Commercial Buyouts Explained: What You Sell and What to Ask First

The offer comes in after your callback. One shoot day, a day rate, and underneath it a second number marked “buyout.” Then the small print: one year, all media, worldwide. It’s more money than you’ve made from acting this month, and the casting office would like an answer by end of day.

Before you reply, it helps to know what that second number is paying for. Much of what a buyout is worth depends on the small print after the fee.

The short version: a buyout is a single fee that lets the advertiser use your performance as much as it likes, within the limits the contract sets. Those limits are the deal. Check the media, the term, the territory, and any exclusivity, and compare them with the fee. Watch for “in perpetuity,” unlimited edits, and stills used in print. If you’re union, or trying to be, know how a union spot pays instead. And ask your agent or your union before you sign anything you’re unsure about.

Know what a buyout is buying

Casting director Ramani Leah, writing at The Casting Director’s Cut, defines a buyout as “a flat fee/lump sum that is paid to talent in lieu of receiving residuals.” Within the contracted time, the client can air the spot as often as it wants without coming back to you or paying more. She notes buyouts mostly turn up on low-budget or non-union commercials.

So a buyout is a license. You’re renting out your face and voice for a defined use, and the fee is the rent paid upfront. The day rate is a separate payment for the work itself. The Irish agency MovieExtras.ie spells this out in its guide to usage and buyouts: a featured performer gets two payments, the studio fee for the shoot and a usage or buyout fee for the use of their image.

That split matters when the numbers come in. A high day rate with a tiny buyout and a huge scope can be a worse deal than the reverse.

See how a union spot pays instead

A union commercial doesn’t sell use in one lump. On a SAG-AFTRA spot, you get a session fee for the work, and the advertiser then pays for use as it goes, in cycles. The joint FAQ on the 2025 SAG-AFTRA Commercials Contracts, published by the union and the advertisers’ Joint Policy Committee, puts it plainly: “Use must be paid through the MPU.” The MPU, or maximum period of use, runs about two years from shortly after the first production day under that contract.

The same FAQ says the session fee can be credited against use that happens within 13 weeks of the session, and it describes the holding fees many spots must carry every 13 weeks. Our guide to holding fees and commercial exclusivity walks through those cycles. The point here is the shape: in a union deal, more use means more checks. In a buyout, more use within the term means nothing extra.

In the UK, the fee and the use are still separate

British commercials follow a similar logic. Equity’s guide, Working in Commercials (2022), explains that you’re paid a Basic Studio or Session Fee, the BSF, for the shoot, and then for how the advertiser intends to use the commercial: where it will be shown and for how long. Those use fees can be a license for a set period or a transmission fee with repeats based on TV ratings.

The guide is candid about its limits. It’s based on a document that advertising and production bodies agreed with Equity in 2011, which sets recommended best practice and minimum fees but “in itself, it is not legally enforceable.” Equity’s advice is to ask for your contract to be based on the document’s Form of Engagement, so its terms become part of your deal.

Read the four lines that set the price

Every buyout comes down to four questions: where it can run, for how long, in which countries, and what it stops you doing. Each one changes what the fee is worth.

Media: where it can run

Commercial casting director Terry Berland, in a piece on not compromising the commercial industry (2025), tells actors to find out whether a spot is regional, national, foreign, internet, print, or billboards, because that’s how you judge whether the rate is fair. A spot for one city’s social feeds and a spot on national TV plus every billboard in the country are not the same job.

Some industries price each medium openly. The Casting Guild of Australia’s recommended guideline (September 2024) lists additional media as a percentage of the negotiated performance fee: cinema, for example, at 50 percent. That’s an Australian guideline, not a rule where you live, but it shows the principle. Each extra medium is extra value, and under that guideline it carries its own price.

Be wary of the phrase that collapses all of this. Lawyer and actor Michael DeBlis, writing about contracts for non-union actors, notes that clauses granting every medium, known and unknown, have become more common as new platforms appear. His advice is to limit the media in writing and ask for extra pay for future media.

Term: how long, and from when

The term is how long the advertiser can use the spot. Ask when it starts. MovieExtras.ie says the term begins when the ad first airs or is promoted, not on the shoot day, so editing can open a gap between the two. That gap is why you’ll want the dates written down.

The term to refuse is “in perpetuity,” meaning forever. Berland’s advice is blunt: “Never accept anything in perpetuity.” The piece explains that it lets the advertiser use your image in the spot forever without paying you again, and that it can lock you out of other work. The Australian casting guild takes the same line: its members won’t agree to perpetuity, in alignment with MEAA/Equity, Australia’s performers’ union.

The UK Equity guide adds a related protection. No advertiser should require an automatic extension, or an option to extend, at the time you’re first engaged. Under the guide, running a commercial more than three years after its first use needs a newly negotiated BSF and a new contract.

Territory: which countries

“Worldwide” is a big word in a small contract. The Australian guideline prices territories as a percentage of the Australian buyout: worldwide at 350 percent, the USA at 200 percent, New Zealand at 50 percent. Whatever market you work in, the lesson travels. Every country added is more value for the advertiser and can mean more places where a competing brand sees you as taken.

Exclusivity: what it stops you doing

This is a line actors often misread. Leah calls it one of the biggest misconceptions that a non-union buyout by itself affects your conflicts. It doesn’t: the buyout covers use of the spot, and any contractual restriction comes from a separate exclusivity or conflict clause. Berland adds the reverse warning: a spot with no conflict clause doesn’t guarantee you’re clear, because competing brands may still see you as conflicted.

