Since the May 1 start of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) strike against the advertising industry, much has been reported about the action in terms of its effects on production. A less-discussed issue is how the SAG/AFTRA strike is impacting music companies that use talent, who are members of the unions, for voiceover and vocal work on spots. Thus far, the work stoppage has had relatively little impact in that regard, but many in the industry agree that if the strike is a prolonged one, music houses will begin to feel the effects.
Some projects are being lost, however, and music houses will increasingly be whipsawed because many principals are union members who support the action and, at the same time, business people whose livelihood depends on continuing good relations with the advertising community. "Music companies are supportive and sympathetic toward [the unions]," says Steve Ford, president of Steve Ford Music, Chicago. "But we’re kind of in between. We have to keep our relationships alive with the agencies so that when our SAG members come back, we have work for them." Ford said more than a week into the strike, that he hadn’t turned down any jobs yet, but expects it to happen at some point. "Much of our work is underscoring and orchestration of various sorts," he says. "I would say maybe thirty to forty percent of our work has vocals on it. In the first week, the strike hasn’t had a huge impact on the production of music, but it will. It’s going to be a drag that we won’t have the great singers to sing stuff."
Joel Simon, managing partner/executive producer at JSM, New York, also sees the real impact of the strike hitting hardest at some point in the future, but he has already turned down some work. "We’ve not accepted certain jobs because of the demand of having vocal talent," he says. "It’s a shame because there are a lot of very talented people who won’t cross and won’t accept work as a result of this. … Thankfully, we’re involved in other areas of music production and other ventures, but for jingles and vocals on commercial spots and radio spots, it directly impacts us."
At Groove Addicts, Los Angeles, business is relatively unaffected by the strike, according to owner/executive creative director Dain Blair. "We’re still working, thank goodness. We have about the same normal flow we usually have this time of year."
Blair says he hasn’t been under pressure yet to work with nonunion vocalists, something that he says would be difficult for him ethically. "It’s left me in a tough predicament because I’m a SAG member, but I have a company to run and productions to produce and overhead to take care of, so we may have to go to Australia or someplace to do vocals."
