In a first for the podcast industry, writers and producers at the Spotify-owned Gimlet Media and The Ringer, have ratified their first collective bargaining agreements with the audio streaming company. The three-year agreements, which include salary minimums, guaranteed pay increases and other benefits were unanimously approved. Both Gimlet and The Ringer are represented by the Writers Guild of America, East.
“The collective bargaining agreements at Gimlet Media and The Ringer demonstrate that the people who make podcasts, from writers to producers to editors, bring enormous value to the major platforms for whom they create content,” said Lowell Peterson, WGAE’s Executive Director. He said collective bargaining ensures creative professionals have a seat at the table to address issues like inclusion and equity, intellectual property concerns, and sustainability of careers.
The contracts include significant increases to salary minimums, with The Ringer establishing $57,000 plus overtime as an entry-level floor, and Gimlet Media beginning at $73,000 for associate producers. There will also be a minimum of a two percent guaranteed annual pay increases. New senior titles will also be established.
The agreement also calls for a minimum severance of 11 weeks for all employees, regardless of tenure, if their position is eliminated. And Spotify has agreed to eliminate the post-employment non-compete agreements for all employees who make under $155,000.
The company has also agreed to limit its use of outside contract writers and producers. Under the contract a contractor must either be offered a full-time job after 10 months, or the companies must inform them 30 days in advance that there will not be a position available for them.
There are also diversity initiatives including a pledge that half of the candidates for open unit positions who make it to the stage after the phone interview will be from traditionally under-represented groups including racial minorities, LGBTQ+, people with disabilities, and military veterans. And Spotify will fund diversity committees, which will include representatives from both management and the bargaining unit.
Employees at Gimlet Media and The Ringer led podcasting’s unionization wave when they voted in 2019 to join WGAE. We began this process with the aim of improving working conditions and compensation at the company, especially for our lowest-paid members,” said The Ringer’s Bargaining Committee in a statement. “We're thrilled to have achieved that goal with this contract."
Gimlet Media’s Bargaining Committee said their effort has been to improve diversity, pay equity, and pathways to promotion and their first contract includes provisions that take steps forward on those issues. “We also look forward to maintaining more open discussions with management to ensure that we continue to make progress on all these fronts, and more,” it said.
The contracts cover 65 employees at The Ringer and 48 at Gimlet Media.
The Spotify-owned podcast production company Parcast voted last September to also join WGAE. The Union said it is currently in negotiations for their first collective bargaining agreement.