#be on cloud

there have been discussions in my fandom about how thai ql actors should get rid of the top spender / private dinner events. i also saw ppl saying all ex-nadao artists don't do those kind of work so i think it should not be hard for others to follow suit and make a living without it and rely entirely on public events work / singing and acting gigs?

but still, i would love to hear your thoughts and your insights.

Hi nonnie

There is no average/standard rate to how much a Thai actor is paid because it depends on your role (main/supporting/extra), it depends on your level of popularity (or how much your manager can negotiate for you), it depends on the scale of the production (an indie film obviously can't pay an A-list actor millions of baht for one day of filming/for one episode of drama, and the actor probably knows that but they might still agree because they like the script/production/director) and a bunch of other factors so it's impossible to say how much you can make from acting.

This is a Thai graphic from a 2020 Thairath article revealing how much lakorn actors earn for one episode of drama (usually long form lakorns would be 14-24 episodes).

250,000: Weir Sukollawat Kanarot

180,000: Mai Davika Hoorne

150,000: Pancake Khemanit, Ananda Everingham, Min Pechaya, Noon Woranuch, Baifern Pimchanok, Kwan Usamanee

85,000: Mario Maurer, Nadech Kugimiya, Pong Nawat, Yaya Urassaya, Chompoo Araya

80,000: Bella Ranee, Pope Thanawat, James Jirayu

70,000: Great Warinthorn

60,000: Son Yuke, Ying Rhatha

50,000: Alek Theeradet

Aum Patchrapa takes a lump sum amount of 3million baht for all lakorns regardless of number of episodes

Of course this is just one report and there may be inacurracies or the scope of this might apply to typical TV drama productions and the rate must have changed over the years due to their shift in popularity... In an interview from 2024, Gemini said that he got 10,000 THB for the one scene he acted in Bad Buddy. 

So the consensus is that there are no fixed rate and it depends on the budget/scale of a production.

I think when we say ex-Nadao actors, we have to be very specific about who we're talking about and should not generalize. Sometimes we have people like Peach Pachara, who has like 3 different restaurant franchises in addition to being a child of the multi-billionaire Chirathiva family, Tou Sedthawut who is working as a lawyer, Bank who has a coffee shop, James who has a seafood restaurant, Cook who is full time yoga instructor, Tonhon who is more a producer than actor... people who sings and does idol activities more than acting like Billkin, PP, Ice Paris, JJ Krissanapoom.... and then of course we have people who dedicate their full time to acting like Tor Thanapob, Pat Chayanit, Pond Ponlawit...

If you look deep into Nadao Bangkok's actors filmography, you'll find that not everyone has gotten the chance to be a "lead" actor in their dramas before. Imagine if Nadao Bangkok was still in existence today and Boss Kuno decides to make another series and he casts Sky as the lead again and Junior got a supporting role again, fans would probably riots (i would know because back in the days, even Nadao Bangkok fans complained about some actors not getting lead roles).

My assumption has always been that when actors doing top spender / private dinner events, these jobs would generate massive revenues for both the artists and their management/production house companies -> which in turn can contribute to covering part of the production costs of shows that are made to star these actors. Sponsorships, platform investors alone would barely cover the amount spent on producing these shows. In other words, QL series artist management/production houses can be very commercial because they strictly adhere to the economic rule of supply and demand and top spender/private trip events is just another late-stage capitalism means to keep their financials afloat and generate way larger income for the artists than your average presenter job.

This is not to outright reject that Nadao Bangkok wasn't commercialised, but rather to emphasize that Nadao Bangkok was envisaged as an artist management company for some actors that starred GDH works. Nadao Bangkok exists to help develop these artists to the best of their abilities and when they're ready to go freelance or have discovered their other passions, they are free to do that and there isn't a pressure to keep producing shows that starred certain pairings, certain actors. I would argue that the only time Nadao Bangkok somewhat catered to mass demand was when they made I Promise You The Moon - the sequel to I Told Sunset About You.

Of course, it would be ideal if QL series actors could rely entirely on public events work / singing and acting gigs but the real question here is what is their artist management company asking of them. It's actually not just ex-Nadao actors that generally don't usually take on top spender events but also BOC whose CEO once said this about Top Spender events.

"Regarding not accepting Top Spenders, we've adhered to this principle from the start. Because, hypothetically, if we were the product owners, we'd be selling the merchandise. But the people who get to attend the event to get closer to the artist are the ones who spend a lot of money on those products, even though they don't actually consume them. They might resell them at a lower price, give them away, or even throw them away. The marketing mechanism becomes distorted. It's fandom marketing, which I don't really agree with," said Pond Krissada, CEO of BeOnCloud.

Looking into the different companies, I didn't realize how Many there are.

Thai QL Production Companies

GMMTV

Heart Killers, Bad Buddy, Perfect 10 Liners, My School President, Enemies with Benefits, Theory of Love, Not Me, Love You Teacher, Dare You to Death, Ticket to Heaven, Boys in Love, etc, etc, etc, etc.

Be On Cloud

KinnPorsche, Dead Friend Forever, Shine, 4Minutes

Domundi TV/Mandee Work

Why R U, Bed Friend, Lovely Writer, Cutie Pie, The Next Prince, Two Worlds, Zomvivor, Love Upon a Time, Your Sky, Mr. Fanboy, Khemjira, Duang with you (collab), etc.

Studio Wabi Sabi

Love By Chance, Until We Meet Again, Love Mechanics, Fourever You, My Only 12%, Your Dear Daddy, Absolute Zero, etc,

Me Mind Y

Don't Say Know, Wedding Plan, Love in the Air, Love Sea, Boy Next World, etc.

Star Hunter Entertainment

Big Dragon, Flirt Milk, Sunset x Vibes, Gen Y, My Only Sunshine, City of Stars, etc.

Dee Hup House

The Love Never Sets, Knock Out, I Saw You in My Dream, My Stand In, I Feel You Linger in the Air, Lovely Writer

Idol Factory

Secret Crush On You, GAP, The Sign, My Sweetheart Jom, Interminable, Somewhere Somehow, 4 Elements

One31

Hometown Romance, Flower Boy, Love in the Moonlight, Gelboys, Century of Love, I'm the Most Beautiful Count, Khemjira (collab), Wicked Game, Reloved, Clairebell, etc.

Change

Pitbabe (collab), Goddess Bless You From Death, Chasing Love, Grim Lover, Affair, This Love Doesn't Have Long Beans, etc.

Blue and Co.

Crazy Love Moo Moo

YWPB/Argentis

Jack and Joker, My Staycation Boy, Police in Love

I also didn't realize how many shows are collaborations between companies.

If I forgot any, feel free to add to the list!