FAST. FRIENDLY. AFFORDABLE.

Facilitating the payment of SAG-AFTRA audiobook projects

CONTACT:  

info@skywirepaymaster.com

845-405-5540

When an audiobook project is completed, payment is to be sent to Skywire Paymaster Services. The narrator is not able to be paid directly.

There are three ways that a project total can be calculated:

1. The Pension and Health contribution (P&H) and paymaster fee are part of the narrator's PFH rate. This is referred to as, "All-In."

2. The P&H and Paymaster fee are paid by the hiring party, on top of the Per Finished Hour (PFH) rate. This is referred to as a "Straight Rate."

3. Only the Paymaster fee is paid by the hiring party, on top of the PFH rate.

If you are an author, please consult with your narrator as which of the above will be used. If you are a publisher, or producer, please contact Skywire.

P&H contributions are sent, by Skywire, to SAG-AFTRA for the actors' Pension and Health (P&H) contribution.

Skywire takes care of all 1099s to narrators. If you need to send Skywire a 1099, please get in touch, and we'll send you our W9.

There are three types of Indie projects:

1) Traditional ACX - an offer is made and accepted through the ACX Platform, and the narrator uploads mastered files from their end. These projects are designated as ACX. 

• Currently, the minimum rate for a union project with ACX is $250 PFH, or $100 PFH for Royalty Share Plus, and the P&H percentage is 13.75%. There is no one-hour minimum required.

2) Projects through an Indie Publisher or Producer who is a Signatory of SAG-AFTRA. Files may be delivered as clean punch and roll, or as mastered files. These projects would be classified under the name of the signatory. 

• Minimum rates and add-ons, as well as P&H percentage may vary from signatory to signatory, but a one-hour minimum is always required.

3) Projects done with a non-signatory publisher or producer, or with an author not going through traditional ACX channels. These projects would labeled as SKYWIRE. 

• The minimum rate for a Skywire project is $281.22 PFH for delivery of raw files, or $350 PFH for masters, with 14% for P&H, any applicable bumps, and paymaster fee on top. Again, there is a one-hour minimum required. Please be advised that, as of January 1, 2027, the minimum rate for raw files will increase to $289.65, and P&H will increase to 14.5%.

• For Skywire projects where there are multiple narrators, and there is collaboration on shared character voices (Dual Narration), there is a flat, $100 bump to the narrators' pay. If the project is being done with dialogue assembly (Duet-Style Narration), the bump is $200 per narrator, plus annotated/highlighted scripts must be provided. To qualify for a bump, the narrator must have over an hour of actual runtime. These bumps do not count towards reaching the Skywire minimum rates. These bumps are not required with a traditional ACX project, but may be negotiated between author and narrator. These bumps may be required under other signatory contracts, as well.

All of these distinctions are important, as they can affect the minimum per finished hour (PFH) rate, and the percentage of pension and health contribution.

PLEASE BE ADVISED THAT INVOICES FOR ACX AND SKYWIRE PROJECTS WITH AN AUTHOR ARE TO BE SENT OUT BY THE NARRATOR, OR PRODUCER, NOT SKYWIRE. IF YOU ARE A PUBLISHER OR PRODUCER, PLEASE CONTACT SKYWIRE TO DETERMINE HOW INVOICING WILL BE DONE.

OTHER IMPORTANT INFORMATION

If your project has more than one narrator, and at least one of them will be processed as union, then ALL narrators on that project must be processed as union, whether they are members, or not. It's about the project as a whole, rather than the individuals. A PROJECT is either union, or it's not. The only exception would be if a narrator is non-union AND lives outside the U.S.

Skywire operates on a three-tiered, flat-fee system to process audiobook projects, which includes paying the narrator, reporting the earnings to SAG-AFTRA, paying the collected P&H contribution, and issuing 1099s.

$60: If the narrator earns $1200 or more.

$30: If the narrator earns under $1200.

$15: If the narrator earns under $600.

Skywire offers a variety of methods through which funds can be sent in for an audiobook project.

FOR ALL PAYMENT METHODS, PLEASE INCLUDE A MEMO WITH YOUR NARRATOR'S NAME, AND THE PROJECT TITLE.  THANKS!

THE FOLLOWING PAYMENT OPTIONS HAVE NO ADDITIONAL FEES CHARGED FOR SENDING FUNDS

PAPER CHECKS

Please make out and mail your check to:

 SKYWIRE PAYMASTER SERVICES

13 N. Broadway, Third Floor

Nyack, NY 10960

If you are mailing a check, USPS, UPS, and FedEx are all fine, but please do not use any method requiring a signature.  It will only delay your narrator/producer getting paid.

ZELLE

Zelle is an electronic funds transfer platform used by most major banks. YOU CAN SEND FUNDS, VIA ZELLE, THROUGH YOUR BANK, TO:  noah@skywirepaymaster.com

VENMO

Venmo is another electronic funds transfer platform.  You can find us there at:  SKYWIRE-PAYMASTER

If you see an option to "PROTECT YOUR PURHCASE," please DO NOT select that. This will cause Skywire to be charged a fee, which we do not cover. Your funds will be returned, and you will need to re-send the funds without that option, or select a different payment method. Please do not use a credit card to pay with Venmo.

