103722 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 244 / Thursday, December 19, 2024 / Proposed Rules 

Spartanburg VORTAC 088° and 

Charlotte VOR/DME 227° radials. 

V–605: V–605 currently extends 

between the Holston Mountain, TN 

(HMV), VORTAC and the Spartanburg, 

SC (SPA), VORTAC. In the route 

description of VOR Federal Airway V– 

605 between the Holston Mountain 

VORTAC and the Spartanburg VORTAC 

is a turn point listed as the intersection 

of the Holston Mountain 171° and 

Spartanburg VORTAC 358° radials 

(GENOD, SC, Fix). Due to the relocation 

of the Spartanburg VORTAC, the radials 

that make up the GENOD Fix are 

changed to become the intersection of 

the Holston Mountain VORTAC 171°T/ 

175° M and the Spartanburg VORTAC 

001° T/003° M radials. The FAA 

proposes to update the route description 

of VOR Federal Airway V–605 with the 

new radials that define the GENOD Fix. 

Additionally, the FAA changes the 

order of the navigational aids (NAVAID) 

to be listed from south to north to follow 

the FAA’s current ATS route formatting 

requirements. As amended, the airway 

would extend between the Spartanburg 

VORTAC and the Holston Mountain 

VORTAC. 

The NAVAID radials listed in the ATS 

descriptions in the proposed regulatory 

text of this NPRM are stated in degrees 

True north. The full descriptions of the 

above routes are set forth below in the 

proposed amendments to part 71. 

Regulatory Notices and Analyses 

The FAA has determined that this 

proposed regulation only involves an 

established body of technical 

regulations for which frequent and 

routine amendments are necessary to 

keep them operationally current. It, 

therefore: (1) is not a ‘‘significant 

regulatory action’’ under Executive 

Order 12866; (2) is not a ‘‘significant 

rule’’ under DOT Regulatory Policies 

and Procedures (44 FR 11034; February 

26, 1979); and (3) does not warrant 

preparation of a regulatory evaluation as 

the anticipated impact is so minimal. 

Since this is a routine matter that will 

only affect air traffic procedures and air 

navigation, it is certified that this 

proposed rule, when promulgated, will 

not have a significant economic impact 

on a substantial number of small entities 

under the criteria of the Regulatory 

Flexibility Act. 

Environmental Review 

This proposal will be subject to an 

environmental analysis in accordance 

with FAA Order 1050.1F, 

‘‘Environmental Impacts: Policies and 

Procedures’’ prior to any FAA final 

regulatory action. 

List of Subjects in 14 CFR Part 71 

Airspace, Incorporation by reference, 

Navigation (air). 

The Proposed Amendment 

In consideration of the foregoing, the 

Federal Aviation Administration 

proposes to amend 14 CFR part 71 as 

follows: 

PART 71—DESIGNATION OF CLASS A, 

B, C, D, AND E AIRSPACE AREAS; AIR 

TRAFFIC SERVICE ROUTES; AND 

REPORTING POINTS 

■ 1. The authority citation for 14 CFR 

part 71 continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 49 U.S.C. 106(f); 40103, 40113, 

40120; E.O. 10854, 24 FR 9565, 3 CFR, 1959– 

1963 Comp., p. 389. 

§ 71.1 [Amended] 

■ 2. The incorporation by reference in 

14 CFR 71.1 of FAA Order JO 7400.11J, 

Airspace Designations and Reporting 

Points, dated July 31, 2024, and 

effective September 15, 2024, is 

amended as follows: 

Paragraph 2004 Jet Routes. 

* * * * * 

J–83 [Amended] 

From Appleton, OH; to Dryer, OH. 

* * * * * 

J–85 [Amended] 

From Charleston, WV; INT Charleston 357° 

and Dryer, OH, 172° radials; to Dryer. 

* * * * * 

Paragraph 6010(a) Domestic VOR Federal 

Airways. 

* * * * * 

V–415 [Amended] 

From Montgomery, AL, to INT 

Montgomery 029° and Gadsden, AL, 124° 

radials. From INT Rome, GA, 060° and 

Foothills, SC, 258° radials; Foothills; 

Spartanburg, SC; to INT Spartanburg 088°T/ 

090° M and Charlotte, NC, 227°T/232° M 

radials. 

