What the agreements settled
The negotiated settlements around synthetic performance are worth studying even if you are not a signatory, because they define the norms that everyone else gets measured against.
- A digital replica of a performer requires informed consent describing the specific use.
- Use of a replica generally triggers compensation rather than being covered by the original performance fee.
- Synthetic performance should be disclosed rather than passed off as a real performance.
- Performers retain some ability to constrain uses they find objectionable.
Why non-signatories should care: these terms become the reference point in disputes, platform policy and legislation. Operating well below them is a liability even where no contract binds you.
Consent must be specific
General consent is not enough. The emerging standard requires describing what will be done, where it will appear and for how long.
| Element | Weak consent | Defensible consent |
|---|---|---|
| Scope | “We may use AI” | Named productions and platforms |
| Duration | Perpetual | Defined term with renewal |
| Medium | Unspecified | Specific media and territories |
| Modification | Any alteration | Described categories of alteration |
A clause buried in a general release is unlikely to be treated as informed consent for synthetic use, and several jurisdictions now say so explicitly.
Compensation for replicas
- Creating a replica is treated as a separate use from the original performance.
- Using it in new material generally triggers a further payment rather than being covered by the original fee.
- Residual-style structures are appearing, where continued use generates continued payment.
If your budget assumes a one-time buyout covers unlimited synthetic reuse, it is built on an assumption that is being dismantled.
Disclosure obligations
Two distinct disclosures are increasingly expected, and they are not the same thing.
- To the audience: that the performance is synthetic, so viewers are not deceived.
- In the credits or metadata: so the provenance chain is auditable downstream.
Some agreements permit synthetic performance without on-screen labelling in specific contexts, but the metadata expectation is close to universal.
Outside union jurisdiction
Most people generating synthetic humans are not signatories. The principles still apply through three routes.
- Contract: your client or platform will require warranties that you have rights. This is usually the binding constraint.
- Platform policy: distribution platforms increasingly require disclosure and can remove non-compliant content.
- Law: several jurisdictions regulate digital replicas and personality rights directly, independent of any union agreement.
Where law regulates directly
| Area | Typical rule | Practical effect |
|---|---|---|
| Digital replica | Consent required for commercial synthetic use of a person | Written consent before generating |
| Personality rights | Varies substantially by territory | Check per market |
| Posthumous use | Often restricted or time-limited | Do not assume estate rights |
| Voice cloning | Increasingly treated separately from image | Separate consent for voice |
Voice is usually a separate consent: teams that clear a performer’s image frequently forget the voice. Cloning a voice without specific consent is one of the easiest ways to create liability.
A practical compliance practice
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Decide whether anyone is recognisable
If a viewer could identify a real person, treat it as a replica regardless of how it was made.
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Get written consent naming the use
Specific productions, platforms, territories and term. General language will not protect you.
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Clear voice separately
Explicitly include voice cloning and synthesis if you will use it.
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Disclose to the audience
Label synthetic performance in the content or metadata as your market requires.
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Keep the paperwork with the asset
Provenance travels with the file; so should the consent record.
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Warrant it in your contracts
Clients will ask. Being able to answer immediately is a commercial advantage, not just a legal one.