Voice actors or visual actors in the ever-increasing hollywood-ized titles get a royalty paycheck every time a box of software is sold at retail or on Steam. They may be paid royalties for a decade or more, with a successful A title.
Meanwhile the artists who generate content are paid only while doing their work, and the programmers who bring that content to life are paid a salary only while doing their work. There is typically no lasting financial commitment after the weekly paycheck. The could be laid off the week after release, and when the $$$ rolls into the studio, the team is home sleeping, fixing bugs, or looking for a new job. Starting anew.
Relevant quote: “The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs. There's also a negative side.”
As someone who spent about 20 years of my life in the music business, and also happens to be an ardent Hunter S. Thompson fan who is frustrated with this clunky and inelegant quote being attributed to him, I feel compelled to correct this.
The original line, from Generation Of Swine, is as follows:
"The TV business is uglier than most things. It is normally perceived as some kind of cruel and shallow money trench through the heart of the journalism industry, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free and good men die like dogs, for no good reason. Which is more or less true. For the most part, they are dirty little animals with huge brains and no pulse."
Granted, you did not attribute the quote to anyone in particular, and by definition it is a quote from someone, somwhere, but it seems worth correcting nonetheless.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, various songs have been recorded about how soulless and money-grubbing the music industry is. Examples include Pink Floyd's "Have a Cigar", Billy Squier's "The Stroke", and Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Workin' for MCA".
One of my favorite movies, and favorite one of the genre by far. If anyone who loves this movie hasn't seen the commentary track on the DVD, get it immediately. The actors present on the commentary are all in character so it sort of feels like a second movie.
I've heard rumours that, in contrast, the laserdisc release had the actors' commentary au naturale -- it's almost worth trying to hunt down a player and a copy, as I've never seen a rip published.
The irony is the same media conglomerates that were criticizing Wall Street are doing the same thing on their own books. Sadly, young actors accept just about any terms to get on a film.
> Not for nothing did David Mamet include these lines in Speed-the-Plow, his satirical dissection of the American movie business: “Two things I've learned, 25 years in the entertainment industry.… The first one is: There is no ‘net.’… And I forgot the second one.”
This is why I discount "profit sharing" and heavily discount equity when evaluating job offers.
Recently watched District 9 and it has a lot of the same charm. Life is really messy and chaotic, full of exploits and idiots, there are a lot of colossal fxckups and nobody really cares.
[+] [-] jackhack|8 years ago|reply
Voice actors or visual actors in the ever-increasing hollywood-ized titles get a royalty paycheck every time a box of software is sold at retail or on Steam. They may be paid royalties for a decade or more, with a successful A title.
Meanwhile the artists who generate content are paid only while doing their work, and the programmers who bring that content to life are paid a salary only while doing their work. There is typically no lasting financial commitment after the weekly paycheck. The could be laid off the week after release, and when the $$$ rolls into the studio, the team is home sleeping, fixing bugs, or looking for a new job. Starting anew.
The difference? Unionization.
[+] [-] slededit|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] koverstreet|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] CPLX|8 years ago|reply
The original line, from Generation Of Swine, is as follows:
"The TV business is uglier than most things. It is normally perceived as some kind of cruel and shallow money trench through the heart of the journalism industry, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free and good men die like dogs, for no good reason. Which is more or less true. For the most part, they are dirty little animals with huge brains and no pulse."
Granted, you did not attribute the quote to anyone in particular, and by definition it is a quote from someone, somwhere, but it seems worth correcting nonetheless.
[+] [-] 0xcde4c3db|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] toss1941|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] Jedd|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] Karellen|8 years ago|reply
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hollywood_accounting
[+] [-] Justin_K|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] wolco|8 years ago|reply
The difference is the developer can wakeup and immediately change jobs but the musician that is signed is basically held hostage.
[+] [-] humanrebar|8 years ago|reply
This is why I discount "profit sharing" and heavily discount equity when evaluating job offers.
[+] [-] unknown|8 years ago|reply
[deleted]
[+] [-] Gravityloss|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] snovv_crash|8 years ago|reply