Mills Music Trust (MMTRS) 10-K 31 Mar 17 2016 FY Annual report Financial data

Document and Entity Information

Document and Entity Information - USD ($)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2016	Jun. 30, 2016
Document And Entity Information [Abstract]
Document Type	10-K
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Dec. 31, 2016
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2,016
Document Fiscal Period Focus	FY
Trading Symbol	MMTRS
Entity Registrant Name	MILLS MUSIC TRUST
Entity Central Index Key	66,496
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Well-known Seasoned Issuer	No
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes
Entity Voluntary Filers	No
Entity Filer Category	Smaller Reporting Company
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding	277,712
Entity Public Float		$ 6,998,343

Statements of Cash Receipts and

Statements of Cash Receipts and Disbursements - USD ($)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2016	Dec. 31, 2015
Operating Cash Flows, Direct Method [Abstract]
Receipts from EMI	$ 833,248	$ 959,047	[1]
Undistributed Cash at Beginning of Year	64	64
Disbursements - Administrative Expenses	(225,396)	(212,839)
Balance Available for Distribution	607,916	746,272
Cash Distributions to Unit Holders	607,852	746,208
Undistributed Cash at End of Year	$ 64	$ 64
Cash Distributions Per Unit (based on 277,712 Trust Units Outstanding)	$ 2.1888	$ 2.6869
[1]	Includes a payment to the Trust of $203,706 attributable to the EMI Error. For further information see Note 1, "Unit Holder Distributions and Trust Expenses".

Statements of Cash Receipts an3

Statements of Cash Receipts and Disbursements (Parenthetical) - USD ($)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2016	Dec. 31, 2015
Number of Trust Units Outstanding	277,712	277,712
Settlement with EMI		$ 203,706
EMI [Member]
Settlement with EMI	$ 203,706

Accounting Policies and General

Accounting Policies and General Information	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2016
Accounting Policies [Abstract]
Accounting Policies and General Information	NOTE 1. ACCOUNTING POLICIES AND GENERAL INFORMATION Organization and Background Mills Music Trust (the “ Trust Declaration of Trust Old Mills Contingent Portion Catalogue Asset Purchase Agreement The Contingent Portion amounts are currently payable by EMI Mills Music Inc. (“ EMI Sony/ATV HSBC Bank, USA, N.A. is the Corporate Trustee of the Trust (the “ Corporate Trustee Individual Trustees Trustees Proceeds from Contingent Portion Payments The Trust receives quarterly payments of the Contingent Portion from EMI and distributes the amounts it receives to the registered owners of Trust Certificates (the “ Unit Holders Trust Units Payments of the Contingent Portion to the Trust are based on royalty income which the Catalogue generates. 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 as its Contingent Portion payment obligation, in accordance with the terms of the Asset Purchase Agreement. Cash Distributions to Unit Holders 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. 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 Underpayments Quarterly Payment Period Amount of Deficiency June 30, 2012 $ 77,096 September 30, 2014 $ 70,963 March 31, 2015 $ 147,585 September 30, 2015 $ 71,424 March 31, 2016 $ 79,889 December 31, 2016 $ 37,529 Total $ 484,486 As of the date hereof, the Trust has not received the Underpayments, and EMI has expressly disagreed with the Trust. The Trust can offer no assurance that it will be able to recover any of the Underpayments or that it will resolve favorably the ongoing dispute relating to the New Calculation Method with respect to future payments of the Contingent Portion. The Trust also asserted that even under EMI’s own interpretation of the formula set forth in the Asset Purchase Agreement governing calculation of the Contingent Portion payment to be made to the Trust in each quarterly period, EMI had over-deducted gross royalty income (the “ EMI Error The Trust has engaged Prager Metis CPAs, LLC to conduct a special audit of the books and records of EMI administered by Sony/ATV to resolve the ongoing dispute and also determine whether there have been any other material royalty omissions or expense over-deductions for the periods ending September 30, 2015. Unit Holder Distributions and Trust Expenses Recent Payments During the year ended December 31, 2016, the Trust received a total of $833,248 from EMI, all of was attributable to ordinary Contingent Portion Payments which EMI made to the Trust during the 2016 calendar year. During the year ended December 31, 2015, the Trust received a total of $959,047 from EMI, $203,706 of which was attributable to the EMI Error discussed immediately above relating to periods prior to the fourth quarter of 2014. The remaining balance was attributable to ordinary Contingent Portion Payments which EMI made to the Trust during the 2015 calendar year. Recent Distributions During the year ended December 31, 2016, the Trust made cash distributions to Unit Holders in the aggregate amount of $607,852 ($2.1888 per Trust Unit), as compared to cash distribution to Unit Holders in the aggregate amount of $746,208 ($2.6869 per Trust Unit) during the year ended December 31, 2015. As noted in the paragraphs directly above, a portion of the distributions made in 2015 was attributable to the EMI Error. For computation details regarding the distributions made during the year ended December 31, 2016, please refer to the quarterly distribution report, dated December 23, 2016, attached as Exhibit 99.1 to the Current Report on Form 8-K, Cash and Administrative Expenses As of December 31, 2016 the Trust had $39,067 unpaid administrative expenses for services rendered to the Trust. As of March 31, 2017, the Trust had received invoices for an aggregate of $11,067 in unpaid administrative expenses for services rendered to the Trust. Accounting Policies Payments from EMI to the Trust of the Contingent Portion are typically made in March, June, September and December for the prior calendar quarter. The payments received are accounted for on a cash basis, as are expenses. The Declaration of Trust provides for the distribution of all funds received by the Trust to the Unit Holders after expenses are paid. The Trust’s financial statements reflect only cash transactions and do not include transactions that would be recorded in financial statements presented on the accrual basis of accounting, as contemplated by generally accepted accounting principles in the United States. The Trust does not prepare a balance sheet or a statement of cash flows.