* * * * * 

V–605 [Amended] 

From Spartanburg, SC; INT Spartanburg 

001°T/003° M and Holston Mountain, TN, 

171°T/175° M radials; to Holston Mountain. 

* * * * * 

Issued in Washington, DC, on December 

16, 2024. 

Richard Lee Parks, 

Manager (A); Rules and Regulations Group. 

[FR Doc. 2024–30233 Filed 12–18–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P 

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 

Copyright Royalty Board 

37 CFR Part 383 

[Docket No. 23–CRB–0013–NSR (2026– 

2030)] 

Determination of Rates and Terms for 

Digital Performance of Sound 

Recordings by New Subscription 

Services and Making of Ephemeral 

Copies To Facilitate Those 

Performances (NSS V) 

ACTION: Proposed rule. 

SUMMARY: The Copyright Royalty Judges 

are publishing for comment proposed 

regulations governing the rates and 

terms for the digital performances of 

sound recordings by new subscription 

services and for the making of 

ephemeral recordings necessary to 

facilitate those transmissions for the 

period commencing January 1, 2026, 

and ending on December 31, 2030. 

DATES: Comments and objections, if any, 

are due no later than January 21, 2025. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

using eCRB, the Copyright Royalty 

Board’s online electronic filing 

application, at https://app.crb.gov/. 

Instructions: To send your comment 

through eCRB, if you don’t have a user 

account, you will first need to register 

for an account and wait for your 

registration to be approved. Approval of 

user accounts is only available during 

business hours. Once you have an 

approved account, you can only sign in 

and file your comment after setting up 

multi-factor authentication, which can 

be done at any time of day. All 

comments must include the Copyright 

Royalty Board name and the docket 

number for this proposed rule (23–CRB– 

0013–NSR (2026–2030)). All properly 

filed comments will appear without 

change in eCRB at https://app.crb.gov, 

including any personal information 

provided. 

Docket: For access to the docket, go to 

eCRB, the Copyright Royalty Board’s 

electronic filing and case management 

system, at https://app.crb.gov/, and 

search for docket number 23–CRB– 

0013–NSR (2026–2030). 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Anita Brown, CRB Program Specialist, 

at (202) 707–7658 or crb@loc.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

Section 114 of the Copyright Act, title 

17 of the United States Code, provides 

a statutory license that allows for the 

public performance of sound recordings 


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1The parties represent that SoundExchange, 

Sirius XM, and Stingray, all of which have joined 

Continued 

by means of a digital audio transmission 

by, among others, new subscription 

services. 17 U.S.C. 114(f). For purposes 

of the section 114 license, a ‘‘new 

subscription service’’ is a ‘‘service that 

performs sound recordings by means of 

noninteractive subscription digital 

audio transmissions and that is not a 

preexisting subscription or preexisting 

satellite digital audio radio service.’’ 17 

U.S.C. 114(j)(8). 

Services using the section 114 license 

may need to make one or more 

temporary or ‘‘ephemeral’’ copies of a 

sound recording to facilitate the 

transmission of that recording. The 

section 112 statutory license allows for 

the making of these ephemeral 

reproductions. 17 U.S.C. 112(e). 

Chapter 8 of the Copyright Act 

requires the Judges to conduct 

proceedings every five years to 

determine the rates and terms for the 

sections 114 and 112 statutory licenses. 

17 U.S.C. 801(b)(1), 804(b)(3)(A). The 

current proceeding commenced in 

January 2024 for rates and terms that 

will become effective on January 1, 

2026, and end on December 31, 2030. 

Pursuant to section 804(b)(3)(A), the 

Judges published in the Federal 

Register a notice commencing the 

proceeding and requesting that 

interested parties submit their petitions 

to participate. 89 FR 810 (Jan. 5, 2024). 

SoundExchange, Inc. 

(‘‘SoundExchange’’), Sirius XM Radio 

Inc. (‘‘Sirius XM’’), and Stingray Music 

USA Inc. (‘‘Stingray’’), each filed 

Petitions to Participate. 

The Judges gave notice to all 

participants of the three-month 

negotiation period required by 17 U.S.C. 

