Since May 2nd, the Writer’s Guild of America (WGA) has been striking following disputes with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP). The main reasons for the strike are the issues surrounding the streaming model, which is increasingly making it harder for writers to earn a fair wage. American rapper Snoop Dogg has added his two cents on the situation, discussing how music streaming similarly impacts musicians.
Talking at a panel with Shirley Halperin and Larry Jackson (via Variety), he explained that artists “can’t get paid” because of “fucked up” streaming services. He said that musicians “need to figure it out the same way the writers are figuring it out.”
“The writers are striking because [of] streaming ― they can’t get paid. Because when it’s on the platform, it’s not like in the box office,” he added.
The rapper continued, “Somebody explain to me how you can get a billion streams and not get a million dollars. That’s the main gripe with a lot of us artists, is that we do major numbers … but it don’t add up to the money. Like, where the fuck is the money?” He added that he doesn’t understand “how the fuck you get paid off of that shit.”
Two Snoop Dogg snippets from Milken today. I was sitting up front, and the whole thing was bananas.
— Paul Kedrosky (@pkedrosky) May 4, 2023
First, Snoop Dogg on streaming media pricing: “If you can get a billion streams, why can’t you get a million dollars? Who the f**k run the streaming industry? Are you in here?” pic.twitter.com/e6czGzDS84