By Lauren Schwartz
Many people are talking about how to create and support a thriving, equitable industry; How to promote a diverse, happy workplace, and how to get the best creative possible from partners and the strongest collaborations from vendors.
In our business, agencies and clients increasingly ask to work with woman-owned businesses, small businesses, and diverse talent. That’s a powerful step in the right direction. But here’s the truth – one of the best ways to support a healthy industry, especially small business vendors, many of which are female and minority owned, is to pay them fairly and in a timely fashion.
I love my job. I love mentoring and guiding director talent. I love when we do a kick-ass production and everyone at the agency and the client is thrilled. I love hiring incredibly creative crew who are so very good at their jobs. But the payment system is broken, and we need to fix it. Or else we won’t be able to maintain a viable industry.
Late payments and extended payment terms have become increasingly common. For production companies, mostly small businesses, this can mean being forced to secure – or trying to secure – extended credit lines to pay for people and materials needed for each production. That’s because we can’t – and shouldn’t – withhold payments to crew and vendors that make the commissioned work possible. Labor laws appropriately dictate how people should be paid and treated in the workplace – the same should apply to the small businesses that support them.
Some might be reading this and shrugging it off as how business happens. But imagine going into a neighborhood restaurant, eating an incredible meal, then promising to pay the bill in 90 or 180 days. Imagine too, if many, many people did that – but the restaurant, eager to be chosen over the other restaurants, bent under the pressure in order to get business all the while having to pay staff and vendors. It wouldn’t take long before only the big chain restaurants can survive. Soon, the landscape would look pretty ubiquitous wherever you go. The same is true in our industry. Unfair payment terms mean fewer bespoke businesses, fewer options, more homogeneity.
Production is about moving mountains, problem solving, creating from scratch and with whatever we can, however we can. We want to be partners – real partners – in both making cool things that grab attention and also partners in making our industry more sustainable and diverse in all ways. We want to be of value and to know we are valued. It’s time for our agency and client partners to recognize it with fair payment terms.
Lauren Schwartz is owner and executive producer of production house kaboom.
Josh C. Kline joins Scripto as CEO
Josh C. Kline has been named the new CEO of Scripto, the innovative real-time, cloud-native platform designed for remote collaborative scriptwriting and production. Kline will steer Scripto into its next phase of growth. Plans call for Scripto to further transform collaboration throughout the writing and production stages, enabling creative teams to accelerate their workflow and enhance teamwork.
Emmy®-winning programs such as “Late Night with Stephen Colbert,” “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver,” “The Daily Show,” and the Weekend Update on “Saturday Night Live” rely on Scripto’s advanced workflow tools to allow show writers and production teams to work together seamlessly from any location.
“Late Night” host Colbert, co-founder of Scripto, said of Kline, “His deep background in entertainment technology will help take our groundbreaking platform to new heights, and also ensure we are on the winning side when the AIs finally make their move, which we all know is coming. I can’t wait to see what we’ll achieve together.
Kline brings a wealth of experience in technology and media. He previously served as head of media & entertainment at Box. Kline co-founded Sample Digital, where he developed Digital Dailies™, revolutionizing the review and approval process for film and TV production and earning him a Primetime Engineering Emmy Award. His entrepreneurial spirit continued with the launch of Secure Path Technology, a cloud-based content ID and metadata services company. Kline was chief strategy officer at Final Draft before joining Box as head of media & entertainment, and has consulted for major global clients including Microsoft, Avid, and Motion Picture Domain Registry.
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