My past letters accompanying your July payments have often begun with some version of the phrase "I am extremely pleased to inform you that the Film Musicians Secondary Markets Fund (FMSMF) has again experienced tremendous growth with collections reaching an all-time high of…" While I assure you that this is not just some stock phrase I trot out each year, I am nonetheless extremely excited about the growth of the Fund once again. This has undoubtedly been another banner year for motion picture musicians, with the Fund collecting an unprecedented amount in excess of $82 million. This represents an increase of more than $8.5 million (or approximately 11.6%) over the prior year’s collections. As with last years collections, the explosion of DVD sales has continued to be the primary engine driving the revenue to the Fund, which along with the continued penetration of the market (i.e. more independent pictures choosing to score under AFM jurisdiction), more aggressive collection efforts on the part of the Fund and the settlement of outstanding claims have all been contributing factors in the Fund’s impressive growth over the past year.

The Fund has continued to refine its operation with the goal to better serve the Participants. Last year’s complete overhaul of our website has continued to provide additional benefits to those who avail themselves of access to the website. If you haven’t done so, please visit the site at www.fmsmf.org where you can register for “Private Area” access, and much more, including our new "Go Paperless" option (see the related article). Those U.S. Participants who have signed up for "Private Area Access," and have chosen the direct deposit option to have their annual payments deposited directly into their bank account can expand these services by using the online service exclusively to view and print your statement, copy of your payment stub, master list of motion pictures (which is now a "searchable" database) and all the other materials (including this letter) that are enclosed with your payment. Choosing to "Go Paperless," you can not only save the Fund (and ultimately yourself) the expense of printing and mailing the distribution package, but you can also guarantee the timely deposit of your payment as well as view your personal statement and related distribution materials well in advance of the July 1st distribution. For more information, please visit the website or call (818) 755-7777 and ask for a "Research Representative" for assistance.

In addition, building on the past decision to bring the computer system completely "in-house," this year we have continued to expand the Computer Department, which now has two fully functioning departments—one for software development and one to manage the Fund’s on-site/hardware requirements. I am happy to report that the positive benefits of this have continued to exceed our expectations, both as an economic benefit as well as one of increased efficiency.

None of these activities would have been possible without the superlative effort of a dedicated and dynamic staff, and the input of you – the Participants who have been so instrumental in helping us identify the activities you would most like the Fund to pursue.

Please take a look at the following Financial Summary for an overview of the Fund’s performance:

Note: * Included here is the total of $321,920 payment of prior years’ unclaimed distribution. ** In addition to this amount, a balance of $722,224 is carried over from amounts not distributed from the prior omission reserve. This leaves a total of $1,000,000 for omissions this year-Sep. 2005.

The Fund is here to serve you. Please feel free to contact us directly at (818) 755-7777, and ask for the Research Dept. Better yet, continue to access the Fund’s Web site at www.fmsmf.org where you can search for a particular film title (in order to determine whether contributions have been paid or required to be paid for that title), download the “Motion Picture Master List,” submit an “Inquiry Form” to report a film omission online, or access the “Participant’s Private Area.” The Private Area (which is secured) will allow you to view and download your personal statements from this or prior year(s), modify your address, beneficiary designation, direct deposit, or tax withholding information. You can now also view your current data as the Fund continues to increase its services to the participants. If you don’t already have access to the “Private Area,” this would be an excellent time to apply for this benefit so that you can take full advantage of all the Fund has to offer.

Wishing you continued success.

Sincerely,

Dennis Dreith
Fund Administrator

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