Broadway Grosses: Week Ending 6/30/19- Page 3
Broadway Grosses: Week Ending 6/30/19
Jarethan
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/10/11
#50Broadway Grosses: Week Ending 6/30/19
Posted: 7/5/19 at 12:52pm
What you wrote is consistent with an article I read awhile ago. That said, is it possible that some creatives would agree to royalty cuts just to allow the show to run longer? I have always assumed- with no basis in fact - that one of the reasons Chicago is still running (and 2019 has been pretty rough so far, compared to recent years) is because some of the creatives are happy to see it imbed itself further into Broadway history books as will take smaller royalties to do so. I wouldn’t be surprised if Sara Bareilly or Carole King (and others) will do the same thing. They are making nothing if it is closed...
Too naive???
#51Broadway Grosses: Week Ending 6/30/19
Posted: 7/5/19 at 1:01pm
it can and is done sometimes for a variety of reasons as can an outright loan to the production (though I would expect this much more at the embarrassment stage and these shows have nothing to be embarrassed about at this stage.)
ErmengardeStopSniveling
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/20/18
#52Broadway Grosses: Week Ending 6/30/19
Posted: 7/5/19 at 1:11pm
Jarethan, you're talking about 2 different things.
As HH says, creative team royalties often go up after the show reaches 110% recoupment. In real-world comparisons, it's like a bonus.
When a show is doing badly and losing money, the authors/creative team/service providers will sometimes be asked to waive their royalties/fees to get the breakeven down, in the hope that business can pick up. I've never heard of a show doing it post-recoupment, but perhaps HH knows more. The Prom is one recent show that went on waivers; a long-running hit show like Chicago is almost certainly NOT one of those.
#53Broadway Grosses: Week Ending 6/30/19
Posted: 7/5/19 at 2:00pm
I would never say never and I can imagine a scenario where this might happen (perhaps over a rough stretch) but I don't know of an actual example offhand.
One other point worth making here is that royalties are "below the line," the point being that if a show is losing money (grosses minus expenses), reducing the royalty hit does nothing to pay the bills. It's just that there will be less reserves when there is a full royalty payout so less to offset negative cash flow.
Jarethan
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/10/11
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