Austin Wintory composer (Journey, Banner Saga) fights against union ban on videogames
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And that union's ruling? It's banned all symphony/orchestra recordings for video game soundtracks.
[ame="
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqvraGNfKVY"]Grammy-nominated composer speaks up against union blockage of Game recordings - YouTube[/ame]
[ame="
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqvraGNfKVY"]Grammy-nominated composer speaks up against union blockage of Game recordings - YouTube[/ame]I, Austin Wintory, am facing a $50,000 fine from my own union for - The American Federation of Musicians - and have decided to speak up against my union's blockage of ALL new video game recordings
Several years ago Ray Hair, the President of the American Federation of Musicians put together a Videogame Agreement working committee to develop a new game agreement.
The new Videogame Agreement was approved by the AFM's International Executive Board and went into effect December 2012. This new contract was done without allowing any composers, musicians or any of the 90,000 members of the union given an opportunity to vote on it.
"The new administration, was deeply committed to fixing the videogame mess," explained committee member and Recording Musicians Association (RMA) President Marc Sazer at the time. He also predicted, incorrectly, that "the new agreement should induce employers to sit down and negotiate with the AFM."
Nothing could be further from the reality of what happened.
The end result was an agreement that was universally rejected by every single video game developer and publisher, and has gone completely unused since the day it was created.
For almost two years now, under this contract, no union member has been allowed to work on a new video game soundtrack as a result.
"Unfortunately employers have not signed the current agreement," admits AFM Local 47 Vice President John Acosta who represent the recording musicians of Los Angeles, "and the limited work we were doing before has all but vanished into non-union land."
This contract created an untenable situation. Composers and musicians have continued to need to earn a living in this industry. Those musicians and composers therefore we've been forced to work without union sanction because the union has failed to signed any video game companies to work with them in almost two years.
After having successfully recorded the iOS game HORN with AFM musicians, I attempted to do the same with THE BANNER SAGA. The unusable contract forced me elsewhere, and I soon found the remarkable Dallas Wind Symphony. This collaboration happened as a direct result of the AFM's unusable contract, and I am now being punished for simply doing my job under those circumstances.
In an article telling entitled "Education and Discipline in the Videogame Industry," AFM President Ray Hair declares, "The time has come for education and discipline," "within our ranks" as well as within the Video Game industry.
"I don't think anybody give you anything because they like you," said AFM President Hair recently, "In the union business they give you things because they are afraid of what you are going to do to them."
Simply put, this current leadership does NOT represent me, and I believe does not represent the best interests of AFM musicians.
If you feel inclined to, please show your support by sharing this video and commenting on it below.
I can be reached at info(at)austinwintory(dot)com
Me:
http://www.austinwintory.com/
The AFM:
http://www.afm.org/
Replies
1) Austin Wintory is speaking out against The American Federation of Musicians, NOT union's in general, nor has he spoken out against unions in the video games industry.
2) The problem, is that the AFM isn't involved with the games industry in any practical capacity, which means Wintory, as per his union contract, was not legally allowed to work in that sector.
3) No AFM member has (legally) composed for games (for profit) in the last two years, due to the AFM's inability to reach an agreement with the games industry, and no AFM member will until an agreement is made.
If this thread starts a discussion, I'll chime in with my opinion later. I just wanted to make sure those points were there.
Its probably because they couldn't reach an agreement with the video game industry on the terms of payment (residual payment as oppose to pay upfront). Therefore, they've banned union members from working with any game studios as their diplomatic/negotiation muscle until the game industry agrees to their terms. If they didn't do this then there would be no point for the game industry to ever agree to the arrangements.
Though its unlikely they would bother negotiating with AFM despite the ban and would rather just find another union (if any) or outsource their work outside of the US.
If it's over payment method (upfront vs residual) I understand how that can be sticky. But a good majority of indie films and television work with upfront payment...
Exactly, why should it have to be A or B.
The A or B thing is pretty common with unions. They work primarily through dues paid by members which are determined based on their wage. In order to reliably collect dues however, and make sure members are being paid fairly, a union has to negotiate with employers. (Dues usually come out of your pay check like taxes.) Dues go toward things like organization costs, legal fees, health insurance for union members, and even retirement packages in some cases.
If a member works for an unapproved employer, it means they're receiving union benefits without paying dues on that income. It's like working under the table to avoid taxes.
It also puts employers at a disadvantage because they're often forbidden from hiring outside of the union for specific jobs. (That way if there's a strike, the employer can't just higher new employees.) In return, union employees can't just quit and work for whomever, union benefits stay with union employers.
It sounds like Wintory thought he was in a legal grey area when he wasn't, which sucks because it all comes back to red tape and The AMF's negligence on the issue.