Ask Musicians for Music Act of 2019

To amend title 17, United States Code, to require broadcasters to obtain permission to transmit content owned by another person, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Ask Musicians for Music Act of 2019 2. Transmission consent for terrestrial broadcasts (a) Right applicable To transmissions generally Section 106(6) of title 17, United States Code, is amended by striking a digital an (b) Transmission consent Section 114(d)(1)(A) of title 17, United States Code, is amended by adding after transmission , except that, in the case of a transmission made by a radio station, the radio station shall obtain the express authority of the copyright owner of that sound recording for any such transmission (unless the transmission consists of services at a place of worship (or at another religious assembly) or incidental uses of a musical work) 3. Small broadcasters; public and educational radio; payments (a) Small broadcasters (1) Definition (A) In general In this subsection, the term small broadcaster (B) Affiliates For the purposes of calculating revenues under subparagraph (A) with respect to affiliated broadcast stations of a radio station described in that subparagraph, revenues shall be allocated reasonably to individual stations that are associated with those revenues. (2) Amount of payment With respect to an effort to obtain the express authority of a copyright owner that is required with respect to a transmission made by a radio station under section 114(d)(1)(A) of title 17, United States Code, as amended by section 2(b), if the radio station seeking that authority is a small broadcaster, the small broadcaster shall make a payment of $500 per year to obtain that authority. (b) Public broadcasters, college radio, and other noncommercial stations Any negotiation to obtain the express authority of a copyright owner that is required with respect to a transmission made by a radio station under section 114(d)(1)(A) of title 17, United States Code, as amended by section 2(b), may not result in the payment of compensation in an amount that is more than $100 per year by any individual terrestrial broadcast station that is— (1) licensed by the Federal Communications Commission as an individual terrestrial broadcast station; and (2) a public broadcasting entity, as that term is defined in section 118(f) of title 17, United States Code. (c) Payments A payment made under subsection (a) or (b) shall be directed to the nonprofit collective designated by the Copyright Royalty Judges to distribute receipts from the licensing of transmissions in accordance with section 114(f) of title 17, United States Code, and that collective shall distribute that payment in accordance with paragraphs (2) and (3) of section 114(g) of that title. 4. Conforming amendments (a) Definition Section 101 of title 17, United States Code, is amended by inserting after the item relating to architectural work An audio transmission . (b) Other conforming amendments Title 17, United States Code, is amended— (1) in section 112(e)(8), by striking a digital audio transmission an audio transmission (2) in section 114— (A) in subsection (d)— (i) in paragraph (1)— (I) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by striking a digital an (II) in subparagraph (B)— (aa) by striking clauses (i) and (iii); (bb) by redesignating clauses (ii) and (iv) as clauses (i) and (ii), respectively; and (cc) in clause (ii), as so redesignated, by striking retransmission, whether or not simultaneous, is a retransmission is a non-simultaneous, (ii) in paragraph (2)— (I) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by striking subscription digital subscription (II) in subparagraph (C)(viii), by striking digital signal signal (iii) in paragraph (4)— (I) in subparagraph (A), by striking a digital audio transmission an audio transmission (II) in subparagraph (B)(i), by striking a digital audio transmission an audio transmission (B) in subsection (g)(2)(A), by striking a digital an (C) in subsection (j)— (i) in paragraph (6)— (I) by striking digital (II) by striking retransmissions of broadcast transmissions broadcast transmissions and retransmissions of broadcast transmissions (ii) in paragraph (8), by striking subscription digital subscription (3) in section 1401(b), in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by striking a digital an

Summary: Ask Musicians For Music Act of 2019 This bill establishes that the copyright owner of a sound recording has the exclusive right to perform the recording through an audio transmission. Currently, the copyright owner's performance right generally only covers digital audio transmission, which excludes certain terrestrial radio stations. A radio station must obtain express permission from the copyright owner of the sound recording before making such a transmission, unless the transmission consists of a religious assembly or incidental use of the recording. A radio station with revenues of less than $1 million per year shall pay $500 per year to the copyright owner to obtain such permission to use a sound recording. A public broadcast entity or individual terrestrial broadcast station shall pay no more than $100 per year to obtain permission from the copyright owner.