MELIO

Melio is a secure electronic funds transfer platform for U.S. to U.S. BUSINESS transactions. You can send payment, with no additional fees, using your checking account information. THERE IS NO NEED TO SIGN UP FOR AN ACCOUNT. Click on the link below and follow the prompts to pay from your bank account. In the box where it says, INVOICE #, please leave that blank. It is an optional field. Click on ADD NOTE TO VENDOR, and type, "For services rendered. Audiobook production of [BOOK TITLE], narrated by [NARRATOR NAME].

https://melio.me/skywirepaymaster

THE FOLLOWING OPTIONS REQUIRE ADDITIONAL FEES TO SEND FUNDS WHICH ARE TO BE COVERED BY THE SENDER

PAYPAL OR CREDIT CARD THROUGH PAYPAL

Funds can be sent to Skywire, via PayPal, at:  info@skywirepaymaster.com

PayPal charges a fee of 2.99% for transactions originating in the U.S., and 4.49% for transactions originating outside the U.S.  Please use the calculations below to ensure that, after the PayPal fee is taken out, your narrator is getting the contracted amount expected. Additionally, if you use a Credit Card through PayPal, they may charge you a separate fee for that.

Total due  / 0.9701 - For domestic, incoming transactions.

Total due  / 0.9551 - For international, incoming transactions.

MELIO

If you use a Credit or Debit card through Melio, they will charge you a fee of 2.99 percent. Again, THERE IS NOT NEED TO SIGN UP FOR AN ACCOUNT. Click on the link below and follow the prompts to pay from your bank account. In the box where it says, INVOICE #, please leave that blank. It is an optional field. Click on ADD NOTE TO VENDOR, and type, "For services rendered. Audiobook production of [BOOK TITLE], narrated by [NARRATOR NAME]. 

 https://melio.me/skywirepaymaster

ACH/DIRECT DEPOSIT AND BANK WIRES

Please contact us for banking information.

Be advised that, while there is no additional fee on our end for ACH/Direct Deposit, your bank may charge you a fee. If you send a bank wire, please add additional $15 fee for domestic, or $20 for international wires transactions. Neither Skywire, nor the narrator can absorb those fees.

INTERNATIONAL PAYMENTS

Skywire utilizes Wise (formerly TransferWise) for international transactions.  We have bank accounts in The  UK, Europe, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and other countries, as well.  If you do not have a Wise account yourself, please contact us for the appropriate banking information for the currency you want to send. Please be advised that daily changing currency conversion rates, and Wise fees will impact the amount due. If you're not sure how much to send, contact Wise at (888) 829-3669. Let them know the amount of U.S. dollars you are wanting to send, and they should be able to tell you how much of your own currency to send.

If you are a Wise customer, you should be able to find us in their system under Skywire Paymaster Services. You can always reach out to us if you need help adding Skywire properly as a new recipient. Please do not search using a @ tag, or email address. Once you find us, you should be able to send us USD directly to our Fulton Bank Account. 

SKYWIRE CONTACT:  

info@skywirepaymaster.com

845-405-5540

For projects designated as SKYWIRE, there are two or three documents (depending on the situation)  that will need to be signed.

THE PAYMASTER AGREEMENT

This is a contract that will need to be signed for all SKYWIRE projects. It is strictly between Skywire and the hiring party. Each party who signs will only need to do so once.

The document entails the services offered by Skywire, and the terms under which payment(s) must be made. The agreement is not project, or narrator-specific. It covers any present, and future projects processed through Skywire. Certain publishers and producers may be exempt from this contract.

EXHIBIT A - THREE-PARTY

The Exhibit A document covers fair use of audiobook recordings in other types of media (film, television, etc), as well as issues surrounding the use of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning. The Exhibit is a three-party agreement between the hiring party, Skywire, and SAG-AFTRA.

This document must be signed by all authors/rights holders, as well as non-signatory publishers and producers. The Exhibit A is also not project/narrator-specific. It covers all projects processed through Skywire.

EXHIBIT A - FOUR-PARTY

The Four-Party Exhibit is for when a Skywire project is produced by entity that is NOT the audio rights holder (RH). In this case, an Exhibit A must be signed by the RH, the producer, Skywire, and the union.

Once you have negotiated a deal with your narrator, please reach out to us with the following information:

• Legal Name (and business name, if applicable)
• Email address

If you are an author with a pen name, and your email address is associated with your pen name, please send your personal email address.

The details of the agreement between you and your narrator are not required.

The document process is done through a secure, online platform. You will receive emails from Adobe, with links to fill and sign your part of the document(s). Once all signatures have been completed, you will receive a finalized copy. If you have any questions during the document process, please let us know.

SKYWIRE CONTACT:  

info@skywirepaymaster.com

845-405-5540