Sponsors (6)
The bill strengthens and clarifies royalty rights and creates predictable, evidence‑based rate proceedings that benefit artists and reduce legal uncertainty, but it also raises costs, compliance burdens, and procedural complexity for broadcasters—especially small/local stations—and risks downstream impacts on listeners and service offerings.
Copyright owners and performers (record labels, artists) will gain broader and clearer royalty rights when sound recordings are transmitted by any audio means (not just digital), increasing potential revenue.
Musicians and rights holders will see greater income stability because the bill preserves existing public performance rights and sets judge-determined royalty rates through Dec. 31, 2028 with recurring review, which reduces near-term payment uncertainty.
The bill creates legal clarity by introducing a single statutory definition of 'audio transmission,' harmonizing terminology across Title 17 and reducing uncertainty in licensing disputes.
Terrestrial broadcasters — particularly local and small stations — will likely face higher licensing costs or new royalty obligations for non-digital transmissions, increasing operating expenses and threatening local station viability.
Smaller and legacy stations will incur new compliance and administrative burdens (including legal and expert-evidence costs) to secure licenses and participate in proceedings, disproportionately straining resource-limited outlets.
Listeners and the general public could experience reduced free‑to‑air access or changes in programming if providers alter services to limit licensing exposure.
Based on analysis of 12 sections of legislative text.
Expands public‑performance rights to all audio transmissions and creates fixed low statutory royalties for eligible small terrestrial radio stations while changing how some royalties are allocated and set.
Introduced January 30, 2025 by Marsha Blackburn · Last progress January 30, 2025
Expands federal copyright protection for sound recordings so that the public performance right and the statutory licensing rules apply to all "audio transmissions" (digital, analog, or other audio formats), not just digital audio. It creates a pathway for small, eligible terrestrial (FCC‑licensed) radio stations to pay modest fixed annual statutory royalties instead of higher negotiated fees, requires periodic proceedings by the Copyright Royalty Judges to set rates for nonsubscription broadcasts, and sets rules for sharing royalties received under direct licenses with the nonprofit collective that distributes statutory license revenues. The bill also preserves existing songwriter and musical‑work royalties and adjusts the standard the Copyright Royalty Judges must use when setting terrestrial radio royalty terms.