803(b)(3) and directed that, if the 

participants were unable to negotiate a 

settlement, they should submit Written 

Direct Statements no later than 

September 13, 2024. On September 9, 

2024, the Copyright Royalty Judges 

(Judges) received a joint motion from 

SoundExchange, Sirius XM, and 

Stingray to adopt a settlement of their 

interests regarding the rates and terms 

for 2026–2030 for certain new 

subscription services (NSS). The parties 

request that the Judges adopt the 

settlement in its entirety as a settlement 

of rates and terms under sections 112(e) 

and 114 of the Copyright Act for new 

subscription services of the type at issue 

in the captioned proceeding, i.e., music 

services provided to residential 

subscribers as part of a cable or satellite 

television bundle subject to royalty rates 

and terms in 37 CFR part 383. Joint 

Motion to Adopt Partial Settlement at 1 

(Joint Motion). SoundExchange 

represents sound recording copyright 

owners and performers. Sirius XM and 

Stingray rely on the royalty rates and 

terms in 37 CFR part 383. Joint Motion 

at 2. The Judges hereby publish the 

settlement and request comments. 

Statutory Timing of Adoption of Rates 

and Terms 

Section 801(b)(7)(A) of the Copyright 

Act authorizes the Judges to adopt 

royalty rates and terms negotiated by 

‘‘some or all of the participants in a 

proceeding at any time during the 

proceeding’’ provided they are 

submitted to the Judges for approval. 

The Judges must provide ‘‘an 

opportunity to comment on the 

agreement’’ to participants and nonparticipants in the rate proceeding who 

‘‘would be bound by the terms, rates, or 

other determination set by any 

agreement. . . .’’ 17 U.S.C. 

801(b)(7)(A)(i). Participants in the 

proceeding may also ‘‘object to [the 

agreement’s] adoption as a basis for 

statutory terms and rates.’’ Id. 

The Judges ‘‘may decline to adopt the 

agreement as a basis for statutory terms 

and rates for participants that are not 

parties to the agreement,’’ only ‘‘if any 

participant [in the proceeding] objects to 

the agreement and the [Judges] 

conclude, based on the record before 

them if one exists, that the agreement 

does not provide a reasonable basis for 

setting statutory terms or rates,’’ 17 

U.S.C. 801(b)(7)(A)(ii), or where the 

negotiated agreement includes 

provisions that are contrary to the 

provisions of the applicable license(s) or 

otherwise contrary to statutory law. See 

Scope of the Copyright Royalty Judges 

Authority to Adopt Confidentiality 

Requirements upon Copyright Owners 

within a Voluntarily Negotiated License 

Agreement, 78 FR 47421, 47422 (Aug. 5, 

2013), citing 74 FR 4537, 4540 (Jan. 26, 

2009). 

Proposed Adjustments to Rates and 

Terms 

According to SoundExchange, Sirius 

XM, and Stingray, the settlement 

incorporates the same royalty rate 

structure presently set forth in 37 CFR 

part 383 except that annual increases in 

the per-subscriber fees are to be based 

on changes in the Consumer Price Index 

for All Urban Consumers, rather than 

being pre-negotiated as during the 

current rate period. Thus, the statutory 

royalty rates for 2026 are to be based on 

an inflation adjustment to the 2025 rates 

currently provided in § 383.3(a), and the 

rates for each subsequent year of the 

royalty period are to be determined by 

a similar adjustment. 

The Parties have also agreed that the 

applicable terms used in part 383 

should be those finally determined in 

the Web VI proceeding (Docket No. 23– 

CRB–0012–WR (2026–2030)), except for 

(1) the provisions concerning auditing 

of payments and distributions, which 

are substantively the same as those 

currently in effect for new subscription 

services of the type at issue in the 

proceeding, and (2) a provision 

addressing distribution of royalties, 

which includes language based on that 

in 37 CFR 384.4(i)(1) and 370.4(f) 

permitting SoundExchange to use proxy 

data to distribute royalties when it is not 

able to obtain a usable report of use 

from a Licensee. In other respects, the 

Settlement preserves the existing 

provisions of part 383 with only minor 

updating. Joint Motion at 2–3. 

The fact that the Settlement 

incorporates terms that have not yet 

been established in the Web VI 

proceeding may raise concern as to 

whether participants and nonparticipants in the rate proceeding who 

would be bound by the terms, rates, or 

other determination set by any 

agreement are properly afforded the 

aforementioned statutory opportunities 

to object or comment on the agreement. 

