SAG-AFTRA & Findaway Voices: The Details

As promised when we first announced the agreement, here’s our post detailing the specific criteria and process for audiobooks produced through Findaway Voices to be eligible as SAG-AFTRA projects.

Which Audiobook Projects are Eligible

Audiobooks produced through Findaway Voices will be SAG-AFTRA eligible audiobooks (“Eligible Audiobooks”) if all of the following criteria are met:

1. The narrator’s per finished hour rate on the Eligible Audiobook is at least $250.00.
2. The narrator indicates the audiobook they are creating is an Eligible Audiobook in the specific production agreement signed in association with production of the Eligible Audiobook.
3. The narrator designates a paymaster to receive all payments from Findaway Voices.
4. The narrator has met all obligations of their agreement(s) with Findaway Voices, and the Rights Holder and Findaway Voices have approved the finished Eligible Audiobook.

If any of the above conditions are not met, the audiobook will not be deemed as an Eligible Audiobook. For any non-Eligible Audiobook, we’ll make the full payment to the personal account provided on the Findaway Voices website.

How it works

Here’s how it’ll work in practice, as you go through the process of creating an Eligible Audiobook with Findaway Voices.

1. As the narrator, you indicate the audiobook you are producing will be an Eligible Audiobook. This designation will be made in the production agreement signed prior to the start of production through Findaway Voices. You’ll be working with our team at this point, so if anything is unclear, just ask and we’ll help you out.
2. Findaway Voices will provide you, the narrator, with an additional form to designate a paymaster. Please note that when you create your profile on the Findaway Voices website, you should provide only your personal payment information. Only provide paymaster banking information when explicitly requested by Findaway.
3. Your designated paymaster will receive full payment from Findaway Voices within fourteen days of the Eligible Audiobook’s final approval. Basically, we pay the paymaster, the paymaster pays you.
4. As the narrator, it is your responsibility to work with your designated paymaster to ensure all contributions to the SAG-AFTRA Health Plan and the AFTRA Retirement Plan, as well as your final payments, are made consistent with your relationship with the paymaster, including any fees the paymaster may charge. This means that once we send the paymaster the payment, we don’t have any involvement with its distribution from there, so just make sure that you’re clear on what your paymaster does with your money.

Future Updates

We may update this post from time to time to include any change within this process, or if the relationship between SAG-AFTRA and Findaway Voices changes. If that happens, we’ll summarize the changes here at the bottom of this post.