ILO Study Finds Unpaid Preparation Time and AI Consent Questions Weigh on Creative Workers

The study, Trends in remuneration and working time: Recorded media and live performance, covers recorded music, film, television, live concerts, theatre and festivals. The Geneva-based UN agency said it drew on existing research, labour market data and consultations with employers' and workers' organisations.

The report gives a mixed view of AI. The ILO said the technology can help with editing, subtitling, scheduling and sound production, and may save time. But it can also change the skills workers need and add supervision and quality-control work. Using existing works, voices or performances in AI systems raises questions about consent, attribution, transparency and remuneration, the agency said.

The two sides of the industry want different things. Workers' organisations stress consent, transparency and compensation, while employers and industry bodies want practical rules that support innovation, investment and a range of production models, according to the report.

The study found that earnings vary widely across music, film and live performance. It also says independent producers, small venues and small and medium-sized businesses risk failing to recover their full costs and upfront investment when demand is uncertain, which shapes how risks and rewards are shared across the sector.

"Audiences see the final film or performance but not necessarily the work and investment that goes into it," said Dagmar Walter, director of the ILO's Sectoral Policies Branch. She said social dialogue could help employers and workers find practical solutions "as the industry is transformed by technology."

The report recommends better data on earnings and working time, clearer contracts, more predictable schedules and skills development. It says governments, employers and workers could tackle these through social dialogue, including collective bargaining.