Actors Sue Commercial Casting Site Over ‘Pay for Play’ Policy

variety.com:

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer A group of actors filed a class action lawsuit Tuesday against Casting Networks, one of a handful of websites that connects actors to commercial auditions, alleging that the platform functions as an illegal pay-for-play system.

Casting Networks offers actors a free tier and two premium tiers. The paid options allow actors to upload more video to their profile and to submit for unlimited roles.

The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in Los Angeles Superior Court, alleges that the site violates a 2009 California law that makes it illegal to charge for auditions.

The plaintiffs allege that the free tier allows users to upload only minimal data, and that users are effectively required to pay to access to full functionality of the site. “Rather than level the playing field and inject transparency, these platforms have replicated traditionalpatterns of exploitation under the guise of technology and innovation,” the suit alleges.