Former Nickelodeon star Devon Werkheiser said , " We never got paid residuals ever … Leads on Nickelodeon got paid a buyout , basically , never a residual , not once in my living forNed ’s Declassified . "
You might think that if you had one hit song or hit show you’d be set for life. However, it’s surprising how little some creatives make on their past work, no matter how much it’s earning for somebody in a suit.
Here are 15 celebs who reportedly make basically no money off of some of their most famous work:
1.On theBFFspodcast,Josh Pecksaid he makes “zero” money offDrake & Joshreruns. He said, “It aired from 2004 to 2007, but — fun fact — because kids' TV doesn’t have residuals, it’s still on every day.”
He said , " I ’ve work through it . It ’s taken a while , but I ’m here at 35 telling you I ’m OK now . "
2.Likewise, Drake Belldidn’t receiveresiduals from reruns ofDrake & Josh.In 2023, the series began streaming on Netflix, but the actors got nothing out of the deal.
3.On theZach Sang Show, former Fifth Harmony member Ally Brooke said, “We literally have billions of streams. But, unfortunately, we don’t get anything off of streams.”
She continue , " But , thank God for Sound Exchange [ a nonprofit that works on behalf of rights owner to hand out royalty for the digital performances of profound recordings] … we get , like , about $ 5,000 a calendar month . But , that had go bad away now and we ’re not certain why … It ’s crazy , it ’s messed up , it ’s not what you think . "
She also say that the group was " investigate " why their payments from Sound Exchange had disappeared .
4.Similarly, when theZach Sang Showasked Lauren Jauregui if she made any royalties from Fifth Harmony’s music, she replied, “It’s not gonna pay my rent…It is what it is.”
" I ’m not tie to make a fortune off of what we create because that ’s not what it was for me . It was n’t what it was while I was in it , " she said .
5.Jake JohnsontoldRolling Stonethat he and the rest of theNew Girlcast don’t get streaming residuals. He said, “We’re part of the unfortunate new world.”
He said , " We do n’t get the residuals the way we used to , but there are so many other opportunities now . I find really kind of mixed . I bid we still got those quondam checks , but they do n’t advertise on those shows the style they used to . It ’s not the clean line that onetime telly and syndication used to be , and I hope the new deal serve with that . "
6.During theSAG-AFTRAandWGA strikes, Billy Porter told thePA news agency, “I’m not trying to get any sympathy. This is the truth of it, my residual checks were six cents. I’m still an artist, and artists are still freelance workers. SoPosehas been over now since 2021. I don’t get no more money from that.”
He continued , " I ’m hypothesize to , which is why we ’re striking . I ’m supposed to be get money from that , but I ai n’t . "
7.Reggae singer Marcia Griffiths didn’t make any money from “Electric Boogie (The Electric Slide)” until Island Records founder Chris Blackwell stepped in. She told CBC’sQ with Tom Powerpodcast, “I would feel better if I was able to make some money from it. But unfortunately, [writer/producer/background vocalist] Bunny Wailer claimed a hundred percent from the song, and whatever I made from that song is from performances, and thanks to Chris Blackwell, who thought it was so unfair that nothing was given to me.”
She continued , " I finally , in the end , got some performance royalties . "
8.From the SAG-AFTRA picket line, Aaron Paul toldEntertainment Tonight Canada, “I don’t get a piece from Netflix onBreaking Bad, to be totally honest, and that’s insane to me. You know what I mean?”
" Shows experience forever on these streamers , and it snuff it through wave . And I just see the other day thatBreaking Badwas trending on Netflix , and it ’s just such common horse sense , and I think a lot of these streamers , they know they have been catch away with not paying people just sightly earnings , and now it ’s time to pony up , and that ’s just one of the things we ’re fighting for , " he said .
9.OnTikTok, Nickelodeon actor Giovonnie Samuels said, “I never got paid for any residuals for doingAll That.”
