How is the Back to the Future tour NOT going out under the highest level touring contract?

Could it be because of the shows operating costs combined with the fact they haven’t recouped? This isn’t my area of expertise at all, so I don’t always understand the logic behind these decisions.

$1,056 a week is absurd for a first class Broadway tour. The actors in the NY production doing the exact same job are getting paid literally twice as much.

This is the 'minimum' weekly rate and from other actors on tour who are in principal/lead roles they will negotiate higher weeklys. I can only imagine that they will need a certain level of actor with experience to handle these rolls (Most principal roles) and they will get what they pay for.

Call_me_jorge said: "Just saw the Back to the Future tour audition notice and it will be going out under the level 5 touring agreement, which has a minimum salary of$1,056/week. Compare that to the weekly minimums of the tours for MJ, Hamilton, Six, Moulin Rouge, Frozen, Wicked, and etc which is at$2,403/week. I know the show hasn’t recouped yet, obviously, but for a show that is making well over a million dollars a week on Broadway it is striking that equity allowed the tour to pay so little. I’m just confused by the decision making here. If other well known IPs can tour on the higher level contract, why can’t Back to the Future?"

There wasn't a decision by Equity here. Any show can use the SET agreement if the production qualifies for it. And it has nothing to do with IP or Broadway grosses. It concerns the length and financial arrangements of the tour engagements. This is oversimplifying, but if the majority of engagements are one week or less, no engagements are over four weeks, and there are guarantees of under $300k per engagement, it can use this agreement. There is some potential upside to the cast that isn't in the production contract. Once a tour recoups, salaries go up 17%, and in weeks there is profit, each cast member gets .28% of that profit.

Call_me_jorge said: "itsjustmejonhotmailcom said: "Call_me_jorge said: "Just saw the Back to the Future tour audition notice and it will be going out under the level 5 touring agreement, which has a minimum salary of$1,056/week. Compare that to the weekly minimums of the tours for MJ, Hamilton, Six, Moulin Rouge, Frozen, Wicked, and etc which is at$2,403/week. I know the show hasn’t recouped yet, obviously, but for a show that is making well over a million dollars a week on Broadway it is striking that equity allowed the tour to pay so little. I’m just confused by the decision making here. If other well known IPs can tour on the higher level contract, why can’t Back to the Future?"

There wasn't a decision by Equity here. Any show can use the SET agreement if the production qualifies for it. And it has nothing to do with IP or Broadway grosses. It concerns the length and financial arrangements of the tour engagements. This is oversimplifying, but if the majority of engagements are one week or less, no engagements are over four weeks, and there are guarantees of under $300k per engagement, it can use this agreement. There is some potential upside to the cast that isn't in the production contract. Once a tour recoups, salaries go up 17%, and in weeks there is profit, each cast member gets .28% of that profit."

The SET agreement and Production contracts are no longer used for equity tours, they have been superseded by the new Touring Contract. AEA absolutely gets a say in what agreement level a show goes out on;AEA negotiated the touring contract with the broadway league and set the guidelines for determining tiers. The touring production must fit within those guidelines, and if AEA doesn't agree, they would seek to remedy that or pull the rights for union talent to operate under that contract. The fact that equity didn’t question this decision at all just shows how much of a joke their leadership is. Who are they representing? Allowing performers to go out on a first national tour being paid less than half of their Broadway counterparts is an absolute joke."


Sounds like someone didn’t get a callback. Ouch!

Equity has zero skin. They are doing this because of the greed of the producers. Producers know they could pay people $500/wk and there would be lines down 8th Ave to audition. So to combat everything going non union they created a new system. Technically they could be making a bit more if the show sells on the road, but yeah that minimum is awful.

Does the new tour contract even include the pay bumps the SET agreement had? I can’t find any information on that.

RippedMan said: "I think someone posted above that they get a slight bump if the show is successful. But what is successful? Not sure. I had friends on the recent Cats tour that had to really fight to get their bumps."

itsjustmejonhotmailcom was referring to the former SET agreement, which is no longer in use. So, I’m not sure if the current agreement has those pay bumps.

HeyMrMusic said: "Bwayornoway said: "This is the 'minimum' weekly rate and from other actors on tour who are in principal/lead roles they will negotiate higher weeklys. I can only imagine that they will need a certain level of actor with experience to handle these rolls (Most principal roles) and they will get what they pay for."

Most actors will get the minimum, though. They will hire an actor who will accept the minimum before hiring a better actor who will not."

In which case its up to ticket buyers to either settle for what the producers are offering on stage or to not purchase tickets to something that they don't think is worth the price of admission.

Other than the first few stops, the touring schedule will likely be one week engagements, maybe two depending on the city. But there are likely very little stops that are three or more week engagements, thus them needing to be in a short engagement touring contract. They don't qualify for a production contract. Legally, the production has to post the Equity minimum, whether or not they're going to pay more than that. I wouldn't be shocked if the actual contracts are significantly higher.

A few things to clarify. There are no longer Production, Tiered, or SET tours. All touring is now under a single unified touring contract. The level is determined by several factors, though, similar to the old agreements, the weekly guarantee is the primary factor.

Overage participation still exists for levels 3 through 7. There is still the 17% minimum increase once recoupment is reached, as well as an increase in the overage share, for levels 2 through 7. All of the standard increased increments (understudy, swing, bit parts, dance captain, etc) are also still a part of the contract. There are also additional bumps required if a show is booked for a longer engagement than is normal for that presenter. So, using Cleveland as an example, where they have a three week minimum booking for their subscription series, the cast of Six, which was just here, would have gotten additional bumps for the fourth and fifth weeks of their booking (if they are Level 2-7).

The reality is that the road has changed. It used to be standard that the first national tour would play two weeks in every “A” city, whereas now it’s pretty typical to get one week bookings as the large majority of the itinerary. Subscriber bases are dwindling, and many venues are booking fewer shows into their packages than they used to.

Also remember that the producers are taking a hit as well when they send out a show on a lower level, as that means they are getting lower guarantees. They have had to open their books/financials to Equity to get their contract approved. In addition, at least on the new touring contract (I don’t know if it was this way under the Tiers and SET), they do have to provide financial reports to the cast as well.

Wick3 said: "While on tour, do cast members have to pay for lodging/food?"

No, housing (hotels) is provided, and they get a per diem for food.