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Can/Should writers, actors, etc unions contractually obligate availability? Seems shitty for HBO to drop content just to avoid having to pay residuals.
by wellpast 4y ago
Can/Should writers, actors, etc unions contractually obligate availability? Seems shitty for HBO to drop content just to avoid having to pay residuals.
- Mountain_Skies 4y agoOr tie it to copyright law. Products that aren't readily available lose their copyright protections so others can make that content available to the people. Actually writing the law in such a way that doesn't enable the media companies to come up with some sort of malicious compliance, like requiring a VPN to Nepal and a payment of $10,000 for each episode of an show, would be challenging but since many of these tricks are already known from the music industry, the most common ones could be addressed. Problem is that the media companies have multiple branches of government in their pocket so such a solution will always be theoretical.
- Mindwipe 4y agoCould they ask? Sure. Will they? No. Given the obvious counter from a studio is "sure, but we won't pay any residuals on that given we can't commit to a blank cheque for seventy years. And you'll have to be liable for the music rights."