The Writers are right.

"Would that not be the same for the fact of the writers? There are ways do legally download different tv show and etc. The fact that the musicians getting the royalties would be the same as the musicians getting their royalties." No, it is not the same at all. Musicians have been recieving royalties for a very long time to compensate them for the number of units sold. However, television shows have only been sold on the retail market for a few years now. It was very simple to come up with royalty payment methods for online music purchases. Television has generated content in a much different way for decades. Almost all revenue has been generated by selling ad space. Because there were no units sold, and therefore nothing to pay out royalties on, it was fair for the writers to get paid x amount of money for y amount of episodes. In the last decade, revenues for networks have shifted greatly from television airwaves to the internet. The industry has changed, so should the compensation for the writers who provide the content. "Another point is the fact that the writers, while they are writing the script, are never actually seen on screen like those who are paid to be there." This is a decent point. However you can't argue with the importance of the writers. Nobody who has watched telivision lately would deny that. Look at the late night shows. A big portion of the content is jokes about the writers strike and how the shows have nothing to talk about. "The Office" is shut down. So is "Lost". If you take away the on screen talent, than there is no show. The exact same thing can be said for the writers. The dozens of shows and who knows how many movies that have stopped production serve as perfect evidence that the writers are an integral part of the show. "Musicians can also get royalties because it's their work, and theirs alone." This is false. Going from conception of an idea to a CD on the shelved or mp3 available for dowload takes a huge collaboration just like TV and movies. Along with the band, there is a producer, who is sometimes provided by the record company, a marketing department to get the word out about the album and perhaps the accompanying tour. And of course there is the record company who provides all of the investment to cover the cost of all these things. Musicians are a PART of the music industry just like the writers are to TV and movies. While we are on that topic MANY musicians do not write their own songs. In the music industry, song-writers are rewarded handsomely with royalties. Is it too much to ask for the same with writers. "Also in enduring between a musician and a writer, you talk about how musicians are benefitting from the digital age while writers are not. However, you have to keep in mind that musicians also can be more valuable than writers in a sense. A musician has multiple things to do in a day, from writing music to playing a gig." The statement that musicians can be more important that writers, is subjective and I would argue also false. Like I said TV shows and movies are being halted because of the writer's strike. If the writers weren't so important, the networks would have come up with a way to keep airing new shows. Not to mention the fact that, just as many musicians don't write their own music, many writers DO ACT in their own shows. Seth Macfarland does probably half the voices on family guy, same for trey parker and matt stone of South Park. Steve Correll from The Office is also on strike, as he is a union member as well. In addition many actors write some of the movies they star in. They are paid for both. "If you're one of the major bands or artists out there, and you don't get what you want, you could refuse to do something that could potentially lose your record company a lot of money." This is precicely what is happening with the writers as I type. Again, the 2 industries share many similairities and the creators of the content should be compensated in similar fashions. "Hoever, it is not such with writers. Say a writer got extremely ticked off because of this instance, and decided not to write? The director easily could fire said writer and hire another one, tell him how he wanted it to go, and have the new writer continue writing with a possibly different style. It doesn't effect his production much, and doesn't affect his income." The exact same can be said for bands. Band replace members all of the time and keep on going. Shows replace actors and keep on going. Many of the parts of the whole process are replaceable. This includes on air talent, writers, producers, directors, and musicians. There are only a lucky few that are so valuable to their employer that they are absolutely irreplaceable. I wonder what would happen, if the office fired Steve Correll. Or if Comedy central fired Trey Parker and Matt Stone. Or if Fox got rid of seth macfarland. Or if HBO told Larry David to take a hike. Do you think Seinfeld or Curb Your Enthusiasm could have existed without the creator Larry David. Oh wait I know what would happen, because we are watching it unfold. The television and movie industry comes to a screeching halt and no new content is produced. You have to remember that MANY times the writers of these shows are also the creators. It's not like the network comes up with all the ideas and then goes and hires a staff. Most of the time it is the creators that bring the ideas to the networks and the networks decide whether or not to go with it. "he fact is, when the writer signed the contract, they agreed to so and so terms. If they have a problem with something mid contract, that is not the business's fault, and therefore the writers should wait until their contract has expired before attempting to change how much they're getting paid." 1)Things were different when they signed the contracts originally. The industry and the world have changed since then. They should be compensated accordingly. 2)The contracts have expired. That is why they are negotiating right now. The same thing is gonna happen in a year or 2 when the contracts with the actors union runs out if the networks don't get their act together. I think it is clear how unfairly the writers are being treated.