However, the Judges take notice that it 

is not inappropriate for agreements to 

incorporate and/or rely in part on 

events, facts or determinations that have 

not yet been established, e.g., references 

to adjustments based on yet to be 

determined consumer price index 

measurements. The Judges are also 

mindful that Congress intended to 

facilitate and encourage settlement 

agreements. See, H.R. Rep. No. 108–408, 

at 24 and 30 (2002). Accordingly, 

objectors and commenters may 

knowingly and willingly choose to 

accept some uncertainty as to future 

settlement terms and a reference to an 

outside method for resolving the 

uncertain issues. The Judges do not 

express an opinion as to the extent to 

which any persons or entities who 

would otherwise be bound by this 

settlement may have a subsequent right 

to challenge the applicability of as yet 

non-existent terms. 

Therefore, the Judges publish the 

Settlement with the current 

understanding that doing so is in 

compliance with the statutory 

opportunities to object or comment on 

the agreement. 

Those who would be bound by the 

terms, rates, or other determination set 

by the agreement may comment and 

proceeding participants may object to 

any or all of the proposed regulations 

contained in this document.1 Such 


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103724 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 244 / Thursday, December 19, 2024 / Proposed Rules 

in the Joint Motion, are the only parties that have 

filed petitions to participate in this proceeding and, 

therefore, ‘‘there is no basis for the Judges not to 

adopt the Settlement as the statutory terms and 

rates under [s]ection 112(e) and 114 for services 

relying on the royalty rates and terms in 37 CFR 

[p]art 383.’’ Joint Motion at 3. 

comments and objections must be 

submitted no later than January 21, 

2025. 

List of Subjects in 37 CFR Part 383 

Copyright, Sound recordings, 

Webcasters. 

For the reasons set forth in the 

preamble, the Copyright Royalty Judges 

propose to revise 37 CFR part 383 to 

read as follows: 

PART 383—RATES AND TERMS FOR 

SUBSCRIPTION TRANSMISSIONS AND 

THE REPRODUCTION OF 

EMPHEMERAL RECORDINGS BY 

CERTAIN NEW SUBSCRIPTION 

SERVICES 

Sec. 

383.1 General. 

383.2 Definitions. 

383.3 Royalty fees for public performances 

of sound recordings and the making of 

ephemeral recordings. 

383.4 Distribution of royalties. 

383.5 Auditing payments and distributions. 

383.6 Terms for making payment of royalty 

fees. 

Authority: 17 U.S.C. 112(e), 114, and 

801(b)(1). 

§ 383.1 General. 

(a) Scope. This part establishes rates 

and terms of royalty payments for the 

public performance of sound recordings 

in certain digital transmissions by 

Licensees in accordance with the 

provisions of 17 U.S.C. 114, and the 

making of certain ephemeral recordings 

by Licensees in accordance with the 

provisions of 17 U.S.C. 112(e), during 

the period commencing January 1, 2026, 

and continuing through December 31, 

2030. 

(b) Legal compliance. Licensees 

relying upon the statutory licenses set 

forth in 17 U.S.C. 112(e) and 114 shall 

comply with the requirements of those 

sections and the rates and terms of this 

part. 

(c) Relationship to voluntary 

agreements. Notwithstanding the 

royalty rates and terms established in 

this part, the rates and terms of any 

voluntary license agreements entered 

into by Copyright Owners and Licensees 

shall apply in lieu of the rates and terms 

of this part to transmissions with the 

scope of such agreements. 

§ 383.2 Definitions. 

For purposes of this part, the 

following definitions shall apply: 

(a) Bundled Contracts means contracts 

between the Licensee and a Provider in 

which the Service is not the only 

content licensed by the Licensee to the 

Provider. 

(b) Collective means the collection 

and distribution organization that is 

designated by the Copyright Royalty 

Judges, and which, for the current rate 

period, is SoundExchange, Inc. 

(c) Copyright Owner means a sound 

recording copyright owner, or a rights 

owner under 17 U.S.C. 1401(l)(2), who 

is entitled to receive royalty payments 

made under this part pursuant to the 

statutory licenses under 17 U.S.C. 112(e) 

and 114. 

(d) License Period means the period 

commencing January 1, 2026, and 

continuing through December 31, 2030. 

(e) Licensee is a person that has 

obtained statutory licenses under 17 

U.S.C. 112(e) and 114, and the 

implementing regulations in this part, to 

make digital audio transmissions as part 

of a Service (as defined in this section), 

and ephemeral recordings for use in 

facilitating such transmissions. 

