In recent years, members of both SDC and Dramatists Guild have raised questions regarding director participation in subsidiary rights. In an effort to examine the issue, Guild President Stephen Schwartz and SDC President Karen Azenberg suggested that an informal group composed of an equal number of writers and directors convene to discuss the practice. These were casual meetings, not formal negotiations, and they took place over the course of two years, from 2011 to 2013.
Both groups were heartened by the consensus that we achieved in these discussions. Everyone acknowledged that the tension which exists around this issue can have an unfortunate impact on healthy, artful collaboration between valued colleagues. Both parties agreed that the granting of subsidiary rights is highly subjective because there are no set standards and because these agreements are usually outside the jurisdiction of either organization. While some fundamental differences in our approach to the issue still exist, we felt there was enormous value in confronting it head-on, candidly, and from a place of common interest.
In the end, we felt it would be useful to issue a joint statement expressing our shared conviction about these agreements, so that we might better advise our members from a shared spirit of unity.
We urge directors and writers contemplating collaboration agreements to contact their respective organization for guidance and support.