Under the terms of the Phonograph Record Labor Agreement (PRLA) (which after Feb. 1, 2002 will be known as the Sound Recording Labor Agreement), royalty artists are to be paid for all recording work that is performed for signatory label companies.

The PRLA defines a royalty artist as a musician, or a self-contained group, that has an agreement in place with a signatory record label to provide for a royalty payable "at a basic rate of at least 3% of the suggested retail price of records sold (less deductions usual and customary in the trade) or a substantially equivalent royalty."

When musicians have such a royalty agreement in place, they are supposed to receive phonograph scale wages, for each tune that they record as a royalty artist. In other words, if there are 12 cuts on the CD, such a royalty artist, in addition to whatever advances received or future royalties, MUST receive a scale wage equivalent to $3761.40 (12 x $313.45 - today's basic phono session scale).

Once a musician is on a contract, they will not only receive the indicated scale wages, but also pension and health benefit contributions. Pension for 12 sessions would be $376.14, and health benefit contributions would total $228.00. A jazz musician would then need only $172.00 in additional contributions, from all other work, to qualify for the Local 802 health plan.

Being on a phonograph contract, would also result in payments from the Phonograph Record Manufacturers Special Payments Fund. Depending on the total amount of the fund's collections in a given year, and the total amount to be paid out to all musicians, over a five-year period, such a jazz musician could receive special payments that might total $1128.42.

And, should any tune from the album end up in a movie, film, television show, or jingle, the jazz royalty artist, like all other musicians who performed on the original recording, would be eligible for new use payments. And, if the new use is in a movie or film, this would then trigger special payments from the Motion Picture and Television Special Payments Fund.

Incidentally, in order for a record label to pay a jazz artist as a "royalty artist," (or, any other musician as a royalty artist), a copy of the royalty agreement has to be filed by the label with the office of the AFM. In the absence of such a filed agreement, jazz royalty artists are required to be paid full session wages for each session on which they work.

For more information contact: David Sheldon (ext. 194), Senior Recording Business Representative or Jay Schaffner, (ext. 161), Assistant Supervisor of the National Contracts Department (Recording Department).

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