New Report: Earnings and Contracts of UK Screen Directors

CREATe is happy to announce the launch of its latest report, examining the earnings and contracts of UK screen directors. This report is part of a longitudinal research series on creators’ earnings and contracts conducted by Arthur Ehlinger, Amy Thomas, Martin Kretschmer, Michele Battisti, and Helena Saenz de Juano Ribes. It is a key contribution to our new research theme, Dealing with Creators. The study surveyed 592 screen directors and included interviews and focus groups to provide valuable qualitative context alongside the quantitative findings. This independent research was commissioned and funded by the Directors UK.

Read and download our Statistical Report and Policy Report.

Key Findings

• Earnings & Employment: Primary Occupation directors earn a median income of £55,000 per year from their self-employed work. However, financial instability is a growing concern, with directors reporting fewer working weeks and projects. In 2023, directors worked an average of 27 weeks and completed 2.2 projects, a decline from 32.4 weeks and 3.4 projects per year between 2019-2022.
• Socio-Economic Barriers: Directing remains a profession dominated by individuals from privileged socio-economic backgrounds, with 61.6% of directors coming from the highest social and economic brackets. This raises concerns about accessibility and the financial barriers to entry in the industry.
• Demographic Disparities: There are clear inequalities in representation within the profession. Women are significantly underrepresented, with 65.4% of directors being men compared to only 31.2% women, as well as directors with disabilities who represent only 5.9% of respondents, compared to 24% in the overall UK workforce.

The reports also highlights key challenges faced by directors, including:

• Industry-Wide Poor Practices: Many working conditions in the sector are widely accepted as the “norm,” reinforcing inequalities and making it harder to sustain a career.
• Weakening Bargaining Power: directors have seen a decline in their ability to negotiate fair pay and contracts, leaving them more vulnerable to exploitation.
• Lack of Confidence in Rights: Many directors feel uncertain about their legal and contractual rights, making it even harder to advocate for themselves in an already precarious industry.

Amy Thomas and Arthur Ehlinger, lead researchers said:

A note on methodology

We use the largest available professional networks to reach each group of creators, including artists, authors, and performers. This outreach is typically conducted through Collective Management Organisations (CMOs), as well as trade associations, unions, and other networks.

While this approach is not suitable for identifying the total number of creators in a given country, it is designed to capture a representative sample of professional creators within the sector under study. By stratifying creators based on their primary occupation (through time allocation), we ensure that our data represents a professional group accurately. This methodology also enables comparisons across sectors, countries, and over time.