Minimum fees for artistic work
The bbk berlin supports the fee model of the BBK Federal Association, published in the 2022 Fee Guidelines, and has been represented in the Fees and Social Affairs Working Group of the Berlin Cultural Conference (BKK) since 2025.
BBK Bundesverband: Fee Guidelines
The BBK Federal Association defines four work phases: preparation, project management, implementation, and mediation. Within these work phases, various artistic services are provided, for which working hours must be calculated.
The inclusion of cross-project work—which the BBK classifies as investment time to a varying extent—links ver.di’s base fee model with the BBK’s approach.
Learn more: https://www.bbk-berlin.de/sites/default/files/2022-12/Leitfaden_Honorare_2022.12.10.pdf
ver.di Arts and Culture: Base Rates for Self-Employed Creative Professionals
Ver.di’s fee model is also very well structured and is supported by model calculations, practical examples, and contextual descriptions.
The bbk berlin takes a somewhat critical view of its implementation, as the reality of freelance artists’ unstable working conditions does not fully align with the model and thus does not clearly constitute the target group for this model. Despite some criticism, the bbk berlin recommends examining ver.di’s basic fee model, as it contains sound lines of argumentation and sample calculations.
Fees and Social Affairs Working Group of the Berlin Cultural Conference (BKK)
Since 2025, bbk berlin has been represented in the Fees and Social Affairs Working Group of the Berlin Cultural Conference (BKK).
In response to a request from the Conference of Culture Ministers for a fee matrix, numerous arts and culture associations have developed their own minimum and base fees, which are available in various formats and have, in some cases, already been incorporated into political processes. Since these documents differ significantly in their calculation bases, terminology, and approaches, an in-depth comparative analysis is necessary, particularly with regard to the planned legal enshrinement of minimum fees in Berlin’s Cultural Promotion Act.
Against this backdrop, the Fees and Social Affairs Working Group is initiating and organizing the discussion series “Fee Recommendations” to analyze and clearly justify the similarities and differences between existing models across various art disciplines. To this end, experts from associations and initiatives will compare the underlying calculation methods to establish transparent and defensible foundations. The series will run until summer 2026 and culminate in a summary paper to serve as a basis for further cultural policy decisions.