Providing service and support to film and television musicians.
Providing service and support to film and television musicians.
Dear Participating Musician/Beneficiary,
I am pleased to enclose your 2023 residual distribution from the Film Musicians Secondary Markets Fund. This residual payment is made to you by the Motion Picture and Television Producers who are operating under the AFM Basic Theatrical Motion Picture Agreement and/or the AFM Basic Television Motion Picture Agreement negotiated by the American Federation of Musicians.
The enclosed payment covers collections received during the Fund’s Fiscal Year 2023 (April 1, 2022-March 31, 2023). Once again, the Fund’s overall collections surpassed all prior years: collections in FY2023 exceeded $140 Million as compared to $130 Million collected during FY2022. The upward trend in collections over the past ten years is driven primarily by the release of theatrical films and traditional TV programs into the secondary markets of streaming services and digital downloads.
PLEASE GO-PAPERLESS! If you received this paper statement through the mail, we strongly urge you to consider enrolling in the Fund’s Go-Paperless option to receive all of your annual information electronically. By enrolling in Go-Paperless, you avoid the chance of your check being lost or stolen or having personal information misdirected in the mail. With Go-Paperless, access your individual statements securely via the FMSMF website, and receive your residuals instantly by Direct Deposit. For more information on Go-Paperless, please visit https://www.fmsmf.org/gopaperless or call the Participant Relations Hotline at 1-888-443-6763 for assistance.
PLEASE UPDATE YOUR BENEFICIARY INFORMATION: It is not fun to think about, but it’s critical for every Musician to ensure his/her beneficiary information with the Fund is up to date. Designations at other organizations, such as the AFM Employers Pension Fund or the local union, do not apply to this Fund. Musicians can refer to the last page of their statement – it shows what FMSMF has on file for your beneficiary designation. Information about the Fund's Beneficiary policies is available at https://www.fmsmf.org/beneficiary. Or call us toll-free at 1-888-443-6763 with any questions you may have.
“NEW” MUSICIANS:
For FMSMF, a Musician is considered “new” when eligible to receive a secondary market residual payment for the first time. In FY2023, 1,014 Musicians were credited for residuals for the first time: 991 Musicians were first credited as a result of original scoring work and 23 first-timers were credited because of a “new use” of an AFM-covered sound recording in a film or television program.
STAY IN TOUCH: We hope you’re already receiving Music Notes, the newsletter emailed to Participants several times each year. If not, this is a great time to ensure we have your current email address. Also, if you are a current AFM member, please look for news and information from the Fund published from time to time in International Musician. And, if you have not already done so, please follow us on Facebook and the Fund’s YouTube Channel!
A general overview of the Fund’s fiscal performance during FY2023 is provided in the Unaudited Summary of Financial Activities found on the reverse side of this letter. The final independent auditor’s financial report for FY2023 will be posted on the Fund’s website later this year.
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Unaudited Summary of Financial Activities Estimates as of July 1 for FYE March 31, 2023 |
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| Fiscal Year Ended 3/31/23 | |||
| Collected Contributions | $ | 141,784,643 | |
| Required contribution to AFM Employers Pension Fund | $ | (2,110,982) | |
| Amounts set aside pending verifications | $ | (1,052,531) | |
| Contribution available for distribution | $ | 138,621,130 | |
| Operating Expenses* | $ | (7,718,168) | |
| Retired unclaimed distributions | $ | 3,321,131 | |
| Interest/Dividends earned after expenses | $ | 2,377,718 | |
| Required contribution to AFM Employers Pension Fund on net earnings | $ | (34,524) | |
| Cost Basis Adjustment on Investments | $ | 97,837 | |
| Available for distribution after Adjustments | $ | 136,665,124 | |
| Estimated Employers' share of payroll taxes | $ | (9,000,000) | |
| Reserve for omissions** | $ | (1,754,134) | |
| Projected Distribution Amount | $ | 125,910,990 | |
| Note: |
* Expenses include disbursement of $227,187 to Participants of previous years’ retired unclaimed distributions.
** New beginning balance of $2,150,000 set for September 2023 omissions distribution. |
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Enclosed with this mailing you will also find:
Please note that the enclosed check is valid for a period of 90 days from the date of issue and cannot be cashed beyond that time. For this reason, we strongly encourage you to cash the check at your earliest convenience. And as noted above, Go-Paperless is the most safe and convenient option to avoid the inconvenience of managing paper checks.
If you have questions or if we can be of service, please feel free to contact us toll-free at 1-888-443-6763 and follow the prompts to speak to a Participant Relations Associate, or email us at .
FMSMF will continue to provide outreach, education and information to assist Participants in utilizing the services of the Fund and accessing the residuals they have earned. Please look for announcements in the months ahead about educational webinars and updates to FMSMF’s services for Participants.
On behalf of the Fund staff, we look forward to continuing our work on behalf of FMSMF Participants and welcome your feedback on how we can better serve you and the motion picture music community as a whole. We thank all Musicians, both new and returning, for your contributions to the motion picture and television industry and for the gift of your talents during this past year.
Sincerely,
Executive Director
A PDF version of the 2023 Executive Director letter is available here.
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