fice. The owner is entitled to royalties for 
phonorecords made and distributed after being so 
identified, but is not entitled to recover for any 
phonorecords previously made and distributed. 
‘‘(2) Except as provided by paragraph (1), for 
every phonorecord made and distributed under a 
compulsory license under this section other than by 
means of digital phonorecord delivery, with respect 
to each work embodied in the phonorecord, the roy-
alty shall be the royalty prescribed under subpara-
graphs (B) through (E) of paragraph (3) and chap-
ter 8 of this title. For purposes of this paragraph, 
a phonorecord is considered ‘distributed’ if the per-
son exercising the compulsory license has voluntarily 
and permanently parted with its possession.’’; 
(B) by striking paragraph (3)(A) and in-
serting the following: 
‘‘(3)(A) For every digital phonorecord delivery 
of a musical work made under a compulsory license 
under this section, the royalty payable shall be the 
royalty prescribed under subparagraphs (B) through 
(E) and chapter 8 of this title.’’; 
(C) in paragraph (3)(C)— 
(i) by striking the second sentence; 
and 
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lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
(ii) by adding at the end the following 
new sentence: ‘‘The administrative assess-
ment to be paid by digital music providers 
and significant nonblanket licensees under 
subsection (d) shall be established in sepa-
rate proceedings before the Copyright Roy-
alty Judges as provided in subsection 
(d)(7).’’; 
(D) by striking paragraph (3)(D) and in-
serting the following: 
‘‘(D) The schedule of reasonable rates and 
terms determined by the Copyright Royalty Judges 
shall, subject to subparagraph (E), be binding on all 
copyright owners of nondramatic musical works and 
persons entitled to obtain a compulsory license under 
subsection (a)(1) during the period specified in sub-
paragraph (C), such other period as may be deter-
mined pursuant to subparagraphs (B) and (C), or 
such other period as the parties may agree. The 
Copyright Royalty Judges shall establish rates and 
terms that most clearly represent the rates and 
terms that would have been negotiated in the mar-
ketplace between a willing buyer and a willing seller. 
In determining such rates and terms for digital pho-
norecord deliveries, the Copyright Royalty Judges 
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shall base their decision on economic, competitive, 
and programming information presented by the par-
ties, including— 
‘‘(i) whether use of the compulsory licens-
ee’s service may substitute for or may promote 
the sales of phonorecords or otherwise may 
interfere with or may enhance the musical work 
copyright owner’s other streams of revenue 
from its musical works; and 
‘‘(ii) the relative roles of the copyright 
owner and the compulsory licensee in the copy-
righted work and the service made available to 
the public with respect to the relative creative 
contribution, technological contribution, capital 
investment, cost, and risk.’’; 
(E) in paragraph (3)(E)(i), by striking 
‘‘Librarian of Congress and’’; 
(F) in paragraph (3)(G)(i)(II)— 
(i) by striking ‘‘owner of the copyright 
in the sound recording or the’’; and 
(ii) by striking ‘‘to distribute or au-
thorize the distribution, by means of a dig-
ital phonorecord delivery’’ and inserting ‘‘, 
or by a record company pursuant to an in-
dividual download license, to make and dis-
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lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
tribute phonorecords by means of digital 
phonorecord delivery’’; 
(G) in paragraph (4), by striking the first 
sentence and inserting ‘‘A compulsory license 
obtained in accordance with subsection (b)(1) to 
make and distribute phonorecords includes the 
right of the maker of such a phonorecord to 
distribute or authorize distribution of such pho-
norecord, other than by means of a digital pho-
norecord delivery, by rental, lease, or lending 
(or by acts or practices in the nature of rental, 
lease, or lending).’’; 
(H) in paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘Royalty 
payments shall’’ and inserting ‘‘Except as pro-
vided in paragraphs (4)(A)(i) and (10)(B) of 
subsection (d), royalty payments shall’’; and 
(I) in paragraph (6)— 
(i) by striking ‘‘If the copyright 
owner’’ and inserting ‘‘In the case of a li-
cense obtained under subsection (b)(1), 
(b)(2)(A), or (b)(3), if the copyright 
owner’’; and 
(ii) by adding at the end the following 
sentence: ‘‘In the case of a license obtained 
under subsection (b)(2)(B), license author-
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ity under the compulsory license may be 
terminated as provided in subsection 
(d)(4)(E).’’; 
(4) by amending subsection (d) to read as fol-
lows: 
‘‘(d) BLANKET LICENSE FOR DIGITAL USES, ME-
CHANICAL LICENSING COLLECTIVE, AND DIGITAL LI-
CENSEE COORDINATOR.— 
‘‘(1) BLANKET LICENSE FOR DIGITAL USES.— 
A digital music provider that qualifies for a compul-
sory license under subsection (a) may, by complying 
with the terms and conditions of this subsection, ob-
tain a blanket license from copyright owners through 
the mechanical licensing collective designated under 
paragraph (3)(B) to make and distribute digital 
phonorecord deliveries of musical works through one 
or more covered activities. 
