No Mercy / No Malice: Think Bigger

Pay Decline

The decline in average pay for writers and producers is stark when adjusted for inflation. Scott Galloway notes that over the past decade, salaries have decreased by 23%, with recent union negotiations failing to keep pace with inflation 1. Despite a nominal pay increase of 2.25% last year, inflation rose by 8%, leading to a real decline in purchasing power. The Writers Guild of America (WGA) initially demanded a 6% pay increase but settled for 5%, which still did not cover inflation losses.

The new deal also includes an increased contribution to health and pension benefits of 1% and oversees royalties, payments that, from my vantage, are purposefully opaque and wordy enough to give members enough psilocybin to hallucinate that there's a there there.

--- Scott Galloway

The agreement also includes a 50% royalty bump for shows viewed by 20% of a platform's subscribers, a rare occurrence, as illustrated by the series finale of "Succession," which only reached 6% of HBO's subscribers 1.

   

Strike Impact

Strikes have significantly impacted writers' income and negotiating power. Scott Galloway explains that during the five-month strike, writers experienced a complete halt in pay, exacerbating financial losses 1. To recover from these losses, a 14% pay increase would be necessary, in addition to the 24% needed to counteract inflation. Despite these challenges, the WGA secured some gains, such as minimum staffing requirements for writers' rooms and longer employment durations for writers.

The WGA did secure a couple meaningful gains, as in two first, there is now a minimum staffing requirement for writers rooms, which translates to more employment opportunities for young writers.

--- Scott Galloway

These concessions reflect the guild's commitment to nurturing talent, though the process highlighted the small stakes involved in media negotiations compared to the broader creative community's needs 1.