You guys are having so much fun speculating I almost hate to post something factual. Well, almost :)
From the July 2004 EC Minutes at
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"T. Schwyn has been working with various groups offering affinity programs. Of the proposals he has reviewed, he thought the TN proposal would produce the most favorable results and not cost the Academy anything to participate. A handout was offered and a brief presentation given. Schwyn did visit the facility in Minneapolis/St. Paul area and found it to be very professional. Schwyn proposes that AMA proceed to the sampling stage of the program. When asked who owns the copyright to the DVDs/tapes/books of the product, Schwyn thought TN would hold it for the first 18 months after which the AMA would own it. He would however, get confirmation of this. The members would be contacted and asked if they would like to receive this product; only those who choose to would receive it. AMA would not give up any rights to the membership list and they only have access to the database if AMA allows. As far as content, AMA has full input over the content and the right of refusal of any content. AMA would insist that mailings be done through a third party mailing house; T. Schwyn thought TN would be agreeable to this. Length of the sampling video would be around 10-20 minutes with the full production video being anywhere from 45 minutes to one and one half hours. Average price for production per piece is $17.00-$19.95. If AMA chooses, the video would contain trailers leading individuals not already AMA members to the organization. TN would look for direction from AMA in marketing to those outside the existing membership. T. Schwyn will develop a plan to market this video to the general masses in an effort to generate interest and membership in AMA. A straw poll of Council showed that T. Schwyn should proceed with the project."
From the January 2005 EC Minutes at
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"The pilot run of DVDs (revenue generating program) went well; will proceed with a full launch (Volume 1) of 50,000 pieces later in February and work has started on Volumes 2 and 3. The cost of the introductory DVD was $9; the average cost for future pieces will be between $17.95 and $18.95/piece. The revenue for AMA is 8% of sales and the current forecast is approximately $50,000/year. It was stated that VHS tapes would be available (through TN) if the amount of requests warranted it."