AFM & SAG-AFTRA Fund Distributes $70 Mil
• The AFM & SAG-AFTRA Intellectual Property Rights Distribution Fund is a 501c(6) not-for-profit organization with a mission to collect and distribute royalties to non-featured performers on sound recordings for songs played on satellite radio, non-interactive streaming, and other digital formats domestically and internationally. As digital platforms have grown, so have the Fund’s royalty collections and payout demands. While it’s increasingly challenging to identify, locate, and pay the right people, The Fund has continued to expand and has collected and distributed millions of dollars in royalties on behalf of non-featured performers. Last year, $60 million was distributed, and on April 30 this year, The Fund made a record-breaking distribution of over $70 million, for a total of over half a billion dollars distributed since its inception.
Although the music industry is slowly recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic, its repercussions will be experienced for years to come. As artists are searching for alternative streams of revenue in the face of economic uncertainty, The Fund offers both union and non-union session musicians and vocalists a sense of relief.
“Given the enormous impact the pandemic has had on the ability to earn a living on both instrumentalists and vocalists, we are thrilled to be able to assist non-featured performers by collecting and distributing royalty income they might not know they’re entitled to receive,” says Sidney Kibodeaux White, COO of The Fund. Unlike other rights collectives, there is no membership or registration requirement in order to qualify — as long as a musician participates as a non-featured performer on a covered sound recording, that musician is considered a “participant” for distribution purposes. White added, “Every year, we’ve been able to collect more revenue on behalf of our participants. This year, The Fund set a record with more than $70 million in distributed royalties. We want to encourage would-be participants to visit the website for more information.”