(f) Payor means the entity required to 

make royalty payments to the Collective 

or the entity required to distribute 

royalty fees collected, depending on 

context. The Payor is: 

(1) A Licensee, in relation to the 

Collective; and 

(2) The Collective in relation to a 

Copyright Owner or Performer. 

(g) Performers means the independent 

administrators identified in 17 U.S.C. 

114(g)(2)(B) and (C) and the parties 

identified in 17 U.S.C. 114(g)(2)(D). 

(h) Provider means a ‘‘multichannel 

video programming distributor’’ as that 

term is defined in 47 CFR 76.1000(e); 

notwithstanding such definition, for 

purposes of this part, a Provider shall 

include only a distributor of 

programming to televisions, such as a 

cable or satellite television provider. 

(i) Qualified auditor means a Certified 

Public Accountant independent within 

the meaning of the American Institute of 

Certified Public Accountants Code of 

Professional Conduct. 

(j) Service is a non-interactive 

(consistent with the definition of 

‘‘interactive service’’ in 17 U.S.C. 

114(j)(7)) audio-only subscription 

service (including accompanying 

information and graphics related to the 

audio) that is transmitted to residential 

subscribers of a television service 

through a Provider which is marketed as 

and is in fact primarily a video service 

where: 

(1) Subscribers do not pay a separate 

fee for audio channels. 

(2) The audio channels are delivered 

by digital audio transmissions through a 

technology that is incapable of tracking 

the individual sound recordings 

received by any particular consumer. 

(3) However, paragraph (j)(2) of this 

section shall not apply to the Licensee’s 

current contracts with Providers that are 

in effect as of the effective date of this 

part if such Providers become capable in 

the future of tracking the individual 

sound recordings received by any 

particular consumer, provided that the 

audio channels continued to be 

delivered to Subscribers by digital audio 

transmissions and the Licensee remains 

incapable of tracking the individual 

sound recordings received by any 

particular consumer. 

(k) Subscriber means every residential 

subscriber to the underlying service of 

the Provider who receives Licensee’s 

Service in the United States for all or 

any part of a month; provided, however, 

that for any Licensee that is not able to 

track the number of subscribers on a 

per-day basis, ‘‘Subscribers’’ shall be 

calculated based on the average of the 

number of subscribers on the last day of 

the preceding month and the last day of 

the applicable month, unless the Service 

is paid by the Provider based on end-ofmonth numbers, in which event 

‘‘Subscribers’’ shall be counted based on 

end-of-month data. 

(l) Stand-Alone Contracts means 

contracts between the Licensee and a 

Provider in which the only content 

licensed to the Provider is the Service. 

§ 383.3 Royalty fees for public 

performances of sound recordings and the 

making of ephemeral recordings. 

(a) Royalty rates. Royalty rates for the 

public performance of sound recordings 

by eligible digital transmissions made 

over a Service pursuant to 17 U.S.C. 

114, and for ephemeral recordings of 

sound recordings made pursuant to 17 

U.S.C. 112(e) to facilitate such 

transmissions during the License 

Period, are as follows. For 2026, each 

Licensee will pay, with respect to 

content covered by the License that is 

provided via the Service of each such 

Licensee: 

(1) For Stand-Alone Contracts, a 

monthly payment of [amount to be 

calculated in November 2025 and 

published in December 2025 in the final 

rule] per Subscriber to the Service of 

such Licensee, which is equivalent to 

the 2025 royalty rate of $0.0234, as 

adjusted by the annual royalty fee 

adjustment in paragraph (b) of this 

section. 

(2) For Bundled Contracts, a monthly 

payment of [amount to be calculated in 

November 2025 and published in 

December 2025 in the final rule] per 

Subscriber to the Service of such 


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Licensee, which is equivalent to the 

2025 royalty rate of $0.0390, as adjusted 

by the annual royalty fee adjustment in 

paragraph (b) of this section. 

(b) Annual royalty fee adjustment. (1) 

The Copyright Royalty Judges shall 

adjust the royalty fees each year, as 

described in paragraph (b)(2) of this 

section, beginning with the fees for 

2026, to reflect any changes occurring in 

the cost of living as determined by the 

most recent Consumer Price Index for 

All Urban Consumers (U.S. City 

Average, all items) (CPI–U) published 

by the Secretary of Labor before 

December 1 of the preceding year. 

