The pros and cons of profit share

It’s a common contract among indie theatre-makers, but the prevalence of profit share agreements also warrants some concern.
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Profit share: everyone gets a slice. Image via www.swarthoutimages.com

While an industry staple, especially in the independent sector, cooperative profit share productions can be fraught with difficulties. As actor, composer and sound designer Ben Grant pithily puts it: ‘Profit share equals one stubbie and 14 straws.’ And whether experienced or newcomers to the industry, theatre-makers should be thorough when thrashing out a profit share agreement.

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Richard Watts OAM is ArtsHub's National Performing Arts Editor; he also presents the weekly program SmartArts on Three Triple R FM. Richard is a life member of the Melbourne Queer Film Festival, a Melbourne Fringe Festival Living Legend, and was awarded the Sidney Myer Performing Arts Awards' Facilitator's Prize in 2020. In 2021 he received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Green Room Awards Association. Most recently, Richard received a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in June 2024. Follow him on Twitter: @richardthewatts