Federal Income Taxes

Federal Income Taxes	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2016
Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]
Federal Income Taxes	NOTE 2. FEDERAL INCOME TAXES No provision for income taxes has been made since the liability therefore is that of the Unit Holders and not the Trust.

Related Party Transactions

Related Party Transactions	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2016
Related Party Transactions [Abstract]
Related Party Transactions	NOTE 3. RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS The Trustees are paid in accordance with the Declaration of Trust, which provides that each Trustee shall receive annual compensation of $2,500, provided that such aggregate compensation to the Trustees as a group may not exceed 3% of the Contingent Portion amounts received by the Trust in any year. The Declaration of Trust also provides for the reimbursement of expenses reasonably incurred in the performance of a Trustee’s duties to the Trust, including clerical and administrative services. Accordingly, the Trustees are entitled to receive annual compensation and reimbursement for services performed for the Trust, including the Corporate Trustee’s services as the Registrar and Transfer Agent of the certificates representing the Trust Units. The Declaration of Trust also provides that if a Trustee performs unusual or extraordinary services, reasonable compensation for such services shall be paid, subject to the terms and conditions of the Declaration of Trust. Pursuant to the Declaration of Trust, disbursements were made as follows to the Corporate Trustee for the years ended December 31, 2016 and December 31, 2015: Trustee Fees Paid by the Trust 2016 2015 Individual Trustee fees (1) $ 5,000 $ 5,000 Corporate Trustee fees $ 2,500 $ 2,500 Corporate Trustee Transfer Agent Registrar fees (2) $ 15,000 $ 15,000 Totals $ 22,500 $ 22,500 (1) The Individual Trustees were elected on August 29, 2013. (2) These services are performed by the Corporate Trustee. See Part I, Item 2, “Properties” for further information about the administrative office for the Trust, which is provided by the Corporate Trustee.

The Copyright Catalogue

The Copyright Catalogue	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2016
Text Block [Abstract]
The Copyright Catalogue	NOTE 4. THE COPYRIGHT CATALOGUE The Catalogue is estimated to be composed of over 25,000 music titles, of which approximately 1,600 produced royalty income in recent years. Based on the 2016 Listing, the Trust derives its receipts principally from copyrights established prior to 1958 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. 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 2016 Listing, the majority of the Top 50 Songs obtained copyright registration under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1909 (the “ 1909 Act 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.

Other Matters

Other Matters	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2016
Text Block [Abstract]
Other Matters	NOTE 5. OTHER MATTERS None.

