2019 ARTISTS' MANAGER BASIC AGREEMENT NEGOTIATIONS

PUTTING WRITERS FIRST

Forty-three years ago, the Writers Guild of America (WGA) and the Association of Talent Agents (ATA) renewed the Artists’ Manager Basic Agreement (AMBA), the contract governing the relationship between guild members and the agents who represent them. This agreement was formed to provide clarity and operating procedures for the business relationship between agents and writers. In 2019, talent agencies and writers are meeting to negotiate the structure of our long-term business agreement.

The ATA wants to work together with the WGA on an agreement that reflects the current and future media landscape and provides clarity, certainty and forward-looking operating procedures for our longstanding relationship. Seismic shifts in the media landscape have dramatically changed the business of Hollywood, creating new challenges for writers that agents are best equipped to navigate - it is the jobs of agents to be fierce advocates and stay one step ahead to deliver the best creative jobs, maximum compensation and increased ownership for their clients.  

If you would like to learn more about the long standing business relationship between agents and writers or the status of our ongoing contract negotiations, please click on any of supporting materials linked in the documents archive below.

Documents Archive:

                                                                                                                   
                                         2.25.19 Letter to David Young             2019 AMBA Negotiations               2019 AMBA Negotiations FAQ              2019 AMBA Negotiations
                                                    & David Goodman                                    Myth vs. Fact                                                                                                          Quote Sheet   

                                          3.6.19 Letter to David Young            3.12.19 Opening Remarks                 3.12.19 Statement of Choice                    3.14.19 Negotiating                                                                                              & David Goodman                                                                                                                                                                Meeting Statement   

                                       Analysis of Economic Impact of            3.18.19 Opening Remarks                         3.18.19 Questions                      3.21.19 ATA/WGA Agreement
                                   Eliminating Front-End Packaging Fees                                                                                Posed to WGA
                                                 

                                         3.25.19 AMPTP Letter to WGA                     3.26.19 Negotiating        Hollywood Reporter: Can the Writers Guild          4.5.19 ATA Letter to                                                                              Rejecting Group Boycott                          Meeting Statement       Turn a Manager into an Agent? Probably Not.        Member Agencies

                                                 4.11.19 ATA Letter to                              4.12.19 Negotiating                           ATA Post April 12 FAQ                          Agency Standards for                                                                                    Member Agencies                                 Meeting Statement                                                                                              Client Representation

                                    Summary of Proposals in Key Areas            4.13.19 Latham and Watkins            4.14.19 ATA Letter to Member           Sheppard Mullin: WGA Tries                                                                        by the WGA and ATA                                         Letter to WGA                                             Agencies                          Preemption Route in ATA Dispute       

                                       4.18.19 ATA Letter to Member           Deadline: Why Smaller Agencies 
                                                          Agencies                          Won't Sign WGA New Code of Conduct