We love the internet, don't we? We love our YouTubes and our iTunes and iPods and our internet capable phones and being able to watch clips of our favorite celebrities online anytime we want. AFTRA loves it too. And so does AMPTP. And therein lies the problem. The Hollywood Reporter says that the use of new-media clips and the participation of AFTRA members in new-media productions are among the issues holding up the latest round of negotiations between the two groups.
AFTRA union president Roberta Reardon said AFTRA's negotiating committee "'delivered a strong message' that its members will not give up control of the use of its clips in new media. The AMPTP has proposed setting up an online library in which users can download clips for a price. The producers have said it's a good way to fight piracy, but they're asking actors to give up the consent they've long had over the use of clips, outside the scope of promotional use." Reardon also said AFTRA is mindful of issues such as piracy and audience fragmentation that have impacted the wages and job opportunities of television performers.
Despite the hurdles, industry labor attorney Ivy Kagan Bierman expressed that it doesn't mean there can't be a timely deal declaring AFTRA's negotiation committe to be "pragmatic," "solutions-minded," and "fair and reasonable."
