FUND'S MAIN ANNUAL DISTRIBUTION FOR 2024 IS $9,710,000
08/01/2024, V. Robert DiPaola - Fund Administrator,
(Below is a copy of this year's main annual distribution letter, which contains details related to the distribution and other information about the Fund.)
August 1, 2024
Dear Participating Musician:
We are pleased to enclose a check for your portion of the distribution from the Sound Recording Special Payments Fund (“Fund”) for the fiscal year ended April 30, 2024. Also enclosed, for your reference, is a statement of your reported scale wages, if any, for calendar year 2023. Please note, the check is only valid for ninety days from the issuance date, so you must cash or deposit it by October 29, 2024.
We are also delighted to report that, for the third year in a row, the total distribution has increased: the $9,710,000 distributioni is almost 14% greater than last year. This is true despite the fact that, as we explained in last year’s distribution letter, some of the annual contributions previously payable to the Fund on streamed sound recordings (which represent 75% of total contributions to the Fund) are now being paid to the American Federation of Musicians and Employers Pension Fund (AFM-EPF).ii This year, the increase in the distribution is due to higher investment income, compliance audit collections and contributions on physical sales.
Looking forward, the Fund is working on its go-paperless distribution project, which is expected to be completed by the end of this year for next year’s distributions. We are very excited about the convenience that this new feature will provide to participants. You can expect to receive instructions from us on how to elect to go paperless by email or regular mail early next year.
As always, I encourage you to visit the Fund’s website where registered participants can update their address, designate beneficiaries and submit direct deposit account information (U.S. banks only). The website also remains the best place to get important information about the Fund and answers to your frequently asked questions.
Please also be sure to visit our Do We Have Money For You?” webpage. There, you can search for your or your fellow musicians’ names to find out if you, or they, have unclaimed payments from any of the Fund’s three distributions (i.e. Main-annual, Traditional Music Video and Sampling).
Warmest regards,
V. Robert DiPaola
V. Robert DiPaola
Fund Administrator
i Below is a summary comparison of financial information related to the annual distributions for the fiscal years ended April 30, 2024 and 2023:
| 2024 | 2023 | ||
| Contributions | $ 11,408,000 | $ 10,701,000 | |
| Compliance audit collections | 661,000 | 368,000 | |
| Interest and investment income | 651,000 | 278,000 | |
| Unclaimed distributions | 84,000 | 177,000 | |
| Total | 12,804,000 | 11,524,000 | |
| | | | |
| General and administrative expenses | 1,787,000 | 1,808,000 | |
| Employer share of payroll taxes | 1,072,000 | 934,000 | |
| Reserves for capital expenditures | 235,000 | 236,000 | |
| Total | 3,094,000 | 2,978,000 | |
| Total distribution | $ 9,710,000 | $ 8,546,000 | |
| | | | |
| Total participants | 12,700 | 13,000 |
ii Contributions to the Fund are determined under the collective bargaining agreement between the American Federation of Musicians and various sound recording companies, known as the Sound Recording Labor Agreement (“SRLA”). Under the SRLA for the current distribution year (and for the 2025 and 2026 distribution years), contributions on streamed sound recordings were due as follows: the first $7 million (for 2024), $7.5 million (for 2025) and $8.0 million (for 2026) of contributions are due the AFM-EPF, and contributions over this amount are due the Fund. By contrast, under the SRLA for the 2023 distribution year (and the two previous years), contributions on streamed sound recordings were due the AFM-EPF only on the first $6 million, with contributions over this amount due the Fund.