MMTRS 10-Q
Mills Music Trust (MMTRS)
QUARTERLY REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 |
TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 |
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization) |
(I.R.S. Employer Identification No.) |
Title of each class |
Trading Symbol(s) |
Name of each exchange on which registered | ||
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
| Large accelerated filer | ☐ | Accelerated filer | ☐ | |||
Non-accelerated filer |
☒ | Smaller reporting company | ||||
| Emerging growth company | ||||||
Three Months Ended March 31 |
||||||||
| 2024 | 2023 | |||||||
Receipts from EMI |
$ | $ | ||||||
Undistributed Cash at Beginning of Period |
(1) | |||||||
Disbursement—Administrative Expenses |
( |
) | ( |
) (1) | ||||
Balance Available for Distribution |
||||||||
Cash Distributions to Unit Holders |
||||||||
Undistributed Cash at End of Period |
$ | $ | ||||||
Cash Distribution per Trust Unit (based on |
$ | $ | ||||||
| (1) | Includes amounts reserved for administrative expenses in the aggregate amount of $ |
Quarterly Payment Period |
Amount of Deficiency |
|||
March 31, 2016 |
$ |
|||
September 30, 2016 |
||||
March 31, 2017 |
||||
September 30, 2017 |
||||
March 31, 2018 |
||||
September 30, 2018 |
||||
March 31, 2019 |
||||
June 30, 2019 |
||||
September 30, 2019 |
||||
December 31, 2019 |
||||
March 31, 2020 |
||||
June 30, 2020 |
||||
September 30, 2020 |
||||
March 31, 2021 |
||||
June 30, 2021 |
||||
September 30, 2021 |
||||
December 31, 2021 |
||||
March 31, 2022 |
||||
June 30, 2022 |
||||
September 30, 2022 |
||||
December 31, 2022 |
||||
March 31, 2023 |
||||
June 30, 2023 |
||||
September 30, 2023 |
||||
December 31, 2023 |
||||
March 31, 2024 |
||||
T otal |
$ |
|||
Three Months Ended March 31 |
||||||||
2024 |
2023 |
|||||||
Corporate Trustee Fees |
$ | $ | ||||||
Individual Trustee Fees |
||||||||
Transfer Agent Registrar Fees (1) |
||||||||
Totals |
$ |
$ |
(2) | |||||
| (1) | These services are performed by the Corporate Trustee. |
| (2) | Corporate Trustee Fees in the aggregate amount of $ |
ITEM 2. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
The Copyright Catalogue
The Catalogue is estimated to be composed of over 12,000 music titles (the “Copyrighted Songs”), of which approximately 1,430 produced royalty income in recent years. Based on the Listing, the Trust derives its receipts principally from copyrights established prior to 1960 in the Unites States. The receipts fluctuate based on consumer interest in the nostalgia appeal of older songs and the overall popularity of the songs contained in the Catalogue. The Catalogue also generates royalty income in foreign countries in which copyright is claimed.
A number of factors create uncertainties with respect to the Catalogue’s ability to continue to generate royalty income on a continuing, long-term basis for the Trust. These factors include: (i) the effect that foreign and domestic copyright laws and any changes thereto have or will have on renewal rights (e.g., vesting of renewal term rights), (ii) the length of the term of copyright protection under foreign and domestic copyright laws, (iii) reversionary rights that may effect whether EMI is able to retain its rights to the Copyrighted Songs during certain renewal terms (e.g., statutory termination of transfers or “copyright recapture”) and (iv) ongoing disputes regarding the payment and calculation of the Contingent Portion.
The Trust does not own the Catalogue or any copyrights or other intellectual property rights and is not responsible for collecting royalties in connection with the Catalogue. As the current owner and administrator of the Catalogue, EMI is obligated under the Asset Purchase Agreement to use its best efforts to collect all royalties, domestic and foreign, in connection with the Catalogue and to remit a portion of its royalty income to the Trust in accordance with its Contingent Portion payment obligation.
The Trust’s income is dependent, in part, on EMI’s ability to maintain its rights in the Copyrighted Songs through copyright protection. Although Copyrighted Songs may continue to generate royalty revenue after their copyrights have expired, in general as the copyrights for the Copyrighted Songs expire, less royalty income will be generated, and the size of each payment of the Contingent Portion will be reduced accordingly.
Based on the Listing, most of the Top 50 Songs obtained copyright registration under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1909 (the “1909 Act”) between 1926 and 1960. For copyrighted works subject to the 1909 Act, copyright law generally provides for a possible 95 years of copyright protection, subject to certain factors, including the initial registration date of each copyright and compliance with certain statutory provisions including notice and renewal. The Copyright expiration dates for the Top 50 Songs range between 2018 and 2118, as set forth in the Listing.
