The American  Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada maintains and administers a unique Special Payments Fund for Sound recordings that is available exclusively to AFM an CFM members!

Musicians who perform on a union contract may apply to participate in annual residual payments from the fund that can span over 5 years!

These “Special Payments” can represent thousands of dollars in income for artists and bands. They are accessed by filing an AFM recording contract, and by doing so it  provide substantive opportunities for contributions to the participating musicians’ pension funds.

How much can you receive by filing a recording contract? A twelve-tune recording by a group of four musicians can generate more than $7000 in Special Payments to the participating musicians over a five year period!

To access these payments, a recording contract must be filed, pension contributions made by the producer, and nominal work dues must be paid to the Local by participating musicians. Applicants must also have a third party letter of adherence.

For more information on how you or your Band can benefit from the Special Payments Fund, please contact the NRMA today! Special Payments Fund is available exclusively to AFM and CFM members! Get the AFM advantage going for you in your music career!

The Sound Recording Special Payments Fund (SRSPF) was established in 1964 through an agreement between the American Federation of Musicians and recording companies employing musicians represented by the AFM, and embedded in a collective bargaining agreement known as the Phonograph Record Labor Agreement (predecessor to the current Sound Recording Labor Agreement).

Record companies pay into the SRSPF twice a year, based on their sales of recordings. Funds also come into the fund from ringtone sales. The contributions from record labels are only about three cents per physical unit sold, but each year this still adds up to millions of dollars.

Every August 1st, the accumulated funds are distributed to musicians who have recorded music for a  release in Canada or the United States under an AFM contract.

The payment to each musician depends on the total amount received by the fund in each year, the number of musicians receiving residual payments in the year, and the year in which the recording was made, since payments are paid out over a five year period in decreasing amounts following the filing of the recording contract.