Year |
Musician's Adjusted Scale Wages |
All Musicians' Adjusted Scale Wages |
|||||||||||
| 2021 | $1,000 | x | 100% | = | $1,000 | $10,000,000 | x | 100% | = | $10,000,000 | |||
| 2020 | $1,000 | x | 80% | = | $800 | $10,000,000 | x | 80% | = | $8,000,000 | |||
| 2019 | $1,000 | x | 60% | = | $600 | $10,000,000 | x | 60% | = | $6,000,000 | |||
| 2018 | $1,000 | x | 40% | = | $400 | $10,000,000 | x | 40% | = | $4,000,000 | |||
| 2017 | $1,000 | x | 20% | = | $200 | $10,000,000 | x | 20% | = | $2,000,000 | |||
| Total (A) | $3,000 | Total (B) | $30,000,000 | ||||||||||
| Distribution Amount (C) = $8,000,000 | |||||||||||||
| (A) ÷ (B) x (C) = (D) ➜ $3,000 ÷ $30,000,000 x $8,000,000 = $800 | |||||||||||||
Distributions
Main Annual Distribution
Each record company that is party to the Sound Recording Labor Agreement (the "SRLA") makes payments to the SRSPF twice a year based on its revenues from (i) the exploitation of audio streams throughout the world (subject to certain limitations as described in the SRLA), and (ii) sales of sound recordings that it produces and that are recorded in the U.S. or Canada (or elsewhere using AFM musicians, whether on physical (e.g., CDs) or non-physical (e.g., digital download) product.
On or about August 1st of each year, the SRSPF distributes to eligible musicians all record company payments described above made during the Fund’s prior fiscal year (that is, through April 30), plus all other income including amounts collected as the result of compliance audits, interest income and any other income (e.g. tax refunds) received through the end of the fiscal year, less administrative expenses. A musician is generally eligible for a distribution in any year if he or she has reported wages under the SRLA for any of the five calendar years preceding the distribution year. Each musician's distribution for any year is calculated based on his or her pro rata “adjusted scale wages” under the SRLA reported to the American Federation of Musicians and Employer’s Pension Fund or Musicians' Pension Fund of Canada (which, in turn, the Funds report to the SRSPF) for each of the five preceding calendar years. “Adjusted scale wages” means that the wages are weighted so that more recent wages result in a greater proportional distribution. Specifically, "adjusted scale wages" generally means the scale wages reported under the SRLA for the calendar year before the date of distribution (the "distribution year"), plus 80% of the scale wages reported in the second year before the distribution year, plus 60% of the scale wages reported in the third year before the distribution year, plus 40% of the scale wages reported in the fourth year before the distribution year, plus 20% of the scale wages reported in the fifth year before the distribution year.
As an example, for distribution year 2022, if a musician's scale wages were $1,000 in each of the preceding five years (2017-2021) and the total of all musicians' scale wages was $10,000,000 in each of those five years and the total amount to be distributed is $8,000,000, the musician's distribution payment would equal $800, as calculated below:
Who is eligible to receive a Main-Annual Distribution?
Each musician who earns wages under the SRLA that are reported on a Form B-4 session report is eligible for a distribution, which is based on the payments made to the SRSPF from record companies for the exploitation of audio streams and sales of sound recordings during the Fund’s fiscal year. For a distribution to be payable to a musician, the musician’s information must be reported on a SRLA Form B-4 session report (i.e. wages, social security/insurance number and address).
These distributions are paid annually to the musicians for whom wages under the SRLA were reported during the five calendar years preceding the distribution based on the musician’s adjusted pro-rata wages under the SRLA for each of the five years. In calculating the distribution due an eligible musician, only those scale wages for sound recordings that were recorded for legitimate commercial purposes are includable. Please see the example above for a breakdown on how a distribution payment is calculated.
Traditional Music Video Distribution
Each record company that is a party to the Sound Recording Labor Agreement (“SRLA”) makes payments to the SRSPF twice a year based on its revenues from the sales and exploitation of Traditional Music Videos (TMVs). A TMV is audio-visual product that includes a song recorded under the SRLA and that is exploited for promotional purposes (e.g. Vevo, YouTube).
On or about September 30th of each year, the SRSPF distributes to eligible musicians all record company payments described above made during the Fund’s prior fiscal year (that is, through April 30), less administrative expenses. A musician is generally eligible for a distribution in any year if the musician participated in recording one or more TMVs for which payments were made to the SRSPF during the prior fiscal year. Each musician’s distribution is calculated as a pro-rata share of the payments made for each such TMV, based on the number of musicians who participated in recording the song (e.g. if 10 musicians played on a song and the revenue received for the song was $1,000, then each musician would receive $100, less administrative expenses and the Fund’s portion of payroll and unemployment taxes).
Sampling Distribution
Each record company that is a party to the Sound Recording Labor Agreement (“SRLA”) makes payments to the SRSPF twice a year for its use of a song recorded under the SRLA in (or “sampled into”) another song. Payments are generally a flat fee for each song that is sampled into another song ($400 for the first sample) unless the new song generates significant revenues.
On or about May 1st of each year, the SRSPF distributes to eligible musicians all record company payments described above made during the Fund’s prior fiscal year (that is, through April 30), less administrative expenses. A musician is generally eligible for a distribution in any year if the musician participated in recording one or more sampled songs for which payments were made to the SRSPF during the prior fiscal year. Each musician’s distribution is calculated as a pro-rata share of the payments made for each such sampled song, based on the number of musicians who participated in recording the song (e.g. if 10 musicians played on a song, and the revenue received for the song was $400, each would receive $40, less the Fund’s administrative expenses and its portion of payroll and unemployment taxes). Unlike the Fund’s main-annual distribution, sampling distributions are not recurring. Therefore, you will only receive one sampling distribution per sampled song unless the sampled song is used again (or generates significant revenues).
Note: the following musicians who participate in recording a sampled song are not eligible to share in any payments resulting from the use of the sample: a royalty artist, a self-contained royalty group or any musician when recording as a symphonic musician.