The Copyrighted Songs are subject to statutory rights of termination of transfers, which may impact whether EMI is able to retain its ownership of the Copyrighted Songs during their respective terms of copyright protection. For copyrights governed by the 1909 Act, this termination right vests at the end of two different renewal terms, which vary for each Copyrighted Song. As the owner of the Catalogue, EMI (and not the Trust) is responsible for administrating the Catalogue and seeking renewals of the Copyrighted Songs. The Asset Purchase Agreement provides that EMI is obligated to use its best efforts to secure renewals.
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Contingent Portion Payments
Payments of the Contingent Portion to the Trust are ordinarily made on a quarterly basis, approximately two to three months after a quarter ends. The Trust distributes the amounts it receives in Contingent Portion payments to the Unit Holders after payment of, or withholdings in connection with, expenses and liabilities of the Trust.
The amount of each payment of the Contingent Portion is based on a formula provided in the Asset Purchase Agreement. Prior to the first quarter of 2010, the Contingent Portion was calculated as an amount ranging from 65% to 75% of gross royalty income from the exploitation of the Catalogue for each quarterly period, less royalty expenses. In addition, the Contingent Portion was guaranteed to be at least a minimum of $167,500 per quarter (the “Minimum Payment Obligation”).
Beginning with the first quarter of 2010, the Asset Purchase Agreement provides for certain changes with respect to the calculation of the Contingent Portion. One such change is that the Minimum Payment Obligation is no longer in effect. The Trust is also of the view that the Contingent Portion payable to the Trust changed to a fixed 75% of gross royalty income from the exploitation of the Catalogue for each quarterly period, less royalty related expenses (the “New Calculation Method”). However, EMI has disputed that the New Calculation Method is the correct interpretation of the Asset Purchase Agreement. As a result of EMI not applying the New Calculation Method, EMI’s payments of the Contingent Portion have been deficient, in the Trust’s view, by the following amounts (the “Underpayments”):
| Quarterly Payment Period |
Amount of Deficiency |
|||
| March 31, 2016 |
$ | 79,889 | ||
| September 30, 2016 |
37,529 | |||
| March 31, 2017 |
85,359 | |||
| September 30, 2017 |
41,557 | |||
| March 31, 2018 |
98,901 | |||
| September 30, 2018 |
75,712 | |||
| March 31, 2019 |
71,489 | |||
| June 30, 2019 |
41,786 | |||
| September 30, 2019 |
68,571 | |||
| December 31, 2019 |
42,572 | |||
| March 31, 2020 |
40,025 | |||
| June 30, 2020 |
15,557 | |||
| September 30, 2020 |
40,085 | |||
| March 31, 2021 |
42,742 | |||
| June 30, 2021 |
43,148 | |||
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| September 30, 2021 |
38,846 | |||
| December 31, 2021 |
38,112 | |||
| March 31, 2022 |
0 | |||
| June 30, 2022 |
70,709 | |||
| September 30, 2022 |
83,438 | |||
| December 31, 2022 |
0 | |||
| March 31, 2023 |
44,908 | |||
| June 30, 2023 |
37,491 | |||
| September 30, 2023 |
131,213 | |||
| December 31, 2023 |
40,761 | |||
| March 31, 2024 |
43,909 | |||
|
|
|
|||
| Total |
$ | 1,354,309 | ||
|
|
|
As of the date hereof, the Trust has not received the Underpayments, and EMI has expressly disagreed with the Trust.
In addition, on October 1, 2020, the Trust engaged Citrin Cooperman & Company LLP, an accounting firm specializing in auditing royalty income (“ Citrin”), to conduct a special audit of the books and records of EMI administered by Sony/ATV to determine the areas and extent of underpayment, if any, of quarterly Contingent Portion payments payable to the Trust for the periods beginning January 1, 2016 and ended December 31, 2020 (the “Audit Period”). Citrin’s final report (the “Citrin Report”) was delivered to the Trustees on April 4, 2022. The Citrin Report identified multiple asserted royalty omissions and expense over-deductions from the Contingent Portion during the Audit Period in addition to the Underpayments. The Trust distributed the Citrin Report to EMI on or about April 13, 2022. EMI has disputed the findings of the Citrin Report. As part of an effort to settle any disagreement regarding the computation or payment of the Contingent Portion, including the Underpayments and the other amounts identified in the Citrin Report, on October 3, 2022, EMI and the Trust executed a Tolling Agreement pursuant to which the parties agreed to suspend, effective as of January 1, 2022, the running of any relevant statute of limitations applicable to any claim relating to the royalty omissions and expense over-deductions identified in the Citrin Report until June 1, 2023. As of May 8, 2024, EMI and the Trust have extended the tolling period through December 31, 2024.
