‘Netflix exploitation’ is not a distant story in other countries

It has been a month since American writers, concerned about deteriorating working conditions in the era of OTT (online video service) and AI (artificial intelligence), started a large-scale strike. In Korea, the eyes of field workers looking at OTT and AI are equally uneasy, but it is difficult to speak loudly like American writers. While the ‘mammoth’ OTT dominates the market with a typical prime and subcontract structure, workers who are unable to write employment contracts and are in the blind spot of the law appealed for a double or triple exploitation structure.

On the 2nd (local time), the Writers Guild of America (WGA) went on a massive strike with 11,500 members. It has been 16 years since they went on strike in 2007 claiming the distribution of internet download revenue. In front of the headquarters of media companies such as Paramount and Netflix, they are demanding regulations such as improving the treatment of workers in the OTT and streaming era and not writing AI final scenarios. Production of famous contents such as NBC’s ‘The Tonight Show’, Netflix’s ‘Stranger Things’, and Marvel’s movie ‘Blade’ were suspended due to the strike, which has a great impact all over the world regardless of industry.

Writers claim that since the introduction of OTT, work intensity has increased and wages have decreased at the same time. Unlike before, when more than 20 episodes were produced per season, Netflix compresses dramas into around 10 episodes per season and releases them at once, resulting in a tighter production schedule. According to the WGA, employment terms guaranteed for nearly a year have shrunk to 10 to 15 weeks, and median weekly wages for TV writers and producers have fallen roughly 23 percent in the past decade. Due to the explosion in demand for content, the number of jobs has increased, but working conditions have deteriorated.

The re-screening distribution, which corresponds to the existing ‘royalty’, is also an issue. Incentives given according to TV reruns or movie box office results are difficult to exist in the OTT industry as before. This is because it is a subscription model, making it difficult to calculate the amount for each episode, and producers do not disclose detailed data such as the number of plays. Writers requested exact standards and larger distributions during collective negotiations, and most production companies refused.

Concerns about AI are also high. WGA states that AI can be used as a tool, but the final result cannot be used by AI. At the same time, it is argued that the creations of the authors should not be used indiscriminately for AI learning training. This strike is considered the first case in which the anxiety of creative workers due to the advent of AI was revealed nationwide. According to local media reports, a division of labor is already taking place in the field, with production companies instructing the writers to revise the recent draft of the script created by AI.

The strike is prolonging as the Association of Film and TV Producers (AMPTP), which is a business organization, maintains its refusal on major issues. AMPTP, which includes Netflix, Amazon, and Apple, claims that the industry itself is struggling as the number of subscribers has decreased since Corona 19. The streaming market represented by OTT is a typical ‘winner takes all’ platform economy. Many companies that are in a ‘bleeding race’ while risking losses have made cost reduction a top priority. This is why it seems unlikely that a dramatic agreement will be reached in the future.

OTT raids are not unique to the United States. In Korea, where the initiative has already shifted from traditional media to OTT, many field production crews are receiving wages from the platform structure. Working conditions are also deteriorating. Although the production cost increased, the production company’s profit remained the same or even decreased, such as Netflix taking over the intellectual property (IP). The on-site staff who are paid by the production company do not sign an employment contract and are enduring poor treatment. It is difficult for workers to negotiate against Netflix in a typical primary and subcontracting structure.

The Culture and Arts Labor Solidarity held a press conference on the 3rd of last month and pointed out that broadcasters and OTT companies should fulfill their responsibilities toward cultural and arts workers. In a phone call with Media Today on the 2nd, Shin Jeong-seok Lee, CEO of the Culture, Arts and Labor Solidarity, said, “At the film production site, staff who had signed an employment contract with the company are not doing well as they move over to OTT.” “In the past, film production companies We signed a collective agreement and said this, but now the money is paid by the OTT side, and the production is being done by an outsourcing production company, so the structure is changing from before.”

