No Entertainment Left After Podcasters Start Striking With Actors And Writers?
The WGA writers who have been on strike for 101 days, and the SAG-AFTRA actors who have been on strike for 28 days are now being joined at the picket lines by fiction podcasters, according to Deadline. The creative minds behind podcasts are rallying with writers and actors in an effort to receive better protections and guarantees from their workplace, like health insurance and job security from artificial intelligence.
Fiction podcasters, paid a fraction of what their television and movie counterparts earn, are joining writers and actors on picket lines.
While writers and actors have been around for centuries, podcasters are very new to the entertainment industry. The new form of entertainment took off in 2014 thanks to the true-crime podcast Serial, which introduced the concept to millions. Now, there are over 400 million podcast listeners around the world.
Since podcasting is such a new industry, there aren’t many rules or regulations set in place for those who create content. Without standard contracts or pay, podcasters can struggle to negotiate fair terms for themselves.
In an effort to create more standards and regulations, workers at Crooked Media and Pineapple Street Studios recently created the WGA Audio Alliance, a union that falls under the Writers Guild of America East. Currently, the Audio Alliance mostly comprises freelance podcast writers who work on fiction podcasts. They have come together to negotiate better terms for podcasters, urging large platforms like Spotify and Audible to enter into a collective bargaining agreement with their alliances.
On Tuesday, the Audio Alliance rallied outside of Amazon’s New York City offices, urging other podcasters to turn their “mics up” in solidarity. At the front of the picket lines was podcast EP and writer-director Jenny Turner Hall. She is best known for her fictional podcast The Unexplainable Disappearance of Mars Patel, which won a podcasting Peabody Award, and for her podcast Marvel’s Wastelanders: Wolverine.
Podcasters are often also writers, or even actors, with “rewatch” podcasts gaining popularity, from It’s Always Sunny to Office Ladies.
Jenny Turner Hall gave a rallying speech, voicing her concerns for fellow podcasters who she feels are being exploited. She argues that podcasters are being asked to take on too much work, like writing, directing, sound editing, and producing, but are not being properly compensated with residuals, health insurance, or protection from AI.
During the rally, a WGA East council member who previously worked for The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore, shared that she was only paid 10 percent of her usual television writing fee when she was commissioned to write a fiction podcast. Despite the poor pay and the lack of health insurance, she feels honored to have met a great group of creative podcasters who work to create meaningful content.
Podcasting is big business, but it’s been hit with widespread layoffs from Spotify and Audible, with even Stitcher shutting down in the last few weeks.
This year, there have been layoffs at both Spotify and Audible in an effort to reorganize their podcasting units now that it is such a mainstream form of entertainment. This could make the strike more difficult for podcasters, but it could also amplify their voices so that they are heard even louder.
While writers, actors, and podcasters unite on the picket lines, we hope studio executives will listen and pay them what they are worth.
