Spain approves Artist's Statute with mandatory intimacy coordinators, leaves out AI regulation after legal hurdle

What the decree changes

The royal decree, branded by Labour Minister Yolanda Díaz as "the labour reform for cultural workers", overhauls a 1985 regulation that governed the relationship with artists in performing arts, audiovisual and musical fields. The update, negotiated with dozens of industry associations, extends to roughly 800,000 people working in technical and auxiliary roles as well as performers. Díaz said the text ends "an old rule that includes references to the old regulations and ordinances of Francoism", calling the new framework appropriate for the 21st century.

The labour reform for cultural workers that puts an end to an old rule that includes references to the old regulations and ordinances of Francoism.

Today Spain is better and we finally have a rule adapted to the 21st century.

Protections for minors

For the first time, the statute bars minors from working as self-employed artists; they may only work as employees with express authorisation. The Ministry of Labour wants to break "the practice of work by minors that takes place in private or family settings". The decree limits maximum working hours, restricts night work and introduces health-and-safety provisions specifically for under-18s. Content creators and influencers are included, reflecting the broad scope of the new rules.

Working time and wage transparency

The concept of working time now covers rehearsals, pre-production, post-production and promotional tasks, not just final performances. Rest periods are aligned with general labour law. Employers must issue itemised payslips that separate salary elements from non-salary payments and, for the first time, show the amounts corresponding to copyright, a long-standing demand of the sector.

Intimacy coordinators and other measures

The statute makes intimacy coordinators mandatory for scenes of a sexual nature, a measure that had been widely requested by performers. The decree also formalises the rights and authorisation procedures for artistic work by minors and updates references that dated back to Franco-era ordinances.

AI regulation left out

The initial draft circulated for public consultation in January 2026 contained a specific article to protect artists' image, voice and performance rights against generative AI replicas and to limit AI use to contractually agreed purposes. However, the Council of State issued an unfavourable opinion, arguing the matter affects fundamental rights and therefore requires an organic law rather than a royal decree. In response, the Labour Ministry removed the AI chapter from the final text. Officials told El País that work is already underway to reintroduce the protections through a separate legislative initiative.