The Oscar Game: You enter for free, but pay AMPAS to keep playing

You can enter the Oscar game for free. It’s number 9 in the FAQ that accompanies the official Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences submission form: “There are no entry fees for submitting films in an Oscar category.”

However, this does not mean that you will not make substantial payments to AMPAS before the votes are counted.

As part of its overall effort to diversify its revenue streams — away from heavy reliance on ABC’s domestic Oscars television revenue and toward sources as diverse as red carpet ticket prices, Rolex sponsorships and sales of museum items — the Academy quietly selected candidates. by increasing the cost of online mailing lists and digital screening. And they’ve grown so much lately that they’re attracting the attention of budget-conscious activists, especially those associated with smaller independent films, titles contending for Best International Feature and lower-budget documentaries.

One of those people, who spoke anonymously to protect relations with the academy, recently described the fees as part of what has been called Hollywood’s “Eblast industrial complex.”

In recent weeks, the debate has centered on a new, simpler pricing structure for each contribution fee, with the academy effectively doubling some of the fees it charged participants under an old tiered pricing system for access to its membership list. At the same time, other costs remained unchanged, while the price at the top level was actually reduced. This happened during the switch to a flat fee, where fees were loosely linked to the size of a shipment.

The net effect in the current pre-nomination period – a higher rate will apply after nominations – has been that the Academy’s entry fee for a single email directed at the documentary, for example, has dropped from $250 last year to $500, while the fee has been reduced The cost of a post to a full membership has risen to $500 from $750 last year, while the price of a post to five or more locations has remained unchanged but lower than the The price of a full membership was $500.

After nominations are announced, the academy fee will double to $1,000 for each blast.

These amounts seem trivial compared to the total cost of producing and marketing even a low-budget film. But the cost of digital mail is rising rapidly as activists try to communicate with those who will vote in key elections.

Academy officials declined to comment on their fees.

Various guilds in turn charge their own fees for access to their digital mailing lists. This year, for example, the Directors Guild of America, the Producers Guild of America and the Writers Guild of America East/West each charge a $1,000 fee for each awards campaign approved by the guild, according to a recent price list from the Post – ordering company.

But the Academy’s royalty income per film is almost certainly higher than that of the guilds, since they charge per explosion and per title rather than per campaign.

The Oscar campaign rules allow for multiple communications with AMPAS members, both before and after nominations. For example, a campaign may send a “Check Now” email informing you of the availability of online selectors; another with a link to a subtitled version in one language; others with invitations to “For your consideration” events; another with a link to a virtual Q&A session; another with attached writing; and another with song and score attached.

The combined academy entry fees for 10 blasts, half before nominations and half after nominations, would be $7,500 — all for access to the same membership list.

But admission prices are only part of the picture. The Academy requires all members to use one of three approved shipping companies: Elite Logistics and Fulfillment, HazMatMedia or Vision Media Management & Fulfillment. And of course these postal companies charge a “shipping fee”. According to one of the recognized postal companies, a digital communication sent to more than 6,000 people will cost $1,250 this year according to the current price list. There will also be a $50 surcharge for pre-nominations and $100 post-nominations to collect and refund the Academy listing fee.

Basically, a single late nomination sent to the Academy’s approximately 10,000 members will cost a total of $2,350.

These fees are in addition to the price of posting an article for consideration on the Academy’s own Screening Room website for Academy members. Last year, the ASR base interest rate rose 60 percent from $12,500 to $20,000, where it remains today. Publishing a watermarked version costs an additional $5,000. Films with a budget of less than $10 million receive a reduced posting rate – just $8,000.

While some filmmakers find the shipping costs onerous, it actually arose out of an effort to relieve pressure on smaller film activists who found it difficult to maintain their own private membership lists as the academy began to rapidly expand in 2015. AMPAS only started selling tickets added to the list during the 2018-2019 awards season and added the digital cinema option the following year.

People familiar with the academy’s policy over the years say that the fees for these services are not intended to make a “profit” (after all, the academy remains a non-profit organization) but rather to reduce costs of the services it provides at the Oscars. .

Either way, the fees affected the group’s results. In the 2018 fiscal year, which ended June 30 of that year, the academy reported just $4 million in “other income,” a category that equates fees with theater rentals and contributions. In fiscal 2022, the most recent year for which figures are publicly available, other revenue more than tripled to $13.1 million, even as theater rents fell during the crash and dues revenue remained stagnant.

Competitors therefore contribute an increasing share of this new, more diverse source of revenue.