At 12:01 AM PDT on May 2, 2023, the Writers Guild of America (WGA) – a labor union representing 11,500 writers - began a work stoppage against the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP). Two of the main issues driving the decision to strike are residuals from streaming media and the rise of artificial intelligence software such as ChatGPT. It is the writers’ contention that AMPTP's share of streaming residuals has cut much of the writers' average incomes compared to a decade ago. The writers are also concerned that A.I. has the potential of being used as a tool to replace them. The writers wish to make sure software such as ChatGPT be used only as a research tool or to facilitate script ideas. So, what does this labor dispute have to do with music composition and why should I care?
As a composer, I consider myself a writer of sorts although I deal with musical notes and not words. Nevertheless, there is a certain similitude between writers and composers. The mediums of television and film are performing arts. They exist in time, having a beginning, middle, and conclusion. Unlike a novel, poem, painting, or sculpture, the audience cannot linger over details at their own pace. That’s why dialogue, elements of story structure, pacing, and character development are so critical. Writers are also dependent upon actors, directors, and many others behind the scenes to make the art come to life. A screenplay is just a silent collection of sentences and directions until skilled actors tell the story.
In music, the composer is also working in an art form that is performance based, existing fleetingly in time. Like a film or television program, a musical composition – even one that is purely abstract, so-called “absolute music” - also has a beginning, middle, and conclusion. Musical structure and the effective development of ideas over time are likewise as critical as plot development in a screenplay. Finally, composers are reliant on skilled musicians and conductors (as well as many others behind the scenes) to bring the music to life. Like a screenplay, a musical score is just a silent book of instructions until skilled musicians follow it to create music. In his brilliant book, The Rest Is Noise, author Alex Ross describes a musical composition as “… an artwork in code, which other musicians must be persuaded to unravel. Unlike a novel or a painting, a score gives up its full meaning only when it is performed in front of an audience; it is a child of loneliness that lives off crowds.” Substitute “screenplay” for “musical composition/score” and “actors” for “musicians” and Ross’s observation is equally valid.
This is why I find myself firmly in solidarity with the Writers Guild of America. It’s easy for me to imagine being in their shoes. In fact, on the issue of streaming residuals, I don’t really have to imagine at all. Composers and musical performing artists can certainly relate to the writers’ concerns when examining what Spotify or Apple Music pays them per stream for their music. They most often make a lot less than a single penny per stream. That’s bad enough for artists in popular music genres, with millions of streams. For composers of contemporary classical music, residuals from streaming are effectively non-existent. It’s easy therefore for me to find the writers’ concerns valid and to believe they are being disrespected and treated unfairly.
Without those of us who create content, the performing arts cannot exist. There is a beautiful and necessary collaboration and a certain chain of events that occurs to bring a performance to an audience. In television and film, among other important persons, a skilled director is necessary to maintain a vision, keep the overall project moving in a particular direction, and to help guide actors. Actors, in turn, may move a person to tears or laughter through performances based upon their talent and training. However, none of that matters if there is no story and performers have nothing written for them to say. Likewise in music, a skilled conductor or music coach is necessary to keep the piece moving in a certain direction and to help guide musicians. Musicians, in turn, may move a person to tears or to dancing due to their talent and training. Yet, none of that matters if the musical notes are not there. Whether working with traditional notation on staff paper or working out ideas in the studio by ear, someone must decide that out of silence, these are the notes that are born; this is the order in which they are to proceed; this is the pace they are to move; and this is how they will change over time.
I often tell my composition students that all composers (and I’m sure this goes for writers as well) face a “moment of loneliness” at the outset of the creative process wherein they stare deeply into the void of an empty staff. At this moment, no one can help them. A teacher cannot choose their notes for them, and neither can a friend or family member. They are truly on their own. And yet, one moment the staff is empty, the room is silent, or the page is blank, and the next moment there are notes, there is sound, there is a story. This lonely moment is suddenly transformed into a magical moment, an almost sacred moment. It is the beautiful moment of creation. From literally nothing, art is born. I can’t explain it and I consider it a miracle every time I begin composing a new work.
Our broken world is in desperate need of creation. All around us we are confronted with destruction whether on the battlefield of war; through senseless violence on our streets, in our malls, even our houses of worship; or in the causal devastation of our thoughtless words and actions towards our neighbors.
It’s so easy to tear down and destroy.
It is so incredibly difficult to create.
I can’t help but wonder that if society treats the creators of things they truly love (TV/films) with disrespect and indifference, what hope do those of us who create contemporary classical music have? Does disrespect and indifference towards creators contribute to the coarsening of our culture? I think it does and this is why I stand with all those writers and composers who bring art into existence out of nothingness. From a dopey sitcom or commercial jingle to a film or musical work that changes the world – writers are the builders of our shared society. We cannot and must not treat them as disposable, fungible cogs for those who regard the portraits of presidents on currency as the highest form of art. We cannot cheat them out of an income honorably earned, we cannot disregard art which is created out of a lifetime of sacrifice and experience, and we must certainly not hand the sacred moment of creation over to soulless robots and computers. That would surely result in a shared society that is not worth living in.
This is why the WGA strike resonates with me and why I believe it relates to my own art. Wishing strength and success to all those on the picket lines engaged in the good fight.
