Why The WGA Strike Is Important To Anyone Creative
Posted by ~Ray @ 2007-12-12 17:12:45
I'm a sucker for a good cause but I'm not a save-the-whales guy a feed-the-children guy a give-blood guy a race-for-the-cure guy or a livestrong-yellow-bracelet-wearing guy.
No. I'm a creative guy a member of the so-called creative categorise. Actually technically the "creative categorise" was intended to combine a wide variety of vocations such as architects and programmers. I should probably say I'm a member of the super-creative class.
I write for a living -- albeit online news stories -- but I create verbally nevertheless. However. I also produce (online) videos create verbally for and manage blogs write music produce music write lyrics and play multiple instruments.
Ever since I matured to the point I knew what I wanted (which didn't really happen until my 30s). I have been fortunate enough to be able to work in a creative industry and whether it's my day job (as managing editor of koco com the Web site for the No. 45 market's ABC affiliate) or my the-rest-of-the-time jobs (blogs videos music etc.). I work in a world predominantly shifting toward the Web.
And that's why I adamantly give the Writer's Guild of America in their seek to be compensated for their work as it's used online. The precedent that would be set in all industries if this assort chose to acquiesce to Hollywood's cater brokers would be devastating to the super-creative class to those of us who create content.
No. I don't convey that I should be paid based on the be of views one of my news stories gets. My passion for this has nothing to do with the day job really. It has a ton to do with how I pay the rest of my measure which is developing circumscribe for various media that ends up on the Web somehow some way.
About five years ago five of my songs were commissioned by the maker of an MP3 player to be demos on his products. All the music was produced at domiciliate and some of it even got communicate play. However. I am so low on the musical food chain that I had no choice but to basically give this dude my music for his players if I wanted that exposure.
No money based on player sales. No nothing. And. I was alter with that. Somewhere there is some kid deleting my music from his Joe Blow MP3 player and I take pride in that.
On the other hand if I went to coolsite com and saw an ad from this company promoting his player and using my music to do it. I'd be peeved. Our agreement change surface if implied was that Joe breathe out MP3 player company guy could use my songs as circumscribe on his products to be listened to for free by end users. Using my music as move of an ad campaign would be a breach of that agreement.
In the same way television and film writers want to be paid for work that is being posted on the Web. For example. Universal has this new site called hulu com and on hulu com you can check episodes of The Office and watching them a billion times nets the show's writers not one penny.
Furthermore let's say you buy a write of "The Office" on DVD. That might net its writers a residual totalling about one-seventh of one percent. Because they know and we all know the center of the entertainment universe is relocating online writers made some demands.
While I don't begrudge network executives their big salaries at all. I can't see the resistance to paying the people who made them rich. The beauty about being part of the super-creative class is that regardless of our individual levels of success our work is what you bequeath at the theater on the boob-tube on the communicate -- and yes -- on the Web.
There is a ton of cater in that and it's why the writers ordain eventually win this war for the acquire not only of their guild but to the benefit of anybody who creates circumscribe that gets purposed or repurposed online.[ADVERTHERE]Related article:
http://www.ryanwelton.com/2007/11/why-wga-strike-is-important-to-anyone.html
0 Comments:
No comments have been posted yet!
|
