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Amazon Prime started out as merely a distributor. They provided a platform to already developed movies for them to be streamed to mass audiences.
However, in recent years, Amazon Prime has developed Amazon Studio to develop its own movies and TV shows.
Quick Summary of This Guide
The average base pay for an Amazon Studios manager is $66,499 per year.
However, there are a ton of other roles involved when it comes to working at Amazon Studios.
In this post, we will discuss how the individuals involved in the content creation process for Amazon Studios are paid and how much.
We’ll discuss the entire salary structure and also give examples of how you’ll be compensated when you take part in an Amazon Studios production.
Let’s get into it.
How Studios Work?
When it comes to studio production and distribution, there are three main roles:
- The studio
- The producer
- The distributor
The producer is concerned with gathering investors and finding the funds needed to make the movie or television series in question.
Moreover, the studio provides manpower, expertise, and equipment needed to bring the project to fruition.
The distributor is responsible to bring the content (movie or television series) to the respective audience.
In the past, distributors only worked as companies that were responsible to bring movies into movie theaters and shows onto television networks.
Recently, however, distributors have started to take the form of streaming networks such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, etc.
Amazon Prime is a distributor whereas Amazon Studios is a studio.
For this post, we will assume that you’re a person that aims for a job or role somewhere in the studio part of the content creation process.
This is because producers and distributors are typically veterans with years of experience. If you have previously worked on one of these, you won’t need an instructional post like this.
Let’s get into it.
How Studio Employees are Compensated?
Let’s start by talking about how actors are compensated in this model.
Firstly, there are paid for their performance. This payment happens before the project is distributed or sometimes, even finished.
How much actors are paid for their performance will depend on a number of different factors such as:
- The actor’s established influence and star power
- The actor’s technical ability
- The significance of the actor’s role
- The budget of the studio production
And much more.
Of course, you may have heard glowing posts about how known actors are paid hundreds of thousands of dollars per episode.
Sadly, that’s not the case if you’ve just started out in the acting business.
The median hourly wage for actors in the United States is $17.49 per hour.
The lowest 10% of actors in the industry are making about $8.97 per hour.
On the other hand, the highest 10% are making $89.08 per hour.
Hence, if you’re an actor at Amazon Studios, your base pay based on your performance in a movie or TV show can vary wildly.
However, that’s not the only way you’re compensated for your work.
The second way through which you get paid is through the royalties you will receive every time that piece of media is consumed.
Whenever the movie is streamed or a Blu-ray of the movie is purchased, you will get paid in residuals.
Again, how much you receive per stream will vary wildly because it depends on your role and the budget of the production itself.
We’ve so far only talked about actors. However, there are a ton of other jobs involved in studio production that are important for the completion of a project.
Below, we have compiled the average salaries for many of the jobs you could have when you’re part of a studio production:
Directors
In the United States, salaries of directors typically range between $146,000 per year and $219,600 per year.
The median salary of directors in the United States is $183,000 per year.
Screenwriters
In the United States, the salaries of screenwriters usually range between $53,244 per year and $83,165 per year.
The median salary of a screenwriter in the United States is $64,997 per year.
Cinematographers
The average cinematographer salary in the United States is $43,550 per year or $22.33 per hour.
Entry-level cinematographers earn around $34,125 per year whereas more seasoned cinematographers can make up to $117,000 per year.
Editors
Editors in the United States typically make about $71,985 per year.
Their salaries usually can range between $62,078 and $81,517.
Production Designers
The average salary for product designers in the United States is $50,143 per year.
Art Directors
Art directors are fairly more compensated compared to production designers.
The median annual wage for art directors working on movie and television products is $97,270 per year.
It can range from between $54,530 and $199, 250.
Costume Designers
The average annual salary for costume designers working on major productions is $40,142 per year.
It can range from anywhere between $36,994 and $43, 789.
Makeup Artists
Makeup artists working on major productions in the United States typically make $21,633 per year.
Their salaries can range from $19,118 and $24,942.
Wrapping Things Up…
Sadly, there’s no concrete way to tell how much Amazon Studios will pay you as this depends on a ton of different factors.
However, we hope we’ve made it much clearer how these studios work and how much you can expect to make depending on your job.
Do you have any memorable experiences working on major productions? Let us know in the comments below.
