Live TV musicians says "systemic racism" is to blame for a lack of "economic parity"

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More than three dozen live TV musicians signed an open letter to the TV networks calling for parity with their actor, writer and director colleagues in the area of wages, health care contributions and residuals payments on streaming platforms. They include The Late Show bandleader Jon Batiste, SNL music director Eli Bruggemann and The Voice musical director Paul Mirkovich. The letter states that during contract negotiations earlier this month between the broadcast networks and the American Federation of Musicians, “Your companies acknowledged that live television musicians are the only sector of the industry exhibiting substantial racial diversity, but at the bargaining table we are told that our contributions are worth less than those of actors, writers, and directors, even though we give just as much. You cannot ignore that the other guilds are predominately white and are compensated at a higher rate with residual payments for streamed content, health care, and wages.”