Independent/Festival Films

Motion Pictures budgeted at $2,000,000 or less and exhibited at film festivals, through direct presentation to prospective distributor/buyers, or commercially. Download a printable AFM Independent/Festival Film Agreement
Scale (3hrs)
25 or more musicians 120.00
10-24 musicians 132.00
9 or fewer musicians 140.00
Leader or Contractor: double the Basic Scale.
Electronic MultiTracking (EMT) 160.00 per hour.
H&W: $30.54 per day for musicians and sideline musiciansm, and Low Budget Film H&W formula for music preparation (orchestrators, copyists, etc.). For Local 47 members, H&W contributions are made to the Entertainment Industry Flex Plan.
Pension: 8% of Scale Wages.
Music Performance Trust Fund (MPTF): 3% of Scale Wages.
Intermission: one ten minute break per hour.
Cartage: The Employer shall pay actual common carrier cartage costs for heavy instruments such as keyboards or percussion, when applicable.. If a private transportation is used, the Employer will pay a musician cartage fees as follows:
Harp $30.00
String bass, cello, drums, mallets, tympani, heavy amplifiers/electronics, baritone or bass saxophone, contra bass clarinet, contra bassoon, accordion, baritone horn, bass trombone and tuba. $12.00
Overdubs: Overdubs (the recording of multiple parts on the same music cue during the same session) except for those musicians engaged at the EMT rate, require an additional scale payment equivalent to the applicable 3-hour minimum session fee for each Overdub.
Music Prep: (copyists and orchestrators, etc.) shall be paid as set forth for Low Budget Films in Paragraph 63 of the Basic Theatrical Motion Picture Agreement (using those rates in force on April18, 2010) and those amounts shall constitute scale under this Agreement.
Soundtrack Albums: Producer may release up to 5,000 copies of a soundtrack CD without payment for musicians, provided the Producer informs the AFM of such soundtrack release, lists musicians and AFM on liner notes, and provides the AFM with 25 copies of the soundtrack upon release.
Sideline musicians’ scale is $194.73 (double for leader and contractor) per 8 hour day, with overtime beyond 8 hours to be paid at time and a half in 15 minute increments. All other terms and conditions for sideline musicians (except for Pension and Health & Welfare Payments) are as provided for in the Basic Theatrical Motion Picture Agreement.
Promotional Use: the Producer may make reasonable use of musician images and soundtrack for electronic press kits, trailers, “making of…”, news, review or other similar promotional purposes.
Use in Other Media: The primary market for the Picture is considered to be theatrical (whether or not such use occurs). If the Picture is ever released for secondary commercial exhibition (including but not limited to Cable or Free Television, DVD or New Media exhibition), the Producer shall make payments for such additional exhibition as required under the Film Musicians Secondary Markets Fund Agreement and that document is incorporated into this document by reference. Such Payments will be at 1.8% of 20% of “Producer Gross” formula rate described for Electronic Sell-Through (EST) in the AFM New Media Sideletter.

This summary is for informational purposes only; it is intended to summarize the relevant terms and conditions of the AFM Independent/Festival Film Agreement. The terms and conditions of this AFM Agreement shall prevail over any interpretation of any information contained herein. The complete governing Agreement is available from the AFM or your music contractor.