Playwrights Guild of Canada (PGC) is thrilled to offer a new and necessary Digital Recording Rights Guide to its playwright members and the Canadian theatre community. PGC formed a partnership with Literary Agent and Producer, Colin Rivers, to research the landscape of digital recording rights for playwrights in Canada in order to design a contract that PGC members can use to protect their work in the digital realm.
The Digital Recording Rights Guidelines is available to PGC members and is ready to use when they are engaged in work as a playwright for digital means, which may include radio, film screenings, TV broadcasts, podcasts, and more. Over the last few years, Robin Sokoloski, PGC Executive Director, and Rebecca Burton, PGC Professional Contracts Manager, noticed an increase in inquiries from theatre professionals who were looking to use the work of playwrights digitally. PGC’s proactive response to this already-changed theatre landscape came from the need to provide informed and well-researched solutions for Canadian playwrights.
Colin Rivers says, “I had no doubt that the research would likely illuminate the complexity of the issue. What I was not prepared for was the realization that no associate guild of PGC, to my understanding, has yet to establish anything close to a defined contracting model to address this question. While there are a few institution-based agreements (like NT Live and the Met), no standardized system for contracting playwrights for the digital exploitation of their work exists in the US, the UK, or beyond. Moreover, most individuals I consulted with expressed great interest in learning what PGC decides to move forward with as a recommended plan.”
