Nollywood filmmaker Jade Osiberu has weighed in on the growing debate over lifetime royalties for actors, advocating a more nuanced approach that balances profit with shared industry risk.
In a post on X, Osiberu expressed support for royalty discussions but stressed that actors and crew members should also bear part of the financial risks when a film underperforms. She highlighted the capital-intensive nature of filmmaking and called for reforms that consider the perspectives of all stakeholders.
“Filmmaking is one of the most capital-intensive art forms. Any single player just looking to earn without thinking about the whole value chain and ecosystem needs to settle down and really learn about their industry,” she wrote.
Osiberu used sarcasm to illustrate her point, joking that actors and crew could contribute to covering producer losses proportional to their roles if a project fails. She cited her own experience offering back-end deals and encouraging actors to invest in films as a way to build collectively.
The filmmaker compared the Nollywood model to international practices, noting that platforms like YouTube pay creators based on performance, while Netflix typically pays upfront licensing fees and assumes the financial risk. She stressed that performance-based payments require participants to “have some skin in the game.”
She also encouraged transparency and understanding within the industry, emphasizing that both actors and producers must grasp the unit economics of film production to ensure fair compensation.
“Everyone needs to understand the other person’s role in the ecosystem and the co-dependencies. Many actors have themselves become producers and, as such, have a better understanding of the business. If they see opportunities for mutual value and there’s trust and transparency, many are open actually,” she said.
Osiberu concluded by highlighting the differences between music and film streaming models, noting that music platforms typically pay based on performance, whereas film streaming often involves upfront payments.
Her comments underline the need for a balanced system in Nollywood, one that rewards talent fairly while maintaining the financial sustainability of productions.
