Why we MUST protect the Creative Class [SoundExchange’s Michael Huppe]

President and CEO of SoundExchange, Michael Huppe, discusses why musicians and other creatives matter so much in our modern society and what we need to do to support them.

Op-ed Michael Huppe of SoundExchange

Creators – whether they be writers, actors, or musicians – are the heart of the entertainment industry. They inspire us with their words, move us with their performances, and get our blood pumping with their beats. 

Now two of the major unions representing creators – the Writers Guild of America (WGA) and the Screen Actors Guild (SAG-AFTRA) – have gone on strike to make the case for better pay and residuals, improved working conditions, fairer treatment in the age of streaming, and protections against the widespread use of artificial intelligence to replace creators. 

This is the first time that writers and actors have gone on strike at the same time since 1960, and it has brought the movie and TV industry to a virtual standstill. After cable increased content to fill a new crop of channels, streaming platforms fueled an explosion of new series and features to feed a new business model. Now, production has ground to a halt and the availability of new movies and shows will dwindle in the coming days, weeks, and months.

At its core, this dispute is about ensuring that, even as business models evolve and change, creators are treated fairly so they can continue to do the work that brings meaning to them and joy to us.

At SoundExchange, we love creators. We champion their work. We’ve seen the music industry go through technology-driven disruption (just as the motion picture industry is now), and we were created to ensure that streaming music business models enable creators to make a living doing what they do best. We’ve been fighting for 20 years to build a fairer, simpler, and more efficient music industry – by successfully increasing royalty rates across a variety of platforms; by holding accountable those who seek to cheat creators; by increasing the speed and transparency of payments, and by scoring a big win for music creators with the Music Modernization Act in 2018 (which provide comprehensive music licensing reform).

And we continue to fight these battles.

As streaming matures and new royalty models are debated, and as technology platforms evolve in Web3 and the metaverse, SoundExchange will remain a strong and vocal voice to ensure creators are fairly compensated. As artificial intelligence improves and matures at an astounding rate, SoundExchange became a founding member of the Human Artistry CampAIgn to demand that the rights of human creators are at the center of any copyright and intellectual property decisions, and we are proud that both SAG-AFTRA and the Writers Guild of America (WGA) are among the coalition’s members.

And it’s worth noting that music performers are still not compensated – at all — for their work when played on AM/FM broadcast radio. For this reason, SoundExchange is a driving force in the effort to convince Congress to act on the American Music Fairness Act, which would require multi-billion-dollar radio corporations to pay performance royalties like digital streaming platforms do.

So, to the creators out there on strike, we say this. We stand with you and hope that these disputes can be resolved quickly in a way that supports fair treatment, compensation, and protections for creators. And for those of you who are registered with SoundExchange, we will continue to work every day to make sure that you receive the digital royalties that you are due in a timely manner. 

We know this mission matters more now than ever.