Do We Have Money for You? Check the New Films and Claimed Payments

January 1, 2015

by Kim Roberts Hedgpeth, Fund Administrator, Film Musicians Secondary Markets Fund

The Film Musicians Secondary Markets Fund (FMSMF) works to serve the film, television and music communities. To this end, the FMSMF is pleased to provide ongoing updates to the International Musician.

“New” films: The FMSMF received residuals for 137 “new” titles during the first seven months of the FMSMF 2014 fiscal year (from April 1 to October 31). Most of these newly reported titles were films and TV shows first released in 2012, 2013, or 2014, although a number of titles were older films and series that generated secondary market receipts and residuals for the first time.

Forty-four of the new titles were theatrical films—from big budget features such as Frozen, Captain Phillips, and Secret Life of Walter Mitty, to smaller films such as Nebraska, The Best Man Holiday, and At Middleton, which generated both critical recognition and secondary markets sales. Ninety new TV titles reporting for the first time included the 2013-14 seasons of Walking Dead, American Horror Story (Coven), Nashville, Sleepy Hollow, and Smash. In most cases, a full season of a series’ individual episodes is reported as one title, although there were 11 individual episodes of two PBS series reported as individual titles. New media is now emerging, with the first two seasons of Netflix’s House of Cards reporting residuals to musicians for the first time. Of course, additional new titles will remit secondary market residuals earned by musicians during the remainder of the fiscal year, which ends March 31, 2015.

Residuals paid to the FMSMF between April 1, 2015 and March 31, 2015 will be paid out in the July 1, 2015 distribution. A list of new titles for fiscal year 2014-15 can be found at the FMSMF website, www.fmsmf.org/filmtitles/newfilms.html, which our staff updates throughout the year. Please check our website at www.fmsmf.org to view both the list of new titles, as well as a list of all titles reporting so far during this fiscal year.

Unclaimed residuals: Thank you for helping to spread the word! During the first seven months of the FMSMF’s fiscal year, we distributed more than $900,000 of unclaimed secondary market residuals to musicians and beneficiaries who had not been previously found. This year, we’ve added to our existing efforts to find musicians and beneficiaries who may have unclaimed residuals. We’ve put our message encouraging musicians to check our unclaimed list into trade publications, added it to communications with AFM locals, and reached out to venues. We’re making progress, but still need your help. Please check our unclaimed residuals list at www.fmsmf.org/unclaimedchecks to see if you, or fellow AFM members, have residuals waiting.

As a reminder about AFM-covered sound recordings: if a covered sound recording is used in an AFM-covered theatrical or TV motion picture, the musicians who worked on that recording may be entitled to secondary market residuals. If you work on a sound recording session, make sure your B-4 form is complete and filed with the union. One day that recording may generate secondary market residuals for you.

From the staff at the FMSMF—best wishes for a happy, healthy, and prosperous New Year!

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