Residual (entertainment industry)

A residual is a payment made to the creator of performance art (or the performer in the work) for subsequent showings or screenings of the (usually filmed) work. A typical use is in the payment of residuals for television reruns. The word is often used in the plural form. Besides members of SAG-AFTRA, members of unions that work behind the camera (such as members of the Directors Guild of America and the Writers Guild of America) receive residuals as well.

The residual system started in U.S. network radio. Live radio programs with nationwide audiences were generally performed either two or three times to account for different time zones between the east and west coasts of the United States. The performers were paid for each performance.

Audio "transcription disc" technology became available in the late 1930s and was initially used to make recordings to send to radio stations that were not connected to the live network. As the sound quality of these recordings improved, the radio networks began using them for time-delaying the west coast broadcast and eventually eliminated the need for multiple performances. The performers were kept on standby and paid for a second performance, in case there were technical problems with the recording. This established the precedent for residual payments from recorded performances.

A similar transition between live and recorded performances occurred on television in the early 1950s. Initially, most television broadcasts were either live performances or broadcasts of older films originally produced for motion picture theaters. Kinescope recordings were made of live east coast performances so they could be broadcast several hours later on the west coast. These recordings also made it possible to repeat broadcast these shows at a later time. In 1952, residual payments were extended to these television reruns.

Meanwhile, the Screen Actors Guild began a long battle to gain residual payments for movies that were shown on television. The Guild relinquished any claim for residuals from movies produced before 1948, but there was a long-standing stalemate over residuals for newer movies. Finally in 1960, the Screen Actors Guild reached an agreement with the movie studios that paid residuals for movies produced after the date of the agreement. Movies produced before 1960 were not required to pay residuals.

...
Wikipedia