The social conditions of many professionals in the independent performing arts are precarious. We therefore advocate in various ways for their improvement.
Minimum Fee
The BFDK has been issuing recommendations on a minimum fee (Honoraruntergrenze/HUG) for freelance practitioners working in the independent performing arts since 2015.
The latest revision of the minimum fee (December 2025) was carried out through a participatory process involving the BFDK’s member associations and the “Minimum Fee Working Group”. As part of the BFDK’s internal “Minimum Fee Working Group” and the public Fair Pay! process, the association is also developing differentiated, tiered fee models that better reflect professional experience and levels of responsibility.
The HUG is calculated on the basis of Normalvertrag (NV) Bühne, the standard collective agreement for employed artists working in German theatres. This provides for an entry-level gross monthly salary of EUR 3.161,10 (as of February 2025 including an expected increase of 2.8 per cent as of May 2026). Self-employed individuals who are not insured through Künstlersozialkasse (KSK, Germany’s artists’ social insurance scheme) must cover their social security contributions in full. A corresponding amount, currently 23.94 per cent, is therefore added. Regardless of insurance status, the BFDK’s minimum fee recommendation also includes a flat-rate monthly allowance of EUR 300 to cover additional risks and costs, such as accident insurance or maternity protection.
The current recommendations are as follows:
Minimum fee (net) for individuals not insured through KSK
- Month: EUR 4,220
- Week: EUR 970
- Day: EUR 192
- Performance (10% of the monthly fee): EUR 422
Minimum fee (net) for KSK-insured individuals
- Month: EUR 3,600
- Week: EUR 830
- Day: EUR 165
- Performance (10% of the monthly fee): EUR 360
The minimum fee is based on an entry-level salary in the performing arts and therefore does not adequately reflect the circumstances of those with more extensive professional experience. The minimum fee is, as the name suggests, a lower limit. As a general rule, fees should be calculated and negotiated above the published minimum rates. Higher minimum fees per performance are especially recommended for solo self-employed practitioners, duos and ensembles with entrepreneurial responsibility, since all operating and administrative costs (including premises, workshops, storage, administration and other fixed costs) must be covered exclusively through performance fees.
In our “Systemcheck” study, we found that self-employed and hybrid workers in the performing arts earned a net income of around €20,500 in 2021 – while the national average in Germany was just over €27,000[1]. This low income also means that little provision is made or can be made for situations such as illness, old age, or periods without work.
To improve the social conditions of freelance professionals, we advocate for:
- a fair, appropriate, and livelihood-securing level of pay
- resilient social security in cases of caregiving, illness, accident, unemployment, old age, and incapacity for work
- diversity-sensitive and low-discrimination funding structures that reflect the working conditions and needs of the independent performing arts
In 2015, we introduced the minimum fee guideline for the independent performing arts and have been continually developing it ever since. In 2024, it was recognised by the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media (Beauftragten für Kultur und Medien, BKM) as a reference for appropriate remuneration. Since July 2024, it has been mandatory for all BKM-funded projects.
Further milestones included our research projects “Systemcheck” (2021–2023) and “Study on Social Conditions” (2023–2025). Both provided scientifically grounded analyses of the economic and social conditions in the sector. While “Systemcheck” focused exclusively on the performing arts, the “Study on Social Conditions” broadened the perspective to encompass the entire cultural and creative industries.
[1] https://de.statista.com/statistik/daten/studie/74510/umfrage/nettogehalt-im-jahr-je-arbeitnehmer-in-deutschland/