Accounting Policies and Genera9

Accounting Policies and General Information (Policies)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2016
Accounting Policies [Abstract]
Organization and Background	Organization and Background Mills Music Trust (the “ Trust Declaration of Trust Old Mills Contingent Portion Catalogue Asset Purchase Agreement The Contingent Portion amounts are currently payable by EMI Mills Music Inc. (“ EMI Sony/ATV HSBC Bank, USA, N.A. is the Corporate Trustee of the Trust (the “ Corporate Trustee Individual Trustees Trustees
Proceeds from Contingent Portion Payments	Proceeds from Contingent Portion Payments The Trust receives quarterly payments of the Contingent Portion from EMI and distributes the amounts it receives to the registered owners of Trust Certificates (the “ Unit Holders Trust Units Payments of the Contingent Portion to the Trust are based on royalty income which the Catalogue generates. 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 as its Contingent Portion payment obligation, in accordance with the terms of the Asset Purchase Agreement.
Cash Distributions to Unit Holders	Cash Distributions to Unit Holders 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.
Contingent Portion Payments	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 Underpayments Quarterly Payment Period Amount of Deficiency June 30, 2012 $ 77,096 September 30, 2014 $ 70,963 March 31, 2015 $ 147,585 September 30, 2015 $ 71,424 March 31, 2016 $ 79,889 December 31, 2016 $ 37,529 Total $ 484,486 As of the date hereof, the Trust has not received the Underpayments, and EMI has expressly disagreed with the Trust. The Trust can offer no assurance that it will be able to recover any of the Underpayments or that it will resolve favorably the ongoing dispute relating to the New Calculation Method with respect to future payments of the Contingent Portion. The Trust also asserted that even under EMI’s own interpretation of the formula set forth in the Asset Purchase Agreement governing calculation of the Contingent Portion payment to be made to the Trust in each quarterly period, EMI had over-deducted gross royalty income (the “ EMI Error The Trust has engaged Prager Metis CPAs, LLC to conduct a special audit of the books and records of EMI administered by Sony/ATV to resolve the ongoing dispute and also determine whether there have been any other material royalty omissions or expense over-deductions for the periods ending September 30, 2015.
Unit Holder Distributions and Trust Expenses	Unit Holder Distributions and Trust Expenses Recent Payments During the year ended December 31, 2016, the Trust received a total of $833,248 from EMI, all of was attributable to ordinary Contingent Portion Payments which EMI made to the Trust during the 2016 calendar year. During the year ended December 31, 2015, the Trust received a total of $959,047 from EMI, $203,706 of which was attributable to the EMI Error discussed immediately above relating to periods prior to the fourth quarter of 2014. The remaining balance was attributable to ordinary Contingent Portion Payments which EMI made to the Trust during the 2015 calendar year. Recent Distributions During the year ended December 31, 2016, the Trust made cash distributions to Unit Holders in the aggregate amount of $607,852 ($2.1888 per Trust Unit), as compared to cash distribution to Unit Holders in the aggregate amount of $746,208 ($2.6869 per Trust Unit) during the year ended December 31, 2015. As noted in the paragraphs directly above, a portion of the distributions made in 2015 was attributable to the EMI Error. For computation details regarding the distributions made during the year ended December 31, 2016, please refer to the quarterly distribution report, dated December 23, 2016, attached as Exhibit 99.1 to the Current Report on Form 8-K, Cash and Administrative Expenses As of December 31, 2016 the Trust had $39,067 unpaid administrative expenses for services rendered to the Trust. As of March 31, 2017, the Trust had received invoices for an aggregate of $11,067 in unpaid administrative expenses for services rendered to the Trust.
Accounting Policies	Accounting Policies Payments from EMI to the Trust of the Contingent Portion are typically made in March, June, September and December for the prior calendar quarter. The payments received are accounted for on a cash basis, as are expenses. The Declaration of Trust provides for the distribution of all funds received by the Trust to the Unit Holders after expenses are paid. The Trust’s financial statements reflect only cash transactions and do not include transactions that would be recorded in financial statements presented on the accrual basis of accounting, as contemplated by generally accepted accounting principles in the United States. The Trust does not prepare a balance sheet or a statement of cash flows.

