Another Hollywood strike? Musicians union ‘prepared to do whatever it needs’ for AI protections and streaming residuals

After a year in which both actors and writers hit the picket lines, another Hollywood strike may be on the horizon.

After a year in which both actors and writers hit the picket lines, another Hollywood strike may be on the horizon. The American Federation of Musicians (AFM), a union representing musicians across the entertainment industry, will begin negotiations Monday on a new contract with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP). The union said it is seeking a deal to better reflects the current state of streaming media. The AFM is also seeking AI protection, increased wages, health care improvements, improved working conditions and residual payments for streaming content. According to the AFM, musicians who record on soundtracks make 75% less on streaming content due to less residual income. “The entertainment industry has fundamentally shifted,” the union said in a news release. But musicians “are not being compensated accordingly for streaming media.” AFM’s president and chief negotiator Tino Gagliardi told CNN the union “is going to be prepared to do whatever it needs to get what we have to have, in order to make the lives of musicians better.” “Our musicians have been facing pay cuts over the last year because of the change of the business model and how our product is distributed,” Gagliardi said. “We’ve got to fix that, so that our folks can continue to buy diapers, pay rent, pay mortgages and have a decent wage with a decent retirement.”