As certainly one of actuality TV’s royal household crossed the road, putting movie and tv writers joined forces on Wednesday in New York City with one other group of tradition staff concerned in a pay dispute: musicians.
While a five-piece band performed bopping brass and percussion music, members of the Writers Guild of America, of their fifth week on strike, joined in solidarity with musicians, music-industry staff and their supporters in Midtown Manhattan.
Their meet-up spot on the curb was outdoors the headquarters of Penske Media Corporation, proprietor of Austin-set South by Southwest aka SXSW. The convention is going through criticism for the way it compensates bands. (PMC additionally owns Deadline and different media- and culture-focused publications together with Rolling Stone and Billboard.)
Musicians returned the gesture by becoming a member of the writers at one other rally on Wednesday afternoon outdoors the headquarters of Paramount Global.
Outside Paramount, a queen of stage and display screen was on the road. Here’s why SAG-AFTRA member Alfre Woodard is supporting putting writers:
Earlier in the present day WGA strike captain Warren Leight known as out Kardashian for crossing the picket line for Ryan Murphy’s American Horror Story.
“Sad to report that Kim Kardashian crossed our midtown picket line today,” the previous In Treatment showrunner tweeted. “Ushered past us into a freight elevator in her chauffeured Escalade. Writers aren’t keeping up, but Kim Krossed Our Line.”
Leight tweeted a poignant clarification later: “Once again: working actors are required to cross our lines until their contract is up on June 30. It’s not scabbing,” he wrote. “Many agonize over that, march with us on other days, send statements of support. She has more leverage than others in her position. She didn’t use it.”
A seemingly unblushing Kardashian, for her half, posted this picture on her Instagram story in the present day:
Kim Kardashian by way of Instagram
With the WGA bringing their help beforehand on Wednesday, the sooner protest outdoors Penske HQ attended by greater than 100 marchers. Their ire was the enterprise mannequin of SXSW, the possibly career-making music {industry} confab, artist showcase and media pageant that attracts 1000’s of band members, solo artists and different attendees to Austin each March.
Demanding higher compensation for bands taking part in the Texas fest, members of two actors unions — SAG-AFTRA and Broadway’s Actors’ Equity Association — additionally have been available, together with unionized New York musicians within the American Federation of Musicians Local 802.
The message for SXSW as summarized by one speaker on Wednesday was easy: “Pay your [expletive] bands,” mentioned Sanjeev Rau, who belongs to a newly licensed union for staff at a bunch of impartial file labels. The protesters say SXSW is making hundreds of thousands of {dollars} yearly on a musical occasion that pays the precise musicians a pittance.
SXSW picketers in Manhattan (Sean Piccoli/Deadline)
SXSW 2023, which featured greater than 1,500 group or solo performers in mid-March, supplied every band or solo artist that was booked to play certainly one of SXSW’s coveted showcases a selection of a stipend — $250 per band or $100 per solo artist — or a wristband credential at no cost entry to pageant occasions. It’s a deal that hasn’t modified in additional than a decade, whereas the applying payment for pageant slots has climbed from $40 to $55, the Austin-American Statesman reported in February.
Representatives for Penske and SXSW didn’t reply to requests from Deadline in search of remark.
One WGA member, comic and author Sasha Stewart, echoed a recurring theme on Wednesday, that writers and musicians are on this battle collectively.
“So when we heard that musicians who make SXSW millions of dollars every year are only getting paid with a wristband or $100, we were shocked and outraged but not surprised,” Stewart mentioned. “Corporate media like Penske and the TV-movie studios will always demand the most from artists while paying the least that they can.”
Musicians Workers Alliance member Phillip Golub mentioned that putting writers standing up for musicians in their labor struggles was “incredibly powerful” for him.
“As independent musicians it can often feel like we’re completely on our own, and we’re largely unorganized,” Golub mentioned. “And so when we reached out to several of these other unions and organizations that are here, to see their support is incredibly meaningful to us. It’s meaningful to them, too, because our struggles are connected.”
After speeches and a send-off spherical of “We’ll be back” chants, dozens of picketers marched a number of blocks throughout Manhattan to a rally underway outdoors Paramount’s workplaces in Times Square, the place New York musician Marc Ribot marched with greater than 130 others whereas taking part in the English horn.
Out on the West Coast, it was horror day outdoors Warner Bros. Todd Spence tweeted a photograph of some unhappy-looking fellow picketers who gave the impression to be our for blood, Ryan Shovey’s signal encapsulated the mayhem of the previous four-plus weeks, and a critter was eyeballing Bobby Miller and others:
For those that may shun horror whereas buzzing “What the World Needs Now Is Love,” there was this gathering outdoors Amazon’s L.A. HQ in the present day:
And there was extra for the lovers:
If all that darkness and light-weight merely made people hungry, meals was again within the highlight on Wednesday. Big Mouth creator-star Nick Kroll despatched the Yeastie Boys bagel truck to the traces. No sleep until Netflix!
And talking of toons, a bunch of picketers from the Animation Guild swigged some “solidarity juice,” courtesy of the groups at Grey’s Anatomy and Station 19:
Elsewhere in L.A., some former CSI writers acquired their fingerprints on picket indicators:
Looking forward to Thursday, a Pride Picket us set for the afternoon outdoors Warner Bros., adopted by an afterparty.
Katie Campione, Rosy Cordero, Matt Grobar, Natalie Sitek, Pete White and Dominic Patten contributed to this report.
Discussion about this post