Right, the way that residuals played out for syndicated shows is ultimately a large part of the decline for the guild members.

I am still a little curious on a few things in this. For one, I'm not clear on how long residuals can last in a sustainable way. Pretty much no matter how I try and simulate this payment model, it falls on needing more income from future participants. Not quite a ponzi scheme, as you are not asking future members to put money into the pot. You do need them to keep the machine running, though.

Granted, in that framing, the studios are effectively private equity groups that have managed to skim off a ton of value from the creative works? (Saying this as someone that isn't too keen on what a lot of private equity has done.)