I'm willing to step away from the exciting world of music to look in on our brothers and sisters over at the WGA and SAG. If you haven't noticed, based upon the numbers of reality/game/reruns on TV, they're on strike. At the heart of their grievance is getting proper royalties and residual payments for DVD releaes and new media broadcasts.
Let me say that I'm totally in favor of fair payment, fair treatment, and fair everything for everyone. I'm not on the side of the studios, and honestly, I'm not on the side of the writers either. I'm rather Switzerland about the whole thing.
What fascinates me though, is that actual real honest-to-god numbers have not been readily shared with the public. While I don't need to know how many millions (or not!) of dollars the average writer is getting, knowing the percentages would let me take an educated position on the whole thing.
For example, studios take on multiple costs that writers don't. The studios have extreme overhead part of which is common to any business: utilities, salaries, product, etc. At the same time, obviously, they are dependent on the creative output of their writers. Bad writing equates to bad shows that no one watches, and the valuable advertising dollars disappear.
If the writers are only looking for a 1% increase, then the studios are being rather oppresive. However, is it possible that the writers are actually looking for something truly egregious? Are they biting the hand that feeds them? Is it the other way around?
Only the actual numbers tell the true story. Without them, it's a battle of marketing and PR. And in that kind of battle, you win by showing up with donuts for the strikers and not crossing a picket line. Right and wrong become irrelevant.
I guess it's all in how you write the story. Go figure...
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