ARC Collective’s CEO + Founder on the call for Reality TV Unionization
Talent Manager Echoes Bethenny Frankel’s Call for Reality TV Union: ‘There Just Isn’t Any Protection at All’
“…Shab Azma has watched the debate unfold for the past few weeks with great interest. An experienced talent manager, Azma launched her own shingle, Arc Collective, in 2021 with a focus on representing nontraditional TV stars and media figures.
Unscripted series and lifestyle destination channels have proven to be enormously lucrative arenas for skilled artisans and other talent to develop new businesses. But it can also be field ripe for exploitation of people with no leverage and no understanding of how TV and media works. And that’s why Azma is speaking out about the need for the kind of basic union contract standards and safeguards that Frankel has loudly demanded.
“For years, as representatives, we have seen the lack of protection for unscripted talent. There just isn’t any protection at all, period,” Azma tells Variety. “It’s incredible that people are starting to get out there and be public about it, because for a long time unscripted talent have felt like the red-headed stepchildren. It’s long overdue.”
