by José Promis

One fine day Viola the Cellist was absent-mindedly watching a film that was being shown on television, when, to her utter shock, she was amazed to hear a recording in which she had participated. Viola the Cellist had never been paid for that usage of her work. Viola dutifully phoned the musicians’ Local, who in turn put her in touch with the Film Musicians Secondary Markets Fund.

What Viola the Cellist wanted to know was how she could get paid for her performance on a recording that was used in the film. What Viola needs to know is that in order to qualify for payments, the film would have to be exhibited in a secondary market which includes:

· Free TV for theatrical films released between 1/31/1960 and 7/1/1971.

· Free TV, pay cable and videocassette/DVD for theatrical films released after 7/1/1971.

· Videocassette/DVD, pay cable and in-flight programming for TV films and TV series.

· Free TV for Direct-to-Video/Direct-to-Pay films.

What Viola was watching was a theatrical film that was being shown on free TV; therefore, the film was in a secondary market.

So whom should this charming cellist contact to resolve her dilemma? Guy and Jose, the tireless, virtuous sleuths from the Secondary Markets Fund Omissions and Research Department.

In essence, what this charming cellist had was a“FILM INQUIRY,” which is what the Omissions Department deals with on a daily basis. Viola the Cellist felt that she had been erroneously OMITTED from the residuals she felt were due from her participation on the aforementioned recording and its subsequent usage in the film.

Viola the Cellist then remembered that with her annual distribution check there was a form called an “INQUIRY FORM.” She dug out the form, filled it out with her current address, social security number and signature, and then included the necessary information, such as the name of the film, the artist, song title and the approximate recording date.

Viola obtained this information from a paycheck stub she saved (and here we can’t stress enough the importance of maintaining good records of all work done on phonograph, television and/or film score recording sessions, whether through paystubs, records of session dates, copies of contracts, etc). This information is vital in aiding the Fund’s research staff with processing an inquiry.

Viola dutifully included all this information on her inquiry form and sent it to the Fund, in the self-addressed, postage-paid envelope that was ever so conveniently included with her check.

The Omissions staff then had to find proof that Viola the Cellist’s cello-playing contribution was originally recorded on an American Federation of Musicians’ phonograph recording session contract (known as a Form B-4). Using her social security number, they researched her pension records for the period in which Viola the Cellist would have recorded the song and, fortunately, original AF of M recording session contracts were located.

However, a couple of factors still had to be dealt with. First of all, a “New-Use” contract would have to be created (Form B-7, for recording film or television recording sessions) reflecting Viola’s cello performance. (“New-Use” is defined as the usage of music from pre-existing sources, such as phonograph recordings or jingles, as part of the musical score of a film or television production). The contract that bore witness to her cello-playing participation was a phonograph recording session contract (Form B-4). The information from the Form B-4 is then used to create the Form B-7 from which she will be credited — using current scale wages — for this film.

So all the pieces of the puzzle seemed to have fallen squarely into place for Viola the Cellist. However, there is one more detail to consider: in order to credit Viola, the film that used her cello-playing charms had to have been produced on or after January 1, 1991. Films and television series produced before that date do not qualify for “New-Use” payments from the Fund.

Viola was in luck! The film that used her recording of a charming cello performance started principle photography on January 2, 1991, rendering her claim valid.

Hopefully, this “New-Use” in the motion picture will wind up placing a few more dollars into Viola’s purse come next year and for many years thereafter—and that way Viola will finally be able to realize her lifelong dream of mastering the trombone!

One final note: while we do offer the printed version of the inquiry form, we encourage you to take advantage of the electronic version by clicking the online forms link on the Fund's website at: www.fmsmf.org.

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