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AFM Recording Agreement Primer

The following brief primer is intended to provide a basic overview of three current AFM Recording Agreements and assist you in determining how, when and under what circumstances you might use them.

Joint Venture Recording Report

The Joint Venture Recording Report was specifically developed to address the large body of self-produced recordings made by AFM Indie artists. In turn; GoPro Tunes was developed primarily to benefit those member artists. As such; we anticipate that the majority of the music available on the GoPro Tunes website will have been produced in this manner.

• There is no employer.
• AFM members on the date are self-producing or collaborating in self production, not providing a service for hire, and are in creative control over material and the recording process.
• No wages or benefits (Pension contributions; Health and Welfare payments; participation in the Sound Recording Special Payments Fund, etc.) are required to be received by the participating member musicians.
• Musicians are eligible to receive New Use Payments.
• The purpose of the recording is to produce a demo to obtain work for live performing and/or the purpose of the recording is to produce a product for sale and the proceeds from sales exclusively benefit band members.

The Joint Venture Recording Report may be used for new or previously recorded content. The Report is extremely easy to complete and protects the best interests of the participating member musicians. Here’s how to complete and submit the Report:

1. Download and print the Joint Venture Agreement Form.
2. Complete only those sections relating to the musicians who participated in the recording. Note: The "Percentage of Ownership" is the division of ownership as agreed to by the participating AFM members. The summed total will be 100%.
3. Ensure that all participating AFM members sign the Report in the appropriate areas.
4. Send or deliver (in person) the Report to your AFM Local and have an Officer complete the upper section of the Report.
5. Have sufficient copies of the fully completed Report made in order to distribute a copy to each participating musician. The Local is to retain the original fully completed Report.
6. Upload a scanned copy of the fully completed Report via the on-line GoPro Tunes contract interface.

Limited Pressing Agreement

To date; thousands of tracks have been produced under this Agreement and we would welcome any of them as selections available on GoPro Tunes. Music produced under the terms of the Limited Pressing Agreement must be made available for sale on GoPro Tunes by the individual/entity owning or controlling the right to commercially exploit the recording(s) produced under this Agreement. If you are not the above mentioned individual/entity but participated in a recording session under this Agreement and wish to have the recording(s) made available for sale on GoPro Tunes, please encourage the appropriate individual/entity to contact us.

• Limits the distribution of the product to 10,000 units in the U.S. and 3,000 units in Canada.
• Musicians are employed by an individual or company.
• Minimum wages and Pension benefits have been established by the AFM.
• Locals may establish wages above the minimum.
• Musicians are eligible to receive New Use Payments.
• Should sales exceed the limits noted above, musicians receive the wage and pension difference between the Limited Pressing Agreement and the Sound Recording Labor Agreement (SRLA) and become eligible for Sound Recording Special Payments Fund participation.

Download the Limited Pressing Agreement: U.S. | Canada

Sound Recording Labor Agreement (SRLA)

To date; hundreds of thousands of tracks have been produced under this Agreement and we would welcome any of them as selections available on GoPro Tunes.

Music produced under the terms of the SRLA must be made available for sale on GoPro Tunes by the individual/entity owning or controlling the right to commercially exploit the recording(s) produced under this Agreement. If you are not the above mentioned individual/entity but participated in a recording session under this Agreement and wish to have the recording(s) made available for sale on GoPro Tunes, please encourage the appropriate individual/entity to contact us. More info on the SRLA is available here.

• No limits on the number of units that may be distributed.
• Musicians are employed by a current Signatory to the Sound Recording Labor Agreement or an individual/company that has signed a Sound Recording Single Project Short Form.
• All terms of the Agreement have been negotiated between representatives of the AFM and the major record labels.
• Participating musicians receive wages, Pension contributions, Health and Welfare benefits and participation in the Sound Recording Special Payments Fund.
• Musicians are eligible to receive New Use Payments.

Download the Sound Recording Labor Agreement
Single Project Short Forms: U.S. | Canada

More questions? Contact us or call (917) 229-0238 during normal business hours.