The Musicians Union Prepares To Continue Hollywood Strikes In 2024
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The American Federation of Musicians (AFM) is currently seeking a deal that they hope will assure their future careers in the industry, comparable to the 2023 WGA strikes. The union began its negotiations on Monday with the start of a new contract with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP). Musicians unified with AFM are hoping to gain protection for artificial intelligence, as well as integrate higher wages, improve health care and working conditions, and see higher residual payments for content being streamed.
According to AFM, there are approximately 70,000 members strong throughout the United States and Canada. These musicians create music and audio recordings for film, television, commercials, and other media. When these musicians take part in a soundtrack or any other audio recording that ends up streaming, they make 75% less on that content (compared to non-streaming audio) because of the decreased residual payments.
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Just as the musicians of the AFM stood on picket lines with the WGA and SAG-AFTRA members last year, those same groups will stand by AFM in solidarity -- in addition to IATSE, the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees. IATSE International President, Matthew D. Loeb, released a statement following the first day of AFM’s negotiations. Loeb was quoted as saying, “Our unions are bound not only by our similar priorities, but also by our common experiences… Only together is it possible for us to build a film and television industry where every worker is valued, and their contributions recognized whether their labor takes place on or off screen.”
It was previously announced that IATSE’s current contract with studios is due to expire in July. Soon, negotiations will begin for IATSE members as well, which will likely result in the union’s first industrywide strike. IATSE represents editors, lighting technicians, makeup artists, and others who work behind the scenes in entertainment in both the U.S. and Canada. Both AFM and IATSE negotiations are beginning less than a year after the 2023 SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes, which only ended a few months ago.
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