following on from both simon and patrick

- is it not a matter of scale ?

think the difference between self made independent film - the
filmaker as artist and the film industry

clearly there are large public art projects in a variety of mediums
that really do necessitate large teams of people with specialist
skills to make something happen and consequently the income gets
'shared' out

as a member of actt/bectu for 15 years as a filmaker i've wrestled
with most sides of debate surrounding pay and conditions/producers
rights and pay - a long discussion since the peacock reporrt and
subsequent de-regulation of uk broadcasting - it did in one sense
lead to new opportunity for independents to get broadcast but also
led to some terrible television made by people who hardly got paid,
nto that i would want to have to wait 2 years agian before i could
get my ticket, nor have to deal withthe mystifiers of the medium
hiding behind technical standards - however it has taken since then
for acttg to institute a producers right agreement

with the arts and entertainments (and yes im including net art) what
is always hard to stomach is that we live in a market led society and
despite efforts to set standards/guideines for fees and contracts to
artists etc., and as such some bastard can command  a massive fee
because of:
quality
demand
fashion

like the 18k a day fashion photographer my friend works for................

other endemic problem is there is always someone young and
enthusiastic who will do something for free for a bit of exposure
(and who can blame them)

initiatives for regulation have been made over the years by orgs.
such as the national artists association - it has never seemed very
strong  - but perhaps this is a moment to propose a code of practice
for net art?  - or is this to 70's thinking ?  it maybe worth seeing
whether PACT (producers alliance for cinematography and tv) has any
guidleines/models - with the overlap of net/broadcast cultures the
concerns expressed here of late, may be similarly relevant to more
mainstream media production

net art comes of age and faces the same (yet different) bullshit as
other mediums/cultures have historically  ?  the net artist once
resolute in not recieiveing payment or wanting to control authorship
might no longer want that for themsleves ?
and so on


sorry to be less thorough and spell badly but i have to rush - saskia
(nearly 1) can almost walk...........
.....or thats my excuse anyway

m