When Disney Plus Debuted Without Residuals For Musicians Union Members

Disney Plus was launched on November 12, 2019, with a streaming catalog that included titles such as The Simpsons and Star Wars. However, a rare labor dispute also accompanied the launch of the streaming service. When it came to soundtrack recording for exclusive movies and series, musicians were expecting that their residual pay right demands would be heard. Under its BandTogether banner, the American Federation of Musicians fought for many days to confirm that its members would not be forgotten as the media empire of Disney expanded.

Writers, actors and filmmakers earned residual cuts out of streaming services. However, musicians were not earning it as per an extended agreement with the AMPTP, which expired in the second week of November 2019 itself. These artists were seeking to change the situation, particularly with the imminent launch of Disney Plus.

Musicians distributed leaflets that explained their cause to Anaheim Convention Center visitors in August that year. Orange County Musicians Union Local 7 AFM’s Vice President Edmund Velasco said that the artists knew that Disney would announce the streaming service at the 2019 D23 Expo. Musicians attempted to make the public aware of the struggles they were having with this streaming platform.

In October 2019, Velasco and his fellow musicians protested the appearance of Bob Iger at Los Angeles’s Alex Theatre to promote the book on the lessons he learned as Disney’s CEO. Back then, musicians brought their instruments along to do a public performance like a flashmob.

To mark the launch of the streaming service, union members protested against many different studios on November 12, 2019, which ended at Burbank’s Walt Disney Studios.

Velasco described Disney as the biggest movie industry player. Velasco also said that Disney did not wish to pay the artists after their first recording. Studio recording could be sporadic, so the union claimed that getting deprived of residual payments was likely to result in a 75% reduction in income. Further, several musicians gave producers discounted charges as they thought that the residual pay through streaming content and conventional cable reruns and home video releases with secondary market DVDs would be the same.

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