How the rise of streaming might turn Hollywood musicians into an endangered species

The L.A. Times reports:

Hollywood musicians, those foot soldiers who bring the work of celebrated composers such as John Williams (“Star Wars”), James Horner (“Titanic”) and Hans Zimmer (“Dunkirk”) to life, have faced a mound of professional challenges in recent years.

Producers record their film scores in London or other overseas locations to avoid paying union scale, digital recordings have eaten away at opportunities for live players, and studios penny-pinch on music in countless ways even though their recording budgets are typically a tiny piece of a project’s budget — a $100-million project might spend less than $400,000 on musicians’ pay.

But now the musicians are facing a threat that some call potentially an “extinction-level event.” It’s the takeover of the entertainment industry by streaming video services.


While the streaming boom has created a bounty for many who work in film and television by opening up a new market, and presenting a big advance in convenience for the consumer, it is a threat to musicians in three ways.

One is that they’re often paid less for a recording session for a streaming production than for feature films or studio series. Second, they don’t get residuals for productions that are made for streaming. And third, there’s almost no aftermarket for streamed productions. It’s exceedingly rare for a made-for-streaming feature or series to migrate to broadcast or cable TV or DVD, eliminating transitions from format to format that traditionally generate extra paychecks for musicians.

A music story.