CONTACT:
845-405-5540
You can call the above number 24/7, but return calls are typically made between 6:00-8:30 PM EST.
If you are new to Skywire and would like to get set-up in our system, please give us a call. Likewise, if you receive an email from us, saying that an invoice has been submitted on your behalf, reach out by phone. We feel a voice-to-voice conversation is, not only, more secure than sending your personal information over the internet, but more personal. We strive to make the paymaster experience customer-focused. YOU are our customers. Respect, and friendliness are core components of the Skywire business model.
When we speak, you will be asked for your legal name, or the name under which you file taxes (if you have a corporate entity of some kind). If you are an individual, Sole Proprietor, or LLC, you will be asked for your mailing address, tax-id number (SS#, or EIN). Even if you have an EIN for your corporate entity, we will still need your SS# for reporting your earnings to SAG-AFTRA. You will be asked if you are willing to receive a 1099 electronically, as an encrypted PDF attachment to an email, or if you prefer a paper copy snail-mailed to you. 1099s are issued at the end of January, each year, for earnings of over $600 in the prior year.
And, lastly, you will be asked how you would like to be paid. The options are:
ACH/Direct Deposit
Paper Check
If you would like Direct Deposit, please have your banking information handy when we speak.
Please be advised that, with all electronic forms of payment, it can take 1 to 2 business days to get from our us to yours, and another business day to clear in your bank. If you are getting paid by check, it can take approximately 7 business days to get from our bank to your mailbox.
For narrators living outside the U.S., Skywire uses Wise (Formerly TransferWise) to send payments. If you fall into this category, there's no need to give us a call. You can just email your bank information, along with your home address. If you have a bank account in the U.S., we can send USD to that account.
REPORTING TO SAG-AFTRA
In the first week of each month, Skywire uploads a report to SAG-AFTRA. This report contains all union projects processed in the prior month. At the same time, Skywire then pays all of the P&H contributions collected for those projects. The union records your earnings for the month in which the project was invoiced, not the date of the report upload. For example, if your project was invoiced on August 29th, and you were paid on September 20th, and the report was uploaded on October 1st, your earnings will be recorded for August.
Skywire operates on a three-tiered, flat-fee system to process union audiobook jobs, which includes paying the narrator, reporting the earnings to SAG-AFTRA, paying the collected P&H contribution, and issuing a 1099 in late January for tax season.
$60: If the narrator earns $1200 or more.
$30: If the narrator earns under $1200.
$15: If the narrator earns under $600.
A PROJECT is either union, or non-union, regardless of the membership status of the narrators. So, if one person is going union on a multi-narrator project, ALL narrators must do the same. The only exception is if a non-union narrator lives outside the U.S.
This is NOT just for Skywire projects, but for ANY project in our industry.
Traditional ACX Projects
$250 PFH or $100 for Royalty Share Plus
P&H is 13.75%
The ACX is an "all-in" rate, meaning that the P&H and paymaster fee are part of that rate. Your author is always welcome to pay your P&H and paymaster, but they are not required to do so. With Skywire projects, the P&H and Paymaster fee is to be paid on top of the narration rate.
Skywire Projects
$270.40 PFH + P&H + Paymaster Fee for clean, punch and roll files only. This rate will go up to $281.22 on 1/1/26.
$325 + P&H + Paymaster Fee for Full Production (edit/master). This rate will go up to $350 on 1/1/26.
If your project begins in 2025, but is not completed until 2026, the new rates apply.
Projects Where There Is Another Signatory Besides Skywire
Minimum rates, P&H percentages, and bumps may vary depending on the contract.
If you are doing a Dual or Multicast project, and there is collaboration on shared character voices, each narrator, as long as they record more than one finished hour, will also need to get a flat, $100 bump.
For Duet Narrations requiring dialogue assembly, the bump is $200 per narrator.
(These bumps do not apply to ACX projects, though, again, you can always negotiate that with your author/RH)
P&H Percentages
ACX: 13.75%
Skywire: 14.00%
Other: Varies
Minimum rates and P&H amounts are subject to change, based on the directives of SAG-AFTRA
If you would like to run an Indie project through Skywire, we will need the following information:
Skywire does not do invoicing for indie projects, such as ACX, or Skywire projects. If an invoice is requested by your author/RH, that should come from you. You can then direct your author/RH to the homepage of this site for payment options. If they have any questions, they can reach out to us.
If your author or rights holder will be doing a run of CDs, this may increase the minimum rate you must get to qualify as a union job. If this is the situation, which is rare, please contact us to find out what the minimum rate would need to be. Press-On-Demand does not effect rates.
It's also important to distinguish between the different types of Indie projects, as it effects the minimum PFH rate you must get, and the amount of P&H.
ACX
If you have received, and accepted an offer through ACX and you will upload your finished files from your side of the platform, please designate the project as ACX.
SKYWIRE
If you have contracted with an author/RH, or rights holder, outside of ACX, and you will deliver the finished files directly to them, please designate the project as Skywire.
OTHER
If you have contracted with a signatory Indie Publisher or Producer, the project will be classified under that company's name, and their minimum rates and P&H percentage will oversee the project. In most instances, those companies will send me the project information, but that's not always the case. Please check with them to see if they are already a Skywire Publisher/Producer client.
PAYMASTER AGREEMENT AND EXHIBIT A DOCUMENT
For all Skywire projects, there are two, or, possibly three documents that must be signed. Please carefully read the section with this same title on the homepage of the website. If you have questions, please let us know. This process should occur when you first book the job, rather than when it is completed.
IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, SUGGESTIONS, OR CONCERNS, PLEASE LET US KNOW.
845-405-5540
Hours Of Operation: Monday - Sunday, 9am - 9pm
www.skywirepaymaster.com
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