(2)(i) The calculation of the rate for 

each year shall be cumulative based on 

a calculation of the percentage increase 

in the CPI–U from the CPI–U published 

in November, 2024 (CPI–U%) and shall 

be made according to the following 

formulas: 

(A) For Stand-Alone Contracts, (1 + 

(Cy¥315.664/315.664) × $0.0234; and 

(B) For Bundled Contracts, (1 + 

(Cy¥315.664/315.664) × $0.0390; and 

(ii) For both formulas Cy is the CPI– 

U published by the Secretary of Labor 

before December 1 of the preceding 

year. The adjusted rate shall be rounded 

to the nearest fourth decimal place. 

(3) The Judges shall publish notice of 

the adjusted fees in the Federal Register 

at least 25 days before January 1 of each 

year of the License Period. The adjusted 

fees shall be effective on January 1 of 

each year of the License Period for such 

year. 

(c) Minimum fee. Each Licensee will 

pay an annual, non-refundable 

minimum fee of one hundred thousand 

dollars ($100,000), payable on January 

31 of each calendar year in which the 

Service is provided pursuant to 

statutory licenses under 17 U.S.C. 112(e) 

and 114. Such fee shall be recoupable 

and credited against royalties due in the 

calendar year for which the payment is 

made. 

(d) Allocation between ephemeral 

recordings fees and performance royalty 

fees. The Collective must credit 5% of 

all royalty payments as royalty payment 

for Ephemeral Recordings and credit the 

remaining 95% to royalties under 17 

U.S.C. 114. All Ephemeral Recordings 

that a Licensee makes which are 

necessary and commercially reasonable 

for making noninteractive digital 

transmissions through a Service are 

included in the 5%. 

§ 383.4 Distribution of royalties. 

The Collective must promptly 

distribute royalties received from 

Licensees to Copyright Owners and 

Performers that are entitled thereto, or 

to their designated agents. The 

Collective shall only be responsible for 

making distributions to those who 

provide the Collective with information 

as is necessary to identify and pay the 

correct recipient. The Collective must 

distribute royalties on a basis that 

values all usage by a Licensee equally 

based upon the information provided 

under the Reports of Use requirements 

for Licensees pursuant to § 370.4 of this 

chapter and this part. However, in any 

case in which a Licensee has not 

provided a compliant Report of Use, 

whether for the License Period or 

otherwise, and the board of directors of 

the Collective determines that further 

efforts to seek the missing Report of Use 

from the Licensee would not be 

warranted, the Collective may distribute 

the royalties associated with the 

Licensee’s missing Report of Use on the 

basis of Reports of Use for the 

corresponding calendar year filed by 

other Licensees. 

§ 383.5 Auditing payments and 

distributions. 

(a) General. This section prescribes 

procedures by which any entity entitled 

to receive payment or distribution of 

royalties may verify payments or 

distributions by auditing the Payor. The 

Collective may audit a Licensee’s 

payments of royalties to the Collective, 

and a Copyright Owner or Performer 

may audit the Collective’s distributions 

of royalties to the Copyright Owner or 

Performer. Nothing in this section shall 

preclude a verifying entity and the 

Payor from agreeing to verification 

methods in addition to or different from 

those set forth in this section. 

(b) Frequency of auditing. The 

verifying entity may conduct an audit of 

each Licensee only once a year for any 

or all of the prior three calendar years. 

A verifying entity may not audit records 

for any calendar year more than once. 

(c) Notice of intent to audit. The 

verifying entity must file with the 

Copyright Royalty Judges a notice of 

intent to audit the Payor, which notice 

the Judges must publish in the Federal 

Register within 30 days of the filing of 

the notice. Simultaneously with the 

filing of the notice, the verifying entity 

must deliver a copy to the Payor. 

(d) The audit. The audit must be 

conducted during regular business 

hours by a qualified auditor who is not 

retained on a contingency fee basis and 

is identified in the notice. The auditor 

shall determine the accuracy of royalty 

payments or distributions, including 

whether an underpayment or 

overpayment of royalties was made. An 

audit of books and records, including 

underlying paperwork, performed in the 

ordinary course of business according to 

generally accepted auditing standards 

by a qualified auditor, shall serve as an 

acceptable verification procedure for all 

parties with respect to the information 

that is within the scope of the audit. 

