Writers employ Internet video in their Speechless campaign
Writers and actors in sympathy have employed the very technologies they say is and will impact their future incomes, namely Internet video. The Speechless campaign is an episodic series featuring established actors and sends a very well crafted message in black and white terms. Making use of viral video on YouTube, their own site and over the Brightcove network, the WGA has one-uped the studios with this campaign and makes you wonder about the long term value proposition for studios in this on-line and IPTV age.
As content creators who have been in the space since the mid-nineties when streaming media began we can certainly understand the through line here. On the other side however, as business people we also know that more people are chasing fewer and fewer ad dollars with cpm's for even the best watched shows do not generate much in the way of revenues, so this is really about the potential for future growth if it occurs. Still, this does not mean content creators should not have protection in place for future sales, it's just difficult to formulate revenues on projects that are not making money
While much has been written about the points on both sides, one aspect concerns me from a perspective of an Independent Producer/DP, namely that there exists a social stratification of professionals who are working and mostly making a living and those who have made it, most fall into the former category. That the majority of the writers who work on hit shows enjoy more perks and power (in addition to income) is part of the rewards of success and as it should be in our society. The concern however, is what about the other 70% or more of the people working in their crafts that are not the super-stars, will they share from this new revenue stream and if so in what form?
Its a tough problem and one that will surface many more times I think as mobile and fixed platforms mature.
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