Jaime King urges TV and film bosses to get better deals from streaming sites

Actress Jaime King has followed pal Taylor Swift's example and urged studio bosses to find a way of paying their stars, writers and directors for movies and TV shows streamed online.

Two days after Swift wrote an open letter to Apple Music bosses confirming she was holding back her album 1989 from the streaming service after learning artists would not be paid for streams during users' three-month free trial - prompting the company's executives to reverse its decision and promise to pay the artists, King has called on producers of her cancelled TV show Hart of Dixie to get better deals for herself, her castmates and creators.

In an Instagram post she writes, "Congrats and thank you Tay for supporting artistry and the support of artists big and small. I hope that these kinds of changes can be made in Hollywood - where actors are actually paid for the episodes watches (sic) on Netflix and Hulu etc.

"Hart of Dixie is one of the top watched shows on Hulu and helped us receive renewal many times - yet they say it’s not 'quantifiable' so we don’t get paid. Period. Not one cent."

The Sin City star adds, "Before streaming, actors, writers, producers & directors were paid residuals for every episode watched. Which is how those in our industry would live in between work. And people rarely watch live TV - or buy TV’s - they stream, so actors etc. do NOT receive any money for episodes watched in this format.

"It’s imperative that ALL artists are paid for their work and for the loving that they put into it whilst the corporations make hundreds of millions yet claim they no (sic) nothing. It’s a conflict, because we want you to watch our shows and are grateful for streaming because it allows people to discover new series.

"I LOVE Netflix and Hulu - yet, there must be a change of course from the studios that make direct deals with them and get the money directly yet do not pay the people making the shows come to life. Thank you for encouraging change @taylorswift and I really hope that one day that will cross over into our field."