I 
111TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 848 
To provide parity in radio performance rights under title 17, United States 
Code, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 4, 2009 
Mr. CONYERS (for himself, Mr. ISSA, Mr. BERMAN, Mrs. BLACKBURN, Mr. 
HODES, Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, Mr. WEINER, Mr. COHEN, Mr. NAD-
LER of New York, Mr. WEXLER, Mr. PETERSON, Mr. JOHNSON of Geor-
gia, Mr. SCHIFF, Mr. SHERMAN, Mr. SHADEGG, Ms. JACKSON-LEE of 
Texas, Ms. LINDA T. SA´NCHEZ of California, Ms. HARMAN, and Mr. 
WAXMAN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on the Judiciary 
A BILL 
To provide parity in radio performance rights under title 
17, United States Code, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Performance Rights 
Act’’. 
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SEC. 
2. 
EQUITABLE 
TREATMENT 
FOR 
TERRESTRIAL 
BROADCASTS. 
(a) PERFORMANCE RIGHT APPLICABLE TO RADIO 
TRANSMISSIONS GENERALLY.—Section 106(6) of title 17, 
United States Code, is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘(6) in the case of sound recordings, to perform 
the copyrighted work publicly by means of an audio 
transmission.’’. 
(b) INCLUSION OF TERRESTRIAL BROADCASTS IN 
EXISTING PERFORMANCE RIGHT.—Section 114(d)(1) of 
title 17, United States Code, is amended— 
(1) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), 
by striking ‘‘a digital’’ and inserting ‘‘an’’; and 
(2) by striking subparagraph (A). 
(c) INCLUSION
OF TERRESTRIAL BROADCASTS
IN 
EXISTING
STATUTORY
LICENSE
SYSTEM.—Section 
114(j)(6) of title 17, United States Code, is amended by 
striking ‘‘digital’’. 
SEC. 3. SPECIAL TREATMENT FOR SMALL, NONCOMMER-
CIAL, EDUCATIONAL, AND RELIGIOUS STA-
TIONS AND CERTAIN USES. 
(a) SMALL, NONCOMMERCIAL, EDUCATIONAL, AND 
RELIGIOUS RADIO STATIONS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Section 114(f)(2) of title 17, 
United States Code, is amended by adding at the 
end the following: 
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‘‘(D) Notwithstanding the provisions of sub-
paragraphs (A) through (C), each individual terres-
trial broadcast station that has gross revenues in 
any calendar year of less than $1,250,000 may elect 
to pay for its over-the-air nonsubscription broadcast 
transmissions a royalty fee of $5,000 per year, in 
lieu of the amount such station would otherwise be 
required to pay under this paragraph. Such royalty 
fee shall not be taken into account in determining 
royalty rates in a proceeding under chapter 8, or in 
any other administrative, judicial, or other Federal 
Government proceeding. 
‘‘(E) Notwithstanding the provisions of sub-
paragraphs (A) through (C), each individual terres-
trial broadcast station that is a public broadcasting 
entity as defined in section 118(f) may elect to pay 
for its over-the-air nonsubscription broadcast trans-
missions a royalty fee of $1,000 per year, in lieu of 
the amount such station would otherwise be required 
to pay under this paragraph. Such royalty fee shall 
not be taken into account in determining royalty 
rates in a proceeding under chapter 8, or in any 
other administrative, judicial, or other Federal Gov-
ernment proceeding.’’. 
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(2) PAYMENT DATE.—A payment under sub-
paragraph (D) or (E) of section 114(f)(2) of title 
17, United States Code, as added by paragraph (1), 
shall not be due until the due date of the first roy-
alty payments for nonsubscription broadcast trans-
missions that are determined, after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, under such section 114(f)(2) 
by reason of the amendment made by section 2(b)(2) 
of this Act. 
(b) TRANSMISSION OF RELIGIOUS SERVICES; INCI-
DENTAL USES OF MUSIC.—Section 114(d)(1) of title 17, 
United States Code, as amended by section 2(b), is further 
amended by inserting the following before subparagraph 
(B): 
‘‘(A) an eligible nonsubscription trans-
mission of— 
‘‘(i) services at a place of worship or 
other religious assembly; and 
‘‘(ii) an incidental use of a musical 
sound recording;’’. 
SEC. 4. AVAILABILITY OF PER PROGRAM LICENSE. 
Section 114(f)(2)(B) of title 17, United States Code, 
is amended by inserting after the second sentence the fol-
lowing new sentence: ‘‘Such rates and terms shall include 
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a per program license option for terrestrial broadcast sta-
tions that make limited feature uses of sound recordings.’’ 
SEC. 5. NO HARMFUL EFFECTS ON SONGWRITERS. 
(a) NO ADVERSE AFFECT ON LICENSE FEES FOR 
UNDERLYING MUSICAL WORKS; NECESSITY FOR OTHER 
LICENSES.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Section 114(i) of title 17, 
United States Code, is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘(i) NO ADVERSE AFFECT ON LICENSE FEES FOR 
UNDERLYING MUSICAL WORKS; NECESSITY FOR OTHER 
LICENSES.— 
‘‘(1) NO ADVERSE AFFECT ON LICENSE FEES 
FOR
UNDERLYING
MUSICAL
WORKS.—License fees 
payable for the public performance of sound record-
ings under section 106(6) shall not be cited, taken 
into account, or otherwise used in any administra-
tive, judicial, or other governmental forum or pro-
ceeding, or otherwise, to set or adjust the license 
fees payable to copyright owners of musical works or 
their representatives for the public performance of 
their works, for the purpose of reducing or adversely 
affecting such license fees. License fees payable to 
copyright owners for the public performance of their 
musical works shall not be reduced or adversely af-
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fected in any respect as a result of the rights grant-
ed by section 106(6). 
