Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre Cancel Hollywood Bowl Show In Solidarity With Actors and Writers On Strike

Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre canceled their Oct. “Snoop Dogg & Friends” Hollywood Bowl show amid the ongoing writer and actor’s strike that has shuttered productions from many major studios. The concert, which would have been a two day event from October 20-21, was celebrating the 30th anniversary of Snoop Dogg’s album Doggystyle that was produced by Dr. Dre. 

“We regret to inform you that due to the ongoing strike and the uncertainty of when this will be over, we need to cancel the Hollywood Bowl show,” Snoop Dogg announced via Instagram. “We continue to stand in solidarity with all of our brothers and sisters in the WGA and SAG/AFTRA during this difficult time and remain hopeful that the AMPT will come back to the negotiating table with a REAL proposal and we can all get back to work.” 

The Writer’s Guild of America (WGA) has been on strike since May and was joined by the Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG/AFTRA) in July. Demands include better pay and protection from emerging artificial intelligence (AI) technologies that would allow studios to replicate actor performances, create scripts, and more. 

Under the strike rules, writers who are members of the WGA can’t provide writing services to companies. Performers who are members of SAG/AFTRA can’t act, sing, promote projects, and much more. Crossing the picket line may result in a writer or actor losing their union membership and fines against studios who agreed to the union’s terms. 

Over a week ago, Snoop Dogg shared his thoughts on the strike and streaming during a panel hosted by Milken Institute, an organization that is “dedicated to connecting people, organizations and resources in order to catalyze solutions to persistent global challenges.” 

“Can somebody explain to me how you can get a billion streams and not get a million dollars,” Snoop Dogg questioned. “…That’s the main gripe with a lot of us artists, is that we do major numbers with streams and this sh*t, but it don’t add up to the money.” 

Snoop Dogg’s questions and concerns are not new and have been a recurring conversation among musicians as streaming services increase in popularity. In 2014, Business Insider reported that Pharrell’s smash hit Happy only netted him $2,700 in songwriter royalties from 43 million streams on Pandora, which was the most popular music streaming platform at the time. Now, musicians are also worried about AI being used to replace them. 
Musicians can’t go on strike though because they don’t have a union like the WGA or SAG/AFTRA, but Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre’s canceled concert is beginning to show how this strike will affect other parts of the entertainment industry.

Article by Enzo Luna