Sponsors (6)
The bill strengthens and clarifies copyright owners' rights and creates a more predictable, evidence‑based royalty regime, but does so at the cost of higher compliance and royalty burdens—particularly for small, local, and legacy broadcasters—which could translate into reduced free‑to‑air services for listeners.
Copyright owners and performing artists (record labels, songwriters, performers) gain broader statutory control and clearer entitlement to royalties when sound recordings are transmitted by any covered audio means, increasing the potential for additional or better‑enforced payments.
Broadcasters and rights holders get more predictable, judge‑determined royalty rates with a recurring five‑year schedule and explicit rate determinations for nonsubscription broadcast transmissions through Dec 31, 2028, reducing multi‑year uncertainty about payment levels.
A unified statutory definition of 'audio transmission' harmonizes terminology across Title 17, reducing legal uncertainty and inconsistent interpretations for broadcasters, digital services, and copyright owners.
Terrestrial broadcasters, local and small radio stations face higher royalty obligations and expanded licensing exposure due to the broader definition of covered audio transmissions, increasing operating costs for stations with limited revenue.
Smaller and legacy stations may incur new compliance, administrative, legal, and expert‑evidence costs to secure licenses and to participate in evidence‑based proceedings, placing disproportionate burdens on community and low‑resourced outlets.
Listeners and the general public could see reduced free‑to‑air access, format changes, or fewer local broadcasts if providers alter services to limit licensing exposure or offset higher royalties.
Based on analysis of 12 sections of legislative text.
Expands sound‑recording public performance rights to all audio transmissions and sets procedures and small fixed royalty tiers for eligible terrestrial broadcast stations.
Official title: Amend title 17, United States Code, to provide fair treatment of radio stations and artists for the use of sound recordings, and for other purposes.
Introduced January 30, 2025 by Marsha Blackburn · Last progress January 30, 2025
Expands federal public performance rights for sound recordings from only digital audio transmissions to all "audio transmissions" (digital, analog, or other non‑audiovisual formats). It creates a framework for setting royalties for nonsubscription terrestrial broadcast (AM/FM and similar) uses, directs Copyright Royalty Judges to open new proceedings, and establishes three small fixed annual statutory royalty tiers for eligible low‑revenue stations. The bill also requires entities that negotiate direct licenses covering transmissions that otherwise would be statutory to pass half of those direct‑license royalties to the statutory collective, clarifies the Judges’ evidentiary standard to consider substitution or promotion of sales, and preserves existing songwriter and musical‑work performance rights and payments.