At The Risk Of Stating The Obvious: We Need To Make Money!
Sometimes it is the little things that everyone ignores
Pennies, nickels, dimes, dollars: it all matters. Be it every Friday or that holiday bonus, we need it. Consistently and on a regular cadence. That’s what we lost in the pivot and we need to build back if want the culture industries to work for the creators and not just the platforms.
It’s really just two simple concepts I think everyone can agree on: 1) we need to get paid for our work, and 2) we need to share in the success our work generates. Sure it matters a great deal when we get paid these things, but let’s save that for another day; for now let’s drill down on why these two basics matter and should be part of an Artists’ Bill Of Rights.
Sure, this movie thing has always been a business of hits, but for the longest time, they really didn’t need to be driven out of the park. For a good period of time, I survived quite well just by getting on base. Bunts work wonders sometimes. I was never a slugger, but occasionally I really connected. When one in eight is a ten-x multiple – the long time “common knowledge” batting percentage of a seasoned picker – you did alright. Consistency was my game, and it worked. But things change.
Why did it stop? When did it stop? Why did it not return sooner? And how can we bring it back? How long will it take? Shouldn’t all filmworkers be focused on these questions? I’ve got some answers, but most of you won’t like them I’m afraid, at least the one that matters most at this time.
The constant flow of money is what really made things work. Be it a slow drip or a sudden geyser, it was the multiple opportunities and the long term payout that truly juiced the fruit. If you want to destroy the middle class, use backend buyouts; you’ll see the workers become ever more dependent for the next suck at the nozzle.
The truth about most entertainment or cultural industries, is that it is a Big Money Game – or at least that’s how they play it here in The States. It is a shame they’ve set those rules, as the big money game is also a loser’s game. The House always wins in the long haul, and even if you are dealing the cards, that may not be you. Sure, you can sit at the penny ante table, but that only stays up if the house is going strong, and besides they don’t want anyone sitting there too long anyways.
I have different goals than the house, and I suspect many of you do too. I look at it from the perspective of art and stamina. Does the end product have staying power?
Art is forever. And that’s how long I want my work to last. There lies the rub too, Jack. Once you have to hedge what you want to make in order to get big money, it becomes a tiny box few can fit in. It wasn’t always that way.
The game of base hits stopped back when the triple whammy of media consolidation, world financial collapse, and tech innovation/disruption all hit around 2008-2012. Yeah, and Iron Man came out in the nick of time then too. The Powers That Be thanked the cinema gods, but there’s always another band-aid in the drawer. Sooner or later we have to face up to all the wounds we’ve endured…
Base hits came back in vogue a bit when those same whammies morphed into the rise of the GlobalStreamingPlatforms. I was fortunate and privileged to get to catch that wave just right. In the early days the not-yet-GSPs were just looking for a little respect, so they played the taste card. Good for me and the other blokes who love art film. They were smaller then and didn’t have to please so many people. As long as the film was someone’s favorite, that fueled the rocket ships. Vrrrroooom! And off we went.
Rapid growth, Wall Street priorities of scale, stock price, and future markets, along with covid and the end of free money, all that changed the tune back to a familiar old sad song. Tears in the beer again. It’s the numbers that matter and you better swing for the fences if you are playing the stateside movie game. Pack my bags and find an expansion team in the making or put it up on the shelf once and for all?
It’s now become a non-competitive field with a high barrier to entry. Everywhere. You can’t make the numbers on a movie make sense without a Pay1 deal. And The Global Streaming Platforms own that plantation. Without them, you are dead in the water. The truly sad thing is they don’t truly want what you are selling no matter how much you need them or are even willing to bend to their will or taste. And sure, there are the occasional exceptions. There are always exceptions, but you can’t build a business around that – let alone aspire to create art.
And in case you missed what I just served, let me say it again. Why say something once, when three will do? It is a different game now. It’s a game that requires you to bring the next one and the next one up something quick too. One shot to get the apple. One payout, maybe broken into two or so. Nothing is based on success. You get the same whether you deliver gold or crap. There is no drip. No cadence. No bumbs. Just get it all while you can and move on down the road. Next!
This hurts the business. This hurts the product. This hurts the art. This hurts the audience. Choice is limited. Business is stilted. Ideas don’t travel. Everything regresses. And folks like us, the small business owners, get cheated. Society suffers.
And let’s be real. The really real sort of real. You don’t have many options if you want to make the numbers add up. Forget about the two hundred doors. You are going to long for those days of knock knock knocking.
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