Alex Fraser
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Just so I understand correctly: The networks want to take away the backend, but are not increasing the frontend payment to compensate?
Just so I understand correctly: The networks want to take away the backend, but are not increasing the frontend payment to compensate?
Just so I understand correctly: The networks want to take away the backend, but are not increasing the frontend payment to compensate?
I've heard an increase of about 10% from their already low fees. For the record, on any given Discovery show I generally make about 15% front end and 85% back end. So yeah... bumping that up 1.5% would be a nice loss of 83.5%That's pretty much it. Be on the lookout for them to increase the front end fees to make it more enticing (and loudly proclaim their generosity for doing so), but never anywhere close to the equivalent pay composers traditionally see from royalties.
There will always be people who will take jobs that don't pay well. The question is how much of the market composers will allow to go that way.
This is the same argument that recording musicians face in their negotiations. Someone, maybe not as good, will always take the job. It is by pulling together that people are able to change the math on that dynamic.
If composers think it's hopeless, then the answer is simple. Do nothing, watch passively, and accept whatever the outcome is. If composers aren't willing to accept that, then spread the word and together figure out what to do next.
The article landing in Variey raised a lot of awareness. That's the kind of collective action that moves in the right direction to combat the practices of Discovery and others.
Holy sh%!.I've heard an increase of about 10% from their already low fees. For the record, on any given Discovery show I generally make about 15% front end and 85% back end. So yeah... bumping that up 1.5% would be a nice loss of 83.5%
I think the ideal solution would be for composers to refuse these kinds of contracts until Netflix/Discovery re-think their approach. Unfortunately, there's some straight up desperate people out there that will give in to this horse sh$!.Corporations have been taking over the world for the last century and a half.
Don't expect them to care nor to respect laws that they easily manipulate.
They will keep taking what is not theirs until the people fight back.|
Time for a revolution!
The problem is that upfront payments have gotten so low that that's where we are now, and producers have a skewed sense of our price. I suspect most producers never really knew how much was in the backend (I, for one, made a point of not telling them), so they just assume composers work really cheap. So in their minds, throw those composers an extra 10 or 20 percent and they'll be happy as pigs in slop!I've heard an increase of about 10% from their already low fees. For the record, on any given Discovery show I generally make about 15% front end and 85% back end. So yeah... bumping that up 1.5% would be a nice loss of 83.5%
For a union to be effective and have a chance, we need all top composers to agree to threaten to pull out and stop working for the industry until a collective bargaining agreement is reached.
In this day and age of public shaming and IF your information is correct, maybe this individual should have their name revealed for all to see. If we speak up, fight back and go extremely public with this issue (and single out the individuals responsible) we may be able to fight back. The current climate would seem to favor this approach. I am NOT advocating for doing anything illegal or dangerous, but I do believe that if specific people are attempting to take away our collective right to make a living, the world should know who they are. Just a thought.from what i remeber, the discovery executive who is pushing all of this is from europe and got transfered over tro the US.
That may not be entirely accurate from what I have seen over the years. The top composers don't represent the bulk of the work out there, and they operate on a different plane than those doing the kind of work for people like Discovery. It's a bit like how the bulk of SAG/AFTRA negotiations aren't about how the big stars like Tom Cruise. The bulk of the negotiations are over things like stunt people, minor actors, background singers, and other roles which make up the vast majority of their membership.
Having big names on board helps any movement, but the real power comes from the average folks pulling together to have collective power in numbers. Big names are more willing to throw their weight around once they see that everyone is already moving in the right direction.
However, big names can be very valuable in helping others in their field to rally around the cause!
As someone who has provided the underscore for the music for a lot of these shows, not sure if I should be insulted. No worries, I'm not.To be honest, considering some of the underscore going on in those shows, and the lowest common denominator that seems to have become the norm in the vast majority of cable TV programs, the pressure applied at a lower level will not have much weight, since it would be very easy to do away with composers and make deals with the many libraries music companies out there that have significant catalogs and who will not hesitate to make deals in order to stay in the game.