The Trust can offer no assurance that it will be able to recover any of the Underpayments or other amounts identified in the Citrin Report, or that it will resolve the dispute relating to the New Calculation Method with respect to future payments of the Contingent Portion.
Recent Distributions to Unit Holders
On March 26, 2024, the Trust made a distribution for the aggregate amount of $155,540 ($0.5601 per Trust Unit) to the Trust’s Unit Holders of record at the close of business on March 25, 2024. For computation details regarding the distribution please refer to the quarterly distribution report, dated March 25, 2024, attached as Exhibit 99.1 to the Current Report on Form 8-K, which the Trust filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 26, 2024.
Cash and Administrative Expenses
As of March 31, 2024, the Trust was holding $46 in cash and had $0 in unpaid administrative expenses for services rendered to the Trust.
Inflation
The Trust does not believe that inflation has materially affected its activities.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
The Declaration of Trust provides for the distribution to the Unit Holders of all funds the Trust receives after payment of, or withholdings in connection with, expenses and liabilities of the Trust. See the table headed “Statements of Cash Receipts and Disbursements” under Part 1 — Item 1, “Financial Statements” for information regarding cash disbursements made to Unit Holders during the three months ended March 31, 2024 and March 31, 2023.
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Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements
There are no off-balance sheet arrangements that have or are reasonably likely to have a current or future effect on the Trust’s financial condition, changes in financial condition, revenues or expenses, results of operations or liquidity that is material to investors.
ITEM 3. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK
Not applicable.
ITEM 4. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES
Controls and Procedures
As of the end of the period covered by this quarterly report, the Trust carried out an evaluation of the effectiveness of the design and operation of the Trust’s “disclosure controls and procedures” (as defined in Rules 13a-15 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”)) under the supervision and with the participation of the Trust’s management, including the Chief Financial Individual providing accounting services and the trust officers of the Corporate Trustee. Based on that evaluation, the Chief Financial Individual providing accounting services and the trust officer of the Corporate Trustee concluded that the Trust’s disclosure controls and procedures are effective.
Disclosure controls and procedures are controls and other procedures that are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed in the Trust’s reports filed or submitted under the Exchange Act are recorded, processed, summarized and reported, within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms. Disclosure controls and procedures include, without limitation, controls and procedures designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed in the Trust’s reports filed under the Exchange Act is accumulated and communicated to Trust’s management, including the Chief Financial Individual providing accounting services and the trust officer of the Corporate Trustee, to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.
Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting
There were no changes in the Trust’s internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the fiscal period covered by this quarterly report that materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, the Trust’s internal control over financial reporting.
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PART II — OTHER INFORMATION
ITEM 1. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS
None.
ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS
The Trust is a smaller reporting company as defined by Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act and is not required to provide the information under this item.
ITEM 2. UNREGISTERED SALE OF EQUITY SECURITIES AND USE OF PROCEEDS
None.
ITEM 3. DEFAULT UPON SENIOR SECURITIES
None.
ITEM 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURE
Not applicable.
ITEM 5. OTHER INFORMATION
None.
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ITEM 6. EXHIBITS
Exhibit
| Exhibit No. |
Description | |
| 31.1 | Certification by the Chief Financial Individual providing accounting services pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 | |
| 31.2 | Certification by the trust officer of the Corporate Trustee pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 | |
| 32.1* | Certification by the Chief Financial Individual providing accounting services pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 | |
| 32.2* | Certification by the trust officer for the Corporate Trustee Pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 | |
| 101.INS | XBRL Instance Document | |
| 101.SCH | XBRL Schema Document | |
| 101.CAL | XBRL Calculation Linkbase Documents | |
| 101.DEF | XBRL Taxonomy Extension Definition Linkbase Document | |
| 101.LAB | XBRL Labels Linkbase Documents | |
| 101.PRE | XBRL Presentation Linkbase Documents | |
| * Furnished, not filed | ||
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SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
| May 15, 2024 | Mills Music Trust (Registrant) | |||||
| By: | /s/ Garfield Barrett | |||||
| Garfield Barrett | ||||||
| Trust Officer of the Corporate Trustee | ||||||
| HSBC Bank USA, NA | ||||||
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