Register shall, every 5 years, beginning 
with the fifth full calendar year to com-
mence after the initial designation, publish 
notice in the Federal Register in the 
month of January soliciting information 
concerning whether the existing designa-
tion should be continued, or a different en-
tity meeting the criteria described in 
clauses (i) through (iii) of subparagraph 
(A) shall be designated. Following publica-
tion of such notice: 
‘‘(I) The Register shall, after re-
viewing the information submitted and 
conducting additional proceedings as 
appropriate, publish notice in the Fed-
eral Register of a continuing designa-
tion or new designation of the me-
chanical licensing collective, as the 
case may be, with any new designa-
tion to be effective as of the first day 
of a month that is no less than 6 
months and no longer than 9 months 
after the date of publication of such 
notice, as specified by the Register. 
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‘‘(II) If a new entity is des-
ignated as a mechanical licensing col-
lective, the Register shall adopt regu-
lations to govern the transfer of li-
censes, funds, records, data, and ad-
ministrative responsibilities from the 
existing mechanical licensing collective 
to the new entity. 
‘‘(iii) CLOSEST
ALTERNATIVE
DES-
IGNATION.—If the Register is unable to 
identify an entity that fulfills each of the 
qualifications set forth in clauses (i) 
through (iii) of subparagraph (A), the Reg-
ister shall designate the entity that most 
nearly fulfills such qualifications for pur-
poses of carrying out the responsibilities of 
the mechanical licensing collective. 
‘‘(C) AUTHORITIES AND FUNCTIONS.— 
‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The mechanical li-
censing collective is authorized to perform 
the following functions, subject to more 
particular requirements as described in 
this subsection: 
‘‘(I) Offer and administer blanket 
licenses, including receipt of notices of 
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license and reports of usage from dig-
ital music providers. 
‘‘(II) Collect and distribute royal-
ties from digital music providers for 
covered activities. 
‘‘(III) Engage in efforts to iden-
tify musical works (and shares of such 
works) embodied in particular sound 
recordings, and to identify and locate 
the copyright owners of such musical 
works (and shares of such works). 
‘‘(IV) 
Maintain 
the 
musical 
works database and other information 
relevant to the administration of li-
censing activities under this section. 
‘‘(V) Administer a process by 
which copyright owners can claim 
ownership of musical works (and 
shares of such works), and a process 
by which royalties for works for which 
the owner is not identified or located 
are equitably distributed to known 
copyright owners. 
‘‘(VI) Administer collections of 
the administrative assessment from 
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digital music providers and significant 
nonblanket licensees, including receipt 
of notices of nonblanket activity. 
‘‘(VII) Invest in relevant re-
sources, and arrange for services of 
outside vendors and others, to support 
its activities. 
‘‘(VIII) Engage in legal and 
other efforts to enforce rights and ob-
ligations under this subsection, includ-
ing by filing bankruptcy proofs of 
claims for amounts owed under li-
censes, and acting in coordination 
with the digital licensee coordinator.. 
‘‘(IX) Initiate and participate in 
proceedings before the Copyright Roy-
alty Judges to establish the adminis-
trative assessment under this sub-
section. 
‘‘(X) Initiate and participate in 
proceedings before the Copyright Of-
fice with respect to activities under 
this subsection. 
‘‘(XI) Gather and provide docu-
mentation for use in proceedings be-
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fore the Copyright Royalty Judges to 
set rates and terms under this section. 
‘‘(XII) Maintain records of its 
activities and engage in and respond 
to audits described under this sub-
section. 
‘‘(XIII) Engage in such other ac-
tivities as may be necessary or appro-
priate to fulfill its responsibilities 
under this subsection. 
‘‘(ii) ADDITIONAL
ADMINISTRATIVE 
ACTIVITIES.—Subject 
to 
paragraph 
(11)(C) and clause (iii), the mechanical li-
censing collective may also administer, or 
assist in administering, voluntary licenses 
issued by or individual download licenses 
obtained from copyright owners for uses of 
musical works, for which the mechanical li-
censing collective shall charge reasonable 
fees for such services. 
‘‘(iii) RESTRICTION CONCERNING PUB-
LIC PERFORMANCE RIGHTS.—The mechan-
ical licensing collective may, pursuant to 
clause (ii), provide administration services 
with respect to voluntary licenses that in-
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clude the right of public performance in 
musical works, but may not itself negotiate 
or grant licenses for the right of public 
performance in musical works, and may 
not be the exclusive or nonexclusive as-
signee or grantee of the right of public per-
formance in musical works. 
‘‘(iv) RESTRICTION
ON
LOBBYING.— 
The mechanical licensing collective may 
not engage in government lobbying activi-
ties, but may engage in the activities de-
scribed in subclauses (IX), (X), and (XI) 
of clause (i). 
‘‘(D) GOVERNANCE.— 
‘‘(i) BOARD OF DIRECTORS.—The me-
chanical licensing collective shall have a 
board of directors consisting of 14 voting 
members and 3 nonvoting members, as fol-
lows: 
‘‘(I) Ten voting members shall be 
representatives of music publishers to 
which songwriters have assigned ex-
clusive rights of reproduction and dis-
tribution of musical works with re-
spect to covered activities and no such 
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