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BBC (TV and Radio) Agreement

Updated: 06 April 2023 | 14:42 PM
Agreement

The agreement between BBC and the MU applies to in-house BBC productions, and sets out the minimum terms and conditions for engaging session musicians for BBC TV and Radio content. The agreement covers:

  • live sessions and the broadcasting of BBC and non-BBC events (e.g. Radio 1 Live Lounge, 6 Music sessions, Later with Jools Holland, Strictly Come Dancing, Glastonbury, BBC Proms)
  •  musicians engaged to record specially composed music (e.g. titles, jingles or incidental music)
  • the reuse of existing performance footage
  • BBC Public Service rights (TV, Radio, online, iPlayer etc)
  • secondary exploitation of musicians’ performances e.g. TV sales, DVD and DTO (Download To Own)
  •  rates for signed bands and artists (Established Self-Contained Groups).

Rates of pay for BBC session musicians taking place from 1 April 2023 (see agreement for March 2023 rates)

Basic 3 hour recording session fees:

Type Fee Overtime
Television £246.00 £25.00 per 15 mins
Radio £84.00 £10.00 per 15 mins

Recording for programmes that are not for full network broadcast may be paid at a discounted rate.

Multiple use recording fees

Scale Fee per hour Minimum Fee Overtime (per 15 mins)
1 £139.00 £415.00 £39.00
2 £104.00 £311.00 £30.00
3 £92.00 £277.00 £27.00
4 £71.00 £214.00 £21.00

Additional fees

Doubling Trebling Overdubbing
Plus 10% of session fee Plus 20% of session fee Plus 110% of session fee per overdub

Porterage

Group A Group B Group C Group D
£22.50 £18.50 £12.00 By Negotiation

Downloads

Member services for recording musicians

Membership for recording musicians