When is Support not really support?

This is the title of a blog by Gemma Painton of Bristol based company Action Hero which has sparked some interesting debate around what SOME of the venues offering support to artists ask for in return.

Gemma says: These venues  offer rehearsal space and technical support and possibly a small amount of hard cash – in return they ask for a percentage of any money the artist subsequently makes from presenting the show.

To some this may sound reasonable, but when you consider the small amount individual artists in receipt of this kind of support are likely to be making (in the case of Action Hero around  £11,000 each before tax this year to tour pretty continuously, barely a living wage) and you could accuse the  venues of being exploitative; they may get back far more than they put in – not to mention the rights over the artists intellectual property.

However, what if a show supported by a venue then went on to be a huge commercial success – should the venues not reap some of the benefit of that success to plough back into support for new young and emerging artists…? Shouldn’t we all be planning for success? Is this debate actually two questions, the rights to intellectual property and the return on investment? The debate goes on and it’s not a black and white issue.

You can read Gemma’s blog and the responses here, and  in the spirit of transparency BAC have posted all the ways that they work with artists including detail of basic deals. The artists' position in negotiating has come up in Theatre Bristol To You To Me Open Space meetings in the past so keep an eye out for the next one and call an issue.