CEO Lee Shin-jeong-seok said, “Even in the case of performers, when signing an appearance contract, we proceeded with the issue of re-broadcast and appearance fee little by little with the broadcasting station, but in the platform structure, it is impossible to negotiate directly with OTT.” , Like the original and subcontracting structure at the construction site, there was a chairman who couldn’t even see his face. Due to the situation in which we have to continue working with companies at the lower end, problems that cannot be sorted out from a larger perspective are recurring.”

In a phone call on the 2nd, Yeom Jeong-yeol, director of the National Press Labor Union Park Song’s branch, said, “There were quite a few part-time jobs at the site for previews (transferring and writing broadcasting footage into document files), but after the appearance of voice conversion AI, the number of people decreased.” That’s right, there were people who acted as professional agents and each broadcaster preferred, but now the demand may disappear. Besides this, there are many points that feel threatened in the field, such as subtitles and narration.”

However, it is difficult for domestic creative workers to speak out as loudly as in the United States. Hollywood has a long history and is based on a different basis from the United States, where collective bargaining is concluded periodically. The strike that took place in the United States came out of the collective bargaining process that takes place every three years. In Korea, the composition of cooperative organizations is historically weak, and the interest of the authorities and the public is low. The media also mainly illuminated the success story of ‘K-drama’, but the voices of the field were neglected. This is why domestic workers look at the WGA strike with envy.

In a phone call on the 2nd, cultural critic Seong Sang-min said, “The (Hollywood) industry developed early in the United States, and in the 1950s, the culture of collective bargaining between workers’ organizations and employers’ organizations was maintained as they continued to struggle.” There is an association, and there are separate unions for each job category, such as writer, director, actor, cinematographer, and lighting director,” he explained.

Critic Seong Sang-min said, “It is not easy to voice one voice in Korea because broadcasting and film are separated. But overseas, there are more cases where broadcasting and movies are not distinguished. In particular, in the United States, capital is intertwined, just as Disney works with Disney Pictures and ABC,” he said. Of course, the workers’ organization was formed late, and it is not easy to cooperate with other branches.”

In the new form, OTT structure, there is clearly a blind spot of the law. However, institutional improvement is slow due to the indifference of the authorities and the public. Critic Seong Sang-min said, “It is ambiguous to call OTT legally a movie or video. If it is not released, there is a tendency for film companies to not guarantee the things that were guaranteed in the existing film version because it is OTT,” he said. I see you are doing it,” he said.

Representative Lee Shin-jeong-seok said, “If you meet lawmakers regardless of the opposition, they all agree on structural issues. He agrees with copyright issues, treatment of workers, and labor contract issues, such as ‘the law is incomplete in this place’ and ‘this is how we should solve it’. But in the end, it doesn’t work,” he said. “I think the key is the attitude of the government authorities. In the process of promoting policies according to the government’s stance to only increase the size of the market, there is a gap. Furthermore, don’t you see the activities of labor unions more strangely after this administration? It is a structure that makes it difficult to make industry-specific negotiations,” he said.

Most of the media coverage of the WGA strike also simply describes the situation in the United States. OTT and AI are also sensitive topics for domestic workers, but they do not lead to the domestic situation. This is why domestic field workers are appealing for people’s attention while watching the WGA strike.

Critic Seong Sang-min said, “The distribution of profits will be done in terms of autonomy, not singly as before, and conflicts between organizations will continue. Netflix is ​​not only in the United States, it is a problem that Korea should also consider,” he said. The danger will continue to emerge,” he said. Yeom Jeong-yeol, head of the broadcasting writers’ branch, said, “This can happen in Korea as well. It is the time to think about it from now on, and alternatives and countermeasures must be discussed slowly,” he said.

CEO Shin Jeong-seok Lee said, “With the arrival of the OTT era, you can think that ‘opportunities have increased’ in a way. Since the market has become wider, they say that we should look at it from an expansion perspective. However, from the point of view of the workers, behind the expansion of the platform, the exploitation structure is developing into a state where the exploitation structure is doubled and tripled.” , right of veto, such as the Nursing Act, is occurring one after another. The situation where the schedule of the National Assembly continues to be delayed and the situation where the system cannot be supplemented are going together. It’s just frustrating on the field,” he said.