In anotherTikTok , she tell , " Back in the [ 2007 - 2008 writer ' strike ] I was one of those favourable actresses that was able-bodied to live off my residue and able to afford wellness insurance through SAG . After the writers ' strike and cyclosis started to really kick off , I lost my health insurance and have n’t had SAG insurance policy since then . When Netflix started airingBring It Onback in [ 2014 ] and then again in 2018 , becoming one of their popular movies , I ai n’t get no money . Okay , I receive a little morsel of money . Like , $ 1,000 for the whole class . "
10.Pop star Nikki Webster doesn’t make any royalties from her hit song “Strawberry Kisses.” She told 2DayFM’sHughesy, Ed & Erinshow, “It’s recoupable back to the record label for all the money they invest into you as an artist.”
" Having the most expensive video clip in Australia back when I did ' Strawberry candy kiss ' with the robot — I ’m still recouping that money , " she tell .
She also said that the songwriter get royalties she does n’t because she " did n’t compose the Sung dynasty . "
11.OnTwitter, former Nickelodeon actor Stephen Kramer Glickman said, “For those of you trying to understand the SAG strike…here is a little info for you. [Big Time Rush] played on Netflix for two years and then got moved to Paramount+. Any guesses on how much I was paid by Netflix and Paramount+ in residuals? I’ll give you a hint. It’s $0.”
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12.Mandy Mooretold theHollywood Reporterthat the residual checks she gets forThis Is Usstreaming on Hulu are for minuscule amounts between $0.01 and $0.81.
She sound out , " The residuary government issue is a huge result [ in the SAG strikes ] . We ’re in improbably golden locating as working actors , having been on shows that found enormous succeeder in one agency or another … but many doer in our position for years before us were able to inhabit off of residuals or at least give their bills . "
13.Ned’s Declassified School Survival Guidestar Devon Werkheiser toldTMZ Audio Network, “We never got paid residuals ever…The deal at the time — this was before SAG and after a merge — there’s two actors unions, and Josh Peck’s talked about it. Leads on Nickelodeon got paid a buyout, basically, never a residual, not once in my life forNed’s Declassified.”
" It show all over the humankind two times a day for 10 years , and not one residuary , man . So , whatever success you think came from , Ned ’s , it ’s far less , " he said .
14.OnThe Joe Budden Podcast, R&B singer/producer Jon B said, “The real sense of life in terms of, like, whether you value yourself and that whole duality of positive and negative is very very real when you have a platinum record…and there’s nothing to show about it, you know what I mean, financially…If you can get put through that test where you write and produce all your shit and they’re still not writing you checks, and you can keep a happy face…needs to be commended…[My label Babyface and I are] in the process of working everything out, but it’s 25, 26 years later, and I mean, I still haven’t been paid a check for my records.”
He said that he intend " every record . "
" I get handicap because I do shows , but I do n’t get give for my records , " he tell .
15.And finally, during the SAG strike,Liv and Maddieactor Joey Bragg told theCash Cutiespodcast, “That’s one of the things we’re striking about. Because my show was like Netflix’s number one watched show, when it was on Netflix, then those streaming rights got bought by Disney for like millions upon millions upon millions of dollars, and the creators, nobody saw any of that money.”
He also line a loophole that Disney Channel allegedly used to get around paying actors and crew less .
He say , " They have a deal with , I do n’t know if it ’s the unions or the AMPTP , but they had a deal where the first three seasons of a show , you get paid 88 per centum of graduated table . So it ’s 88 percent of , like , minimum pay , pretty much , for the work party , and then the idea is , you work on a show , it becomes popular , you go four , five , six season , and you get 10 percent , or whatever that is . But then , even if the show ’s popular by the third time of year , they bring up it as a brand new show . So , we were Liv and Maddiefor the first three seasons , and the last time of year wasLiv and Maddie : Cali Style … it ’s in our contract that we ca n’t renegociate unless everybody resolve to renegociate . "
