hand, some artists stated that they wanted to continue performing their art, not just to have their voices used and be paid.