Beware of Digital Sharecropping
- ejbrown494
- Nov 23
- 2 min read
Recently, I was offered a deal that sounded… off. The more I listened, the more familiar it felt. And because I grew up reading Black history and listening to old Black folks talk plainly about how the world works, I recognized it immediately:
Sharecropping. Just updated for Wi-Fi and metadata.
What’s new is old.
In the digital age, independent filmmakers—especially Black creators—are being handed contracts that mirror the same exploitative mechanics used on our ancestors after slavery. The technology looks futuristic, but the power dynamics are vintage 1870s.
Back then, Black farmers worked someone else’s land, carried all the labor and all the risk, only to “split” the harvest with landowners who controlled the tools, set the terms, cooked the books, and buried them in mysterious debts that never went away.
Today’s version?
Filmmakers fund, create, shoot, edit, and deliver fully completed projects—then get told to sign away rights for backend checks that only come after massive, unverifiable marketing recoupments. Ten-year contracts. No performance clauses. No transparency. No real-time data. You’re locked in while they do whatever they want.
That isn’t a partnership.
That’s digital debt peonage.
Streaming: The New Plantation Economics
Streaming platforms are now paying (4/10s) four-tenths of a penny per stream—and industry insiders say the rate is expected to keep dropping.
Do the math:
1,000,000 streams × $0.004 = $4,000
A million people can watch your work… and you might walk away with a used Honda’s worth of money.
And that’s before the distributor, aggregator, or “marketing recoup” takes their cut.
This is why most creators will never recoup, never scale, never build generational ownership under the current system. The numbers aren’t built for creators to win—they’re built to keep creators dependent.
It is, once again, sharecropping in a new uniform.
How Do We Break the Cycle?
The answer is simple, but not easy:
Build your own audience.
Own your access.
Own your distribution.
Own your dollars.
When your audience buys or rents directly from you:
* You keep most of the revenue.
* You control pricing.
* You control data.
* You control sustainability.
* You can self-fund the next film, EP, album, or season.
At this point, going back to DVDs and CDs would be more profitable for independent filmmakers and musicians. Physical media keeps money in the community. Streaming leaks it out the back door.
And if you can combine:
* a direct-to-audience platform
* physical merch
* premium rentals
* live screenings
* private community spaces
* your own brand ecosystem
You can survive and scale without begging companies who never had your best interests at heart.
The Bottom Line
Digital sharecropping is still sharecropping.
If we don’t recognize the pattern, we will repeat it.
We do not need permission to create.
We do not need gatekeepers to validate us.
And we sure as hell don’t need digital plantation economics to define our worth. I fully intend to keep making films and building my own independent black audience outside of the digital plantation system.
Build your land.
Grow your audience.
Harvest your own work.
Own the soil, not just the seeds.
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