‘‘(A) INCLUDED ACTIVITIES.—A blanket li-
cense obtained under this subsection— 
‘‘(i) covers all musical works (or 
shares of such works) available for compul-
sory licensing under this section for pur-
poses of engaging in covered activities, ex-
cept as provided in subparagraph (B); 
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‘‘(ii) includes the making and dis-
tribution of server, intermediate, archival, 
and incidental reproductions of musical 
works that are reasonable and necessary 
for the digital music provider to engage in 
covered activities licensed under this sub-
section, solely for the purpose of engaging 
in such covered activities; and 
‘‘(iii) does not cover or include any 
rights or uses other than those set forth in 
subsection (d)(1)(A)(i) and (ii). 
‘‘(B) OTHER
LICENSES.—A voluntary li-
cense for covered activities entered into between 
one or more copyright owners and one or more 
digital music providers, or authority to make 
and distribute permanent downloads of a musi-
cal work obtained by a digital music provider 
from the copyright owner of a sound recording 
pursuant to an individual download license, 
shall be given effect in lieu of a blanket license 
under this subsection with respect to the musi-
cal works (or shares thereof) covered by such 
voluntary license or individual download author-
ity; provided, however, that— 
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‘‘(i) where a voluntary or individual 
download license applies, the license au-
thority provided under the blanket license 
shall exclude any musical works (or shares 
thereof) subject to the voluntary or indi-
vidual download license; 
‘‘(ii) an entity engaged in covered ac-
tivities under a voluntary license or author-
ity obtained pursuant to an individual 
download license that is a significant non-
blanket licensee shall comply with para-
graph (6)(A); and 
‘‘(iii) the rates and terms of any vol-
untary license shall be subject to the sec-
ond sentence of clause (i) and clause (ii) of 
subsection (c)(3)(E) and paragraph (9)(C) 
as applicable. 
‘‘(C) PROTECTION
AGAINST
INFRINGE-
MENT ACTIONS.—A digital music provider that 
obtains and complies with the terms of a valid 
blanket license under this subsection shall not 
be subject to an action for infringement of the 
exclusive rights provided by paragraphs (1) and 
(3) of section 106 under this title arising from 
use of a musical work (or share thereof) to en-
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gage in covered activities authorized by such li-
cense, subject to paragraph (4)(E). 
‘‘(D) OTHER REQUIREMENTS AND CONDI-
TIONS APPLY.—Except as expressly provided in 
this subsection, each requirement, limitation, 
condition, privilege, right, and remedy otherwise 
applicable to compulsory licenses under this sec-
tion shall apply to compulsory blanket licenses 
under this subsection. 
‘‘(2) AVAILABILITY OF BLANKET LICENSE.— 
‘‘(A) PROCEDURE
FOR
OBTAINING
LI-
CENSE.—A digital music provider may obtain a 
blanket license under this subsection to engage 
in one or more covered activities by submitting 
a notice of license to the mechanical licensing 
collective described in paragraph (3) that speci-
fies the particular covered activities in which 
the digital music provider seeks to engage, as 
follows: 
‘‘(i) The notice of license shall comply 
in form and substance with requirements 
that the Register of Copyrights shall estab-
lish by regulation. 
‘‘(ii) Unless rejected in writing by the 
mechanical licensing collective within 30 
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lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
days after receipt, the blanket license shall 
be effective as of the date the notice of li-
cense was provided by the digital music 
provider. 
