Professional violinist Joanna Maurer recently played on the film scores of both the comic book-inspired drama Joker and the holiday comedy Noelle. She did the same work, for equally prominent companies.
But the New York-based musician says she’ll earn 75 per cent less for Noelle simply because it was released on Disney Plus, the new video-streaming service that launched on Nov. 14 and has already garnered more than 10 million subscribers.
For the past several months, the American Federation of Musicians (AFM) has held rallies — including outside of the home of a Disney executive — and posted on social media under the hashtag #BandTogether as part of its campaign to fight for residual income on films made for streaming services. The campaign was launched ahead of the union’s negotiations for a new agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP).
