The Stage 32 Videos: Recoupment Schedule

Are you familiar with Freeway? Freeway provides Collection Account Management, Residual Payroll, Escrow, Data Management, and Production Accounting. All services built around our deep understanding of the challenges faced by parties in the film and TV industry with the production, financing, and distribution of their projects and designed to address key needs for security, transparency, and impartiality. Like when it comes to reporting and handling a production’s sales revenues making sure that all stakeholders receive their correct revenue shares and participations, on time. Or helping clients use sophisticated rights and contract management systems to make the best-informed decisions on the optimal exploitation of their IP and entertainment assets. Our mission is to help filmmakers, and their collaborators get financial peace of mind.

Engaging a Sales Agent can be of great value if you are looking to sell your production internationally. Sales Agents know the market well and have important relationships with buyers. The right Sales Agent can help your project reach its full commercial potential. If you plan to appoint a Collection Account Manager (CAM), it is wise to set up the Collection Account before the selling starts. Then the Sales Agent can instruct buyers to pay their license fees directly into the Collection Account and the CAM takes care of paying the Sales Agent’s commission and expenses from such receipts. As sales fees and expenses are generally calculated on total receipts, they are not reduced by any CAM’s remuneration or expenses. At the same time, the producer and all other parties to the CAMA will enjoy complete transparency regarding the sales, exploitation, and receipts, knowing that all monies are safely held in the Collection Account and diligently managed Freeway.

The recoupment schedule, also known as the waterfall outlines how a film’s revenues are distributed among producers, sales agents, financiers, unions, talent, and other back-end participants. A clear and accurately formulated waterfall is crucial for independent film productions, as it determines who gets paid, when, and how much, once the film starts earning revenues from international distribution. Preparing and managing waterfalls is at the core of what we do at Freeway: based on the waterfall, we allocate and disburse the revenues amongst the film’s stakeholders, to make sure that everyone receives their correct revenue share, on time.

As trusted third party collection account manager, we administer your production’s revenues and make sure that all stakeholders and revenue participants receive completely transparent reporting about sales made, royalties received, and revenue shares allocated in accordance with the agreed recoupment schedule or waterfall. Via Freeway Reporting, our online portal, producers, sales agents, and financiers can conveniently follow the exploitation of their projects 24/7. Transparency is the keyword here. With over 25 years of experience as CAM, Freeway professionals guide clients through the entire process from drafting the CAM agreement, to formulating clear and correct recoupment schedules, to the monitoring of sales and receipts with the sales agents, issuing periodic statements at agreed intervals, and finally releasing entitlements from the collection account. Making sure everyone gets paid correctly and on time.

How to put together a Recoupment Schedule for a Film or TV production.