Hollywood has changed during the streaming era. Netflix, HBO Max, Paramount+ and more platforms grew massively in the last couple years. Streaming made the production cycle faster than ever before. Due to this, you would think that writers would be be paid more. But, that isn’t the case.
Royalty checks have decreased in value in the streaming era. Also, with the creation of AI without regulation writers are being put in a tough spot. The Writers Guild of America is fighting to get justice for this, although they couldn’t reach an agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture (Netflix, Apple, Disney, Amazon, etc.). In turn, the Writers Guild organized a strike against the organization.
Here’s a direct quote from Writers Guild America West: The companies’ behavior has created a gig economy inside a union workforce, and their immovable stance in this negotiation has betrayed a commitment to further devaluing the profession of writing. From their refusal to guarantee any level of weekly employment in episodic television, to the creation of a “day rate” in comedy variety, to their stonewalling on free work for screenwriters and on AI for all writers, they have closed the door on their labor force and opened the door to writing as an entirely freelance profession. No such deal could ever be contemplated by this membership.
