The sorry state of streaming residuals shows why SAG and the WGA are striking.

  • vertigo3pc@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    As someone who works in the film and TV industry, let me go ahead and say whatever you do in America, whatever industry: you’re undervalued, underpaid, and your wealthy executives are getting fat on your hard work while you starve.

  • MxM111@kbin.social
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    1 year ago

    Warning: unpopular opinion here.

    From the article:

    That means that despite the show being a resurgent hit, there were no big secondary payouts.

    So, I am an engineer/scientist. Products that I have developed/contributed to development are used by billions of people. Most likely you, the reader of this comment are using it right now, because some of the products I worked on are telecom products, that are widely used to transfer information.

    The amount of secondary payouts I receive is EXACTLY ZERO.

    My honest question is, why those writers should be any different? They should be paid when they make their products, according to the contract they signed. But why many think they entitled to something more?

    And no, I do not think that argument “but it is difficult work, it is not constant” works here. There are lots of difficult, non-constant, seasonal, whatever jobs there that pay even less.

    • some_guy@lemmy.sdf.org
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      1 year ago

      I worked on products that many Lemmy users are using to read and post. I don’t expect residuals because that’s not how my industry was built / ever worked.

      Writers are in an industry that previously paid them every time their work made money. That’s the difference.

  • BilboBargains@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    When are people going to understand that what you know, what you can do, value, truth, integrity and love have absolutely nothing to do with how much you get paid? The world makes much more sense if you stop assuming being a good person makes you rich. The opposite is true, being a psychopath is far more profitable.

    If we placed the appropriate value on the people who reduced suffering the most, there would be statues of Edward Jenner everywhere and he would have been the richest person in the world.

    • SlopppyEngineer@discuss.tchncs.de
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      1 year ago

      There is an inverse relation between the wage a job pays and the contribution to society that the job makes, with a few exceptions like doctors. The highest paying jobs are very often parasites on society. This seems to originate from the Calvinist work ethic where meaningful work is its own reward.

      ~ paraphrased from David Graeber, Bullshit Jobs

      • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        with a few exceptions like doctors

        Even then… Elective plastic surgeons make far more than virologists or ER techs. Radiologists can earn more by owning an MRI machine and charging for its use than by billing to interpret the machine’s results. Hospital administrators at big clinics earn more than staff physicians. Insurance company admins can earn more than doctors. Shareholders in medical firms earn most of all.

  • HappyPornDaze@lemmynsfw.com
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    1 year ago

    I don’t understand the concept of residuals. You were paid to write the thing, so you wrote the thing, and you got the money for writing the thing. WTF. I DON’T GET PAID EVERY TIME SOMEBODY USES THE WEBSITE I WORKED ON FOR MY EMPLOYER, WHY IS CONTENT GENERATION ANY DIFFERENT!?!?!