‘‘(iii) A notice of license shall not be 
rejected by the mechanical licensing collec-
tive unless— 
‘‘(I) the digital music provider or 
notice of license does not meet all re-
quirements of this section or applica-
ble regulations, in which case the re-
quirements at issue shall be specified 
with reasonable particularity in the 
notice of rejection, or 
‘‘(II) the digital music provider 
has had a license under this sub-
section terminated by the mechanical 
licensing collective within the past 3 
years pursuant to paragraph (4)(E). 
‘‘(iv) If a notice of license is rejected 
under clause (iii), the digital music pro-
vider shall have 30 days after receipt of 
the notice of rejection to cure any defi-
ciency and submit an amended notice of li-
cense to the mechanical licensing collective. 
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If the deficiency has been cured, the me-
chanical licensing collective shall so con-
firm in writing, and the license shall be ef-
fective as of the date that the original no-
tice of license was provided by the digital 
music provider. 
‘‘(B) 
BLANKET
LICENSE
EFFECTIVE 
DATE.—Blanket licenses under this subsection 
shall be made available by the mechanical li-
censing collective as of the license availability 
date specified in subsection (e)(15). No such li-
cense shall be effective prior to the license avail-
ability date. 
‘‘(3) MECHANICAL LICENSING COLLECTIVE.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—The mechanical li-
censing collective shall be a single entity that— 
‘‘(i) is a not-for-profit entity, not 
owned by any other entity, that is created 
by copyright owners to carry out respon-
sibilities under this subsection; 
‘‘(ii) is endorsed by and enjoys sub-
stantial support from copyright owners of 
musical works that together represent the 
greatest share of the licensor market for 
uses of such works in covered activities, as 
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lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
measured over the preceding 3 full cal-
endar years; 
‘‘(iii) is able to demonstrate to the 
Register of Copyrights that it has, or will 
have prior to the license availability date, 
the administrative and technological capa-
bilities to perform the required functions of 
the mechanical licensing collective under 
this subsection; and 
‘‘(iv) has been designated by the Reg-
ister of Copyrights in accordance with sub-
paragraph (B). 
‘‘(B) DESIGNATION
OF
MECHANICAL
LI-
CENSING COLLECTIVE.— 
‘‘(i) 
INITIAL
DESIGNATION.—The 
Register of Copyrights shall initially des-
ignate the mechanical licensing collective 
within 9 months of the enactment date as 
follows: 
‘‘(I) Within 90 days of the enact-
ment date, the Register shall publish 
notice in the Federal Register solic-
iting information to assist in identi-
fying the appropriate entity to serve 
as the mechanical licensing collective. 
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‘‘(II) After reviewing the infor-
mation requested under subclause (I) 
and making a designation, the Reg-
ister shall publish notice in the Fed-
eral Register setting forth the identity 
of and contact information for the me-
chanical licensing collective. 
‘‘(ii) PERIODIC REVIEW OF DESIGNA-
TION.—Following the initial designation of 
the mechanical licensing collective, the 
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 set forth in sub-
paragraph (A) should be designated. Fol-
lowing publication 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-
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lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
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 from the date of publication 
of such notice, as specified by the 
Register. 
‘‘(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, and adminis-
trative responsibilities from the exist-
ing mechanical licensing collective to 
the new entity. 
‘‘(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 set forth in this 
subsection: 
‘‘(I) Offer and administer blanket 
licenses for covered activities, includ-
ing receipt of notices of license and 
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lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
reports of usage from digital 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 a publicly acces-
sible database of musical works (and 
shares of such works) and copyright 
owners, and other information rel-
evant to the administration of licens-
ing 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. 
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‘‘(VI) Administer collections of 
the administrative assessment from 
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 efforts to en-
force rights and obligations under this 
subsection, including 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 as contemplated under this 
subsection. 
‘‘(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 subsection (e)(31), the me-
chanical licensing collective may also ad-
minister, or assist in administering, vol-
untary or individual download licenses 
issued by copyright owners for uses of mu-
sical works, for which the mechanical li-
censing collective shall charge reasonable 
fees for such services. 
‘‘(iii) RESTRICTION ON LOBBYING.— 
The mechanical licensing collective shall 
not engage in government lobbying activi-
ties; provided, however, that it may engage 
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lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
in the activities set forth in clause (i)(IX), 
(X) and (XI). 
‘‘(D) GOVERNANCE.— 