(e) Access to third-party records for 

audit purposes. The Payor must use 

commercially reasonable efforts to 

obtain or to provide access to any 

relevant books and records maintained 

by third parties for the purpose of the 

audit. 

(f) Duty of auditor to consult. The 

auditor must produce a written report to 

the verifying entity. Before rendering 

the report, unless the auditor has a 

reasonable basis to suspect fraud on the 

part of the Payor, the disclosure of 

which would, in the reasonable opinion 

of the auditor, prejudice any 

investigation of the suspected fraud, the 

auditor must review tentative written 

findings of the audit with the 

appropriate agent or employee of the 

Payor in order to remedy any factual 

errors and clarify any issues relating to 

the audit; provided that an appropriate 

agent or employee of the Payor 

reasonably cooperates with the auditor 

to remedy promptly any factual errors or 

clarify any issues raised by the audit. 

The auditor must include in the written 

report information concerning the 

cooperation or the lack thereof of the 

employee or agent. 

(g) Audit results; underpayment or 

overpayment of royalties. If the auditor 

determines the Payor underpaid 

royalties, the Payor shall remit the 

amount of any underpayment 

determined by the auditor to the 

verifying entity, together with interest at 

the rate specified in § 380.2(d) of this 

chapter. In the absence of mutually 

agreed payment terms, which may, but 

need not, include installment payments, 

the Payor shall remit promptly to the 

verifying entity the entire amount of the 

underpayment determined by the 

auditor. If the auditor determines the 

Payor overpaid royalties, however, the 

verifying entity shall not be required to 

remit the amount of any overpayment to 

the Payor, and the Payor shall not seek 

by any means to recoup, offset, or take 

a credit for the overpayment, unless the 

Payor and the verifying entity have 

agreed otherwise. 

(h) Paying the costs of the audit. The 

verifying entity must pay the cost of the 

verification procedure, unless the 

auditor determines that there was a net 

underpayment (i.e., underpayments less 

any overpayments) of 10% or more, in 

which case the Payor must bear the 

reasonable costs of the verification 

procedure, in addition to paying or 

distributing the amount of any 

underpayment. 


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103726 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 244 / Thursday, December 19, 2024 / Proposed Rules 

1EPA regulations refer to ‘‘nonroad’’ vehicles and 

engines whereas California Air Resources Board 

(CARB) regulations refer to ‘‘off-road’’ vehicles and 

engines. These terms refer to the same types of 

vehicles and engines, and for the purposes of this 

action, we will be using CARB’s chosen term, ‘‘offroad,’’ to refer to such vehicles and engines. 

(i) Retention of audit report. The 

verifying party must retain the report of 

the audit for a period of not less than 

three years from the date of issuance. 

§ 383.6 Terms for making payment of 

royalty fees. 

(a) Terms in general. Subject to the 

provisions of this section, terms 

governing timing and due dates of 

royalty payments to the Collective, late 

fees, statements of account, audit and 

verification of royalty payments and 

distributions, retention of records 

requirements, treatment of Licensees’ 

confidential information, distribution of 

royalties by the Collective, unclaimed 

funds, designation of the Collective, and 

any definitions for applicable terms not 

defined in this part and not otherwise 

inapplicable shall be those adopted by 

the Copyright Royalty Judges for digital 

audio transmission and the 

reproduction of ephemeral recordings 

by Commercial Webcasters in part 380, 

subpart A, of this chapter, for the 

License Period. For purposes of this 

part, the term ‘‘Collective’’ refers to the 

collection and distribution organization 

that is designated by the Copyright 

Royalty Judges. For the License Period, 

the sole Collective is SoundExchange, 

Inc. 

(b) Reporting of performances. 

Without prejudice to any applicable 

notice and recordkeeping provisions, 

statements of account shall not require 

reports of performances. 

(c) Applicable regulations. To the 

extent not inconsistent with this part, 

all applicable regulations, including 

part 370 of this chapter, shall apply to 

activities subject to this part. 

Dated: December 10, 2024. 

David P. Shaw, 

Chief Copyright Royalty Judge. 

[FR Doc. 2024–29384 Filed 12–18–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 1410–72–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

40 CFR Part 52 

[EPA–R09–OAR–2024–0588; FRL–12486– 

01–R9] 

Air Plan Revisions; California; 

California Mobile Source Regulations 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Proposed rule. 

SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve 

all or portions of two submissions by 

the State of California (‘‘State’’) to revise 

its State Implementation Plan (SIP). The 

submissions consist of State regulations 

establishing standards and other 

requirements relating to the control of 

emissions from certain new on-road 

vehicles and engines. The EPA is 

proposing to approve the SIP revision 

because the regulations meet the 

applicable requirements of the Clean Air 

Act. If finalized, approval of the 

regulations as part of the California SIP 

will make them Federally enforceable. 

DATES: Comments must be received on 

or before January 21, 2025. 

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, 

identified by Docket ID No. EPA–R09– 

OAR–2024–0588 at https://

www.regulations.gov. For comments 

submitted at Regulations.gov, follow the 

online instructions for submitting 

comments. Once submitted, comments 

cannot be edited or removed from 

Regulations.gov. The EPA may publish 

any comment received to its public 

docket. Do not submit electronically any 

information you consider to be 

Confidential Business Information (CBI) 

or other information whose disclosure is 

restricted by statute. Multimedia 

submissions (audio, video, etc.) must be 

accompanied by a written comment. 

The written comment is considered the 

official comment and should include 

discussion of all points you wish to 

make. The EPA will generally not 

consider comments or comment 

contents located outside of the primary 

submission (i.e., on the web, cloud, or 

other file sharing system). For 

additional submission methods, please 

contact the person identified in the FOR

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section. 

For the full EPA public comment policy, 

information about CBI or multimedia 

submissions, and general guidance on 

making effective comments, please visit 

https://www.epa.gov/dockets/ 

commenting-epa-dockets. If you need 

assistance in a language other than 

English or if you are a person with a 

disability who needs a reasonable 

accommodation at no cost to you, please 

contact the person identified in the FOR

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rory 

Mays, EPA Region IX, 75 Hawthorne St., 

San Francisco, CA 94105; phone: (415) 

972–3227; email: mays.rory@epa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Throughout this document, ‘‘we,’’ ‘‘us’’ 

and ‘‘our’’ refer to the EPA. 

Table of Contents 

I. Background 

II. The State’s Submissions 

A. What regulations did the State submit? 

B. Are there other versions of these 

regulations in the SIP? 

C. What is the purpose of the submitted 

regulations? 

D. What requirements do the regulations 

establish? 

III. EPA’s Evaluation and Proposed Action 

A. How is the EPA evaluating the 

regulations? 

B. Do the State’s regulations meet CAA SIP 

evaluation criteria? 

C. Proposed Action and Public Comment 

IV. Environmental Justice Considerations 

V. Incorporation by Reference 

VI. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews 

I. Background 

Under the Clean Air Act (CAA or 

‘‘Act’’), the EPA establishes national 

ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) 

to protect public health and welfare. 

The EPA has established NAAQS for 

certain pervasive air pollutants 

including ozone, carbon monoxide, 

nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, lead, 

and particulate matter. Under section 

110(a)(1) of the CAA, states must submit 

plans that provide for the 

implementation, maintenance, and 

enforcement of the NAAQS within each 

State. Such plans are referred to as SIPs, 

and revisions to those plans are referred 

to as SIP revisions. Section 110(a)(2) of 

the CAA sets forth the content 

requirements for SIPs. Among the 

various requirements, SIPs must include 

enforceable emission limitations and 

other control measures, means, or 

techniques as may be necessary or 

appropriate to meet the applicable 

requirements of the CAA. See CAA 

section 110(a)(2)(A). 

Emissions sources contributing to 

ambient air pollution levels can be 

divided into two basic categories: 

stationary emissions sources and mobile 

emissions sources. As a general matter, 

the CAA assigns stationary source 

regulation and SIP development 

responsibilities to the States through 

title I of the Act and assigns mobile 

source regulation to the EPA through 

title II of the Act. In so doing, the CAA 

preempts various types of State 

regulation of mobile sources as set forth 

in section 209(a) (preemption of State 

emissions standards for new motor 

vehicles and engines), section 209(e) 

(preemption of State emissions 

standards for new and in-use off-road 

vehicles and engines),1 and section 

211(c)(4)(A) (preemption of State fuel 

requirements for motor vehicle emission 

control other than California’s motor 

vehicle fuel requirements for motor 


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