Actors, agents, managers, and casting directors deserve a single, affordable, transparent platform - not a pay-to-play system that exploits us all.

The entertainment industry is drowning under unfair casting platform fees. Actors pay to audition, agents and managers now face new charges, and casting platforms keep hiking prices. These companies profit from an essential part of our work — access to employment — while SAG-AFTRA’s own tool, iActor, sits underused. We’re calling on SAG-AFTRA, the AMPTP, the ATA, and CSA to unite in creating one fair, accessible casting platform where everyone—union and non-union actors, reps, casting directors, and producers—shares the cost equitably. End pay-to-play once and for all.

To SAG-AFTRA leadership, the AMPTP, producers, casting directors, agents, managers, and all working actors:
We, the undersigned, call on you to take immediate, collaborative action to reform the exploitative system of casting platform fees that burdens our entire industry.

In the wake of the pandemic, the dual 2023 strikes, and the rapid rise of AI, actors and their representatives are still rebuilding their livelihoods. Instead of relief, we’re now being crushed by escalating costs just to access audition opportunities.

The Problem
Actors today must pay for multiple platforms simply to stay visible.

Casting Networks has doubled its subscription prices in recent years and now, over this past week, introduced charges to agents and managers in the form of new monthly fees in the hundreds of dollars per month.
Actors Access charges both actors and reps already — plus fees for every new photo or video upload by the actors to maintain their profiles updated.
Casting Frontier, Casting.com, Casting Workbook, Spotlight and others require separate subscriptions, each with their own “premium” tiers.
And here’s the catch: many of these so-called competitors (Casting Networks, Casting Frontier, Spotlight - UK) are owned by the same parent company (Talent Systems/Red Bird Capital), effectively creating a monopoly. This has led to price gouging, limited transparency, and rising barriers to entry for actors — especially emerging artists.

We are now in a pay-to-play system — one that is not only unethical, but potentially illegal. A recent class action lawsuit filed against Casting Networks and Actors Access alleges precisely that: that actors were being charged for access to employment opportunities, which violates labor and employment laws. Actors Access has a free submission now, but it only includes the actor's name and resume, even if said actor has previously paid for photos/videos and has a complete profile, for example. This is completely inefficient to Casting Directors who need to see actors' full packages to do make their selections, so actors are forced to pay these premium prices just so their entire package gets seen.

Every other industry does it right.
CareerBuilder, Indeed, ZipRecruiter — the employers pay to post jobs.

If Hollywood worked like a normal profession, studios and networks would pay to post roles, and actors would submit for free. No artist should have to pay to have access to work.

A Fair Solution — One Platform, Shared Cost, Shared Access
The solution already exists: SAG-AFTRA’s iActor.
This platform could be revamped and expanded to become the industry’s leader database for casting — serving union and non-union actors alike.

Here’s how a fair system could work:

• Union actors contribute through their SAG-AFTRA membership dues.
• Non-union actors, agents, managers, and casting directors pay a modest, standardized fee.
• Producers (through the AMPTP or independent ones) need to account for casting access costs as part of production budgets, since casting is a necessary part of hiring. So producers would also pay a small fee per project/breakdown that gets posted by their casting director.

By sharing the cost equitably across everyone who relies on this tool, no single group bears the burden, and everyone pays less. The platform becomes a shared professional resource — not a profit-driven gatekeeping mechanism.

Our Demands
We call on SAG-AFTRA, the AMPTP, and all industry stakeholders (CSA and ATA) to:

• Collaborate to develop and fund a centralized casting platform by expanding iActor — make it accessible to union and non-union professionals alike.
• Eliminate pay-to-play models. No one should pay for the right to audition, access job listings, or submit themselves for jobs. If an actor has a full profile already, they should be able to submit that full profile to every casting opportunity.
• Any fees incurred using iActor should go solely toward maintaining storage and infrastructure costs, not profit margins.
• Ensure transparency and accountability: require open reporting of platform revenues, data usage, and fee structures.
• Implement equitable pricing that divides costs fairly between actors, reps, casting directors, and producers. Create tiered systems so pricing is fair (i.e. smaller budget productions pay a smaller fee than bigger budget productions; actors with only 5 headshots pay less than actors with 15 headshots, etc.)
• Support legal and legislative efforts to end exploitative “pay-to-play” systems across the industry.

Why This Matters
Casting is an essential part of the industry. Without fair access, creativity dies at the gate.

This isn’t just about convenience — it’s about equity, transparency, and access to opportunity. By creating one shared platform, we can restore fairness, relieve financial stress, and strengthen our community from the inside out.

Let’s stop paying to work.
Let’s start investing — together — in a system that works for us.

Sign if you believe our industry deserves a single, fair, transparent casting platform for all.

Next Steps:

Please share this petition on social media and tag @sagaftra, @variety, and @deadline.
Encourage all manager, agents, actors, casting directors, and colleagues to sign.
Together, we can build an equitable solution that sustains, not exploits, the people who make storytelling possible.