When there is exclusivity, it should be spelled out and paid for. Equity’s guide says a restriction should be a special stipulation stating the period, how far it reaches, and the fee, and that the fee is negotiable and paid in addition to the BSF and use fees. DeBlis suggests limiting a non-union exclusivity clause by time or place, for example to the same area and only while the spot runs, so you’re not barred from a whole product category for good.

Watch for the clauses that quietly widen the deal

A buyout can be generous on its four main lines and still give away more than you meant to. These are the extras worth a second read.

• Edits and media libraries. The Australian guideline says its members won’t agree to unlimited edits, which must be capped when actors are briefed, and won’t endorse banking your performance in a media library for future edits without fair compensation.
• Stills. Equity’s guide says an advertiser has no right to use stills from the commercial in paid advertising space without your specific consent and a negotiated fee.
• Digital replicas. Under the 2025 SAG-AFTRA contracts, the joint FAQ treats a performer’s digital replica as something that needs proper notice and the performer’s consent. In a non-union deal, the contract may be your main protection, so ask whether your likeness or voice can be reused or generated, get the answer in writing, and check with your agent or union.
• Hours. Berland notes that a typical non-union payment covers 10 hours, while a union day is eight hours and covers overtime. Ask what the day rate covers and what happens if the shoot runs long.
• Hold harmless. DeBlis warns that non-union actors are often asked to hold producers harmless for lawsuits arising from the production, and says that clause should be struck.

Decide whether this buyout is a good deal

There’s no single right number, so judge the offer by its shape. A buyout isn’t automatically bad: a fair fee for a short, local, single-medium term can be a good day’s work. The risk grows when the scope grows and the fee doesn’t, or when the scope has no end at all.

Leah’s questions are the place to start. Is the fee fair for the intended use? How long is the buyout, and is the fee or the time negotiable? Will this spot create a conflict that could cost you a union job, and does the pay make that worth it? And if the buyout is low, can the day rate go up instead?

Think about the next two years as well as this one. If you’re a SAG-AFTRA member, the question may not be yours to answer: the union’s Global Rule One bars members from working for a producer who hasn’t signed a union agreement where the union has a national contract, and it applies worldwide. If you’re working toward membership, see how to become SAG-AFTRA eligible, and weigh whether a long non-union hold in a busy product category could get in the way.

Ask these questions before you accept

Send these to the casting office or your agent before you confirm. Get the answers in the deal memo or contract, not just in an email thread.

1. What media is included, by name: TV, streaming, paid social, organic social, online video, print, billboards, in-store, cinema?
2. How long is the term, and does it start on the shoot date or the first air date?
3. Which countries or regions does it cover?
4. Is there an exclusivity or conflict clause, which product category does it name, how long does it last, and is it paid separately?
5. Is there any wording like “in perpetuity,” a grant of all media including ones invented later, or an option to extend?
6. How many edits or versions can they make, and can they use stills from the shoot in print or online ads?
7. Can my likeness or voice be reused, altered, or generated digitally, and if so, for what and for how much?
8. How many hours does the day rate cover, and what is paid for overtime, fittings, or a recall?
9. When is the buyout paid, and what happens to each fee if the spot is cancelled?
10. Who is the employer on the contract, and can I see the full contract before the shoot day?

Berland points out that actors without an agent may only see the contract on the morning of the shoot. Asking for it in advance is normal, and comparing it with what you agreed is your job. If the job has copy, prepare it as you would for the audition: our guide to preparing for a commercial audition covers learning short copy fast.

Keep the paperwork for the day the spot outlives its term

Buyouts end quietly, and spots don’t always come down when they should. Keep the deal memo, the signed contract, and a note of the first air date and the end date. Then set a reminder for the end date.

If you see the spot running after it should have stopped, or somewhere it shouldn’t be, Equity’s guide says to get evidence of the use and have your agent (or you) tell the producer or advertiser and ask to negotiate, and to contact the union if that doesn’t work. DeBlis notes that when a contract lists the permitted uses and the producer goes beyond them, the actor may have a claim. Whether to pursue one is a question for your agent, your union, or a lawyer; DeBlis mentions union legal services and Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts as lower-cost places to start.

For how buyouts sit next to film and TV money, see our guide to residuals, buyouts, and use fees.

Questions actors ask

When do I get paid for a buyout?

It depends on the contract, so ask. MovieExtras.ie says that in its experience the buyout is usually paid after the ad goes live, which can be anywhere from about four weeks to six months after the shoot, while the studio fee is paid for the shoot itself.

What happens to the buyout if the commercial is cancelled?

MovieExtras.ie says no buyout is owed if an ad is cancelled, because it won’t be shown, but the studio fee is still payable. Equity’s guide likewise says that once terms are agreed, a cancellation by the employer should still leave you due your BSF. Check what your contract says about cancellation before the shoot.

Do background actors get a buyout?

Under Equity’s UK guide, no: featured artists get use fees and walk-on and background artists don’t, because featured artists are recognizable and can be limited from other commercial work for up to three years. Non-union practice varies by job, so ask the casting office whether your booking includes a usage fee.

Can I use the commercial on my reel?

Under Equity’s UK guide, yes, once it has begun transmission; elsewhere it depends on the contract, so check. The guide says that once the commercial has begun transmission, the featured artist may use it on their showreel and website for promotion. The same guide urges caution with non-disclosure agreements, so read any you signed before you post.