Netflix actors' fees are being reined in. With talk of a 300 million won cap, attention is focused on whether the bubble controversy can disappear.
According to OSEN reporting on the 12th, as the cap on fees for Netflix series and films has been lowered to the 300 million won range, overall inflated production costs have been reduced and moves to "lower actors' pay" have begun. It amounts to applying the brakes to fees that had skyrocketed.
A source said, "Netflix's cap on actors' fees is trending lower toward 300 million won. I understand it as a policy considering the overall rise in production costs." Another source also said, "In recent years Netflix's fees have risen sky-high, but this year the brakes have begun to apply," and added, "Even internally the idea that the cap is 300 million won is being talked about naturally."
Netflix has been noted as a key platform leading the revival of K content and demonstrating its capabilities, but it has also been criticized as a main cause of rising production costs for Korean drama. In the industry it was reported that When Life Gives You Tangerines cost about 60 billion won and Squid Game about 100 billion won, and critics said that by investing massive production costs unimaginable in domestic conditions, it became a factor that caused actors' pay to skyrocket.
It was pointed out that global OTTs with enormous capital raised actors' fees, leading to overall production cost increases, and that the domestic market, feeling the burden, was contracting and the number of drama productions fell sharply. As a result, voices grew that this negatively affected K content competitiveness. In fact, 141 productions were made in 2022, while about 80 are expected this year.
Earlier, foreign media reports poured out that Lee Jung-jae of the global hit Squid Game season 2 received $1 million (1.3 billion won) per episode, and in relation to this Lee Jung-jae candidly replied in a January interview this year, "It's true there is some misunderstanding. But it's also true I was paid a lot."
As awareness of this issue spread, in October last year Netflix content director Kim Tae-won said, "Korean content is doing so well and is loved and successful globally, but if production costs increase it will come back as a boomerang," and added, "We're thinking that giving appropriate fees within an appropriate budget might be a good approach for actors, for us, and for the works. We don't have a guideline or regulation set, but it might be right to allocate according to the work," showing signs of change.
According to OSEN reporting, the "300 million won cap" does not apply to everyone at all times, and there are naturally exceptions. There are slight differences depending on the scale of the work, and fees can be flexible depending on the situation. Also, in the case of Netflix series, fees are usually accompanied by a 40% increase from previous installments, and exceptions can occur accordingly.
A Netflix official also told OSEN, "It is more reasonable for fees to reflect the actual time and contribution of creators and cast rather than a simple episode count," and said, "Netflix does not set a uniform cap on fees, and we flexibly negotiate with partners considering the work's characteristics, roles, and production period," stating the official position.
[Photo] Netflix
[OSEN]