Accounting Policies and Gener10

Accounting Policies and General Information (Tables)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2016
Accounting Policies [Abstract]
Schedule of Contingent Portion Payments	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 June 30, 2012 $ 77,096 September 30, 2014 $ 70,963 March 31, 2015 $ 147,585 September 30, 2015 $ 71,424 March 31, 2016 $ 79,889 December 31, 2016 $ 37,529 Total $ 484,486

Related Party Transactions (Tab

Related Party Transactions (Tables)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2016
Related Party Transactions [Abstract]
Disbursements to Trustees	Pursuant to the Declaration of Trust, disbursements were made as follows to the Corporate Trustee for the years ended December 31, 2016 and December 31, 2015: Trustee Fees Paid by the Trust 2016 2015 Individual Trustee fees (1) $ 5,000 $ 5,000 Corporate Trustee fees $ 2,500 $ 2,500 Corporate Trustee Transfer Agent Registrar fees (2) $ 15,000 $ 15,000 Totals $ 22,500 $ 22,500 (1) The Individual Trustees were elected on August 29, 2013. (2) These services are performed by the Corporate Trustee.

Accounting Policies and Gener12

Accounting Policies and General Information - Additional Information (Detail) - USD ($)	Jul. 17, 2015	Mar. 31, 2010	Dec. 31, 2016	Dec. 31, 2015		Mar. 31, 2017
Organization And Summary Of Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Date of formation of Mills Music Trust			Dec. 3, 1964
Minimum payment of quarterly Contingent Portion		$ 167,500
Cumulative amount of the EMI Error	$ 203,706			$ 203,706
Receipts from EMI			$ 833,248	959,047	[1]
Cash Distributions to Unit Holders			$ 607,852	$ 746,208
Distributions per Unit			$ 2.1888	$ 2.6869
Unpaid administrative expenses for services			$ 39,067
Subsequent Event [Member]
Organization And Summary Of Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Unpaid administrative expenses for services						$ 11,067
Minimum [Member]
Organization And Summary Of Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Percentage of Contingent Portion of gross royalty income		65.00%
Maximum [Member]
Organization And Summary Of Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Percentage of Contingent Portion of gross royalty income		75.00%
[1]	Includes a payment to the Trust of $203,706 attributable to the EMI Error. For further information see Note 1, "Unit Holder Distributions and Trust Expenses".

Accounting Policies and Gener13

Accounting Policies and General Information - Schedule of Contingent Portion Payments (Detail) - USD ($)	3 Months Ended						12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2016	Mar. 31, 2016	Sep. 30, 2015	Mar. 31, 2015	Sep. 30, 2014	Jun. 30, 2012	Dec. 31, 2016
Accounting Policies [Abstract]
Deficiency in Contingent Portion payments	$ 37,529	$ 79,889	$ 71,424	$ 147,585	$ 70,963	$ 77,096	$ 484,486

Federal Income Taxes - Addition

Federal Income Taxes - Additional Information (Detail)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2016USD ($)
Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]
Provision for income taxes	$ 0

Related Party Transactions - Ad

Related Party Transactions - Additional Information (Detail)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2016USD ($)
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Trustee annual compensation	$ 2,500
Maximum [Member]
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Aggregate compensation percentage to Trustees	3.00%

Related Party Transactions - Di

Related Party Transactions - Disbursements to Trustees (Detail) - USD ($)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2016	Dec. 31, 2015
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Trustee Fees and Expenses	$ 22,500	$ 22,500
Individual [Member]
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Trustee Fees and Expenses	5,000	5,000
Corporate [Member]
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Trustee Fees and Expenses	2,500	2,500
Corporate Trustee Transfer Agent Registrar Fees [Member]
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Trustee Fees and Expenses	$ 15,000	$ 15,000

Related Party Transactions - 17

Related Party Transactions - Disbursements to Trustees (Parenthetical) (Detail)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2016
Related Party Transactions [Abstract]
Date on which Individual Trustees elected	Aug. 29, 2013

The Copyright Catalogue - Addit

The Copyright Catalogue - Additional Information (Detail) - 2016 Listing Top 50 [Member]	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2016Songs
Royalties Receivable [Line Items]
Estimated number of songs in the Catalogue	25,000
Estimated number of songs producing royalty income	1,600
Number of Copyrighted Songs in the Top 50 list	50
Period of copyright protection	95 years
Minimum [Member]
Royalties Receivable [Line Items]
Copyright protection expiration period	1,997
Maximum [Member]
Royalties Receivable [Line Items]
Copyright protection expiration period	2,053