‘‘(2) NECESSITY FOR OTHER LICENSES.—Not-
withstanding the grant by an owner of copyright in 
a sound recording of an exclusive or nonexclusive li-
cense of the right under section 106(6) to perform 
the work publicly, a licensee of that sound recording 
may not publicly perform such sound recording un-
less a license has been granted for the public per-
formance of any copyrighted musical work contained 
in the sound recording. Such license to publicly per-
form the copyrighted musical work may be granted 
either by a performing rights society representing 
the copyright owner or by the copyright owner.’’. 
(2) 
CONFORMING
AMENDMENT.—Section 
114(d)(3)(C) of title 17, United States Code, is 
hereby repealed. 
(b) PUBLIC PERFORMANCE RIGHTS
AND ROYAL-
TIES.—Nothing in this Act or the amendments made by 
this Act shall adversely affect in any respect the public 
performance rights of or royalties payable to songwriters 
or copyright owners of musical works. 
(c) PRESERVATION OF ROYALTIES ON UNDERLYING 
WORKS PUBLICLY PERFORMED BY TERRESTRIAL BROAD-
CAST STATIONS.—Section 114(f) of title 17, United States 
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Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new 
paragraph: 
‘‘(6) Notwithstanding any other provision of 
this section, under no circumstances shall the rates 
established by the Copyright Royalty Judges for the 
public performance of sound recordings be cited, 
taken into account, or otherwise used in any admin-
istrative, judicial, or other governmental forum or 
proceeding, or otherwise, to reduce or adversely af-
fect the license fees payable to copyright owners of 
musical works or their representatives for the public 
performance of their works by terrestrial broadcast 
stations, and such license fees for the public per-
formance of musical works shall be independent of 
license fees paid for the public performance of sound 
recordings.’’. 
SEC. 6. PAYMENT OF CERTAIN ROYALTIES. 
Section 114(g) of title 17, United States Code, is 
amended— 
(1) by amending paragraph (1) to read as fol-
lows: 
‘‘(1) Except in the case of a transmission to 
which paragraph (5) applies or a transmission li-
censed under a statutory license in accordance with 
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subsection (f) of this section, the following shall 
apply: 
‘‘(A) A featured recording artist who per-
forms on a sound recording that has been li-
censed for public performance by means of a 
digital audio transmission shall be entitled to 
receive payments from the copyright owner of 
the sound recording in accordance with the 
terms of the artist’s contract. 
‘‘(B)(i) In a case in which the copyright 
owner of a sound recording has licensed the 
sound recording for the public performance of 
the sound recording by means of a digital audio 
transmission, the copyright owner shall deposit 
1 percent of the receipts from the license with 
the American Federation of Musicians and 
American Federation of Television and Radio 
Artists Intellectual Property Rights Distribu-
tion Fund (or any successor entity) (in this 
subparagraph referred to as the ‘Fund’) to be 
distributed to nonfeatured performers who have 
performed on sound recordings. The sound re-
cording copyright owner shall make such depos-
its for receipts received during the first half of 
a calendar year by August 15 and for receipts 
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received during the second half of a calendar 
year by February 15 of the following calendar 
year. 
‘‘(ii) A sound recording copyright owner 
shall include with deposits under clause (i) in-
formation regarding the amount of such depos-
its attributable to each licensee and, subject to 
obtaining consent, if necessary, from such li-
censee, for each sound recording performed by 
means of a digital audio transmission by such 
licensee during the applicable time period, and 
to the extent included in the accounting reports 
provided by the licensee to the sound recording 
copyright owner— 
‘‘(I) the identity of the artist; 
‘‘(II) the International Standard Re-
cording Code of the sound recording; 
‘‘(III) the title of the sound recording; 
‘‘(IV) the number of times the sound 
recording was transmitted; and 
‘‘(V) the total amount of receipts col-
lected from that licensee. 
‘‘(iii) The Fund shall make the distribu-
tions described in clause (i) as follows: 50 per-
cent shall be paid to nonfeatured musicians 
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(whether or not members of the American Fed-
eration of Musicians) and 50 percent shall be 
paid to nonfeatured vocalists (whether or not 
members of the American Federation of Tele-
vision and Radio Artists). The Fund may, prior 
to making such distributions, deduct the rea-
sonable costs related to making such distribu-
tions. 
‘‘(iv) The sound recording copyright owner 
shall not be required to provide any additional 
information to the Fund other than what is re-
quired under this subparagraph. Sound record-
ing copyright owners shall use reasonable good 
faith efforts to include in all relevant licenses a 
requirement to report the information identified 
in subclauses (I) through (V) of clause (ii). 
Amounts required under clause (i) that are not 
paid by the date specified in such clause shall 
be subject to interest at the rate of 6 percent 
per annum for each day of nonpayment after 
the date the payment was due.’’; and 
(2) by adding at the end the following new 
paragraph: 
‘‘(5) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), to the ex-
tent that a license granted by the copyright owner 
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of a sound recording to a terrestrial broadcast sta-
tion extends to such station’s nonsubscription broad-
cast transmissions otherwise licensable under a stat-
utory license in accordance with subsection (f), the 
station shall pay to the agent designated to dis-
tribute statutory licensing receipts from the licensing 
of transmissions in accordance with subsection (f), 
50 percent of the total royalties that the station is 
required to pay for such transmissions under the ap-
plicable license agreement. That agent shall dis-
tribute such payments in proportion to the distribu-
tions provided in subparagraphs (B) through (D) of 
paragraph (2), and such payments shall be the sole 
payments to which featured and nonfeatured artists 
are entitled by virtue of such transmissions under 
the direct license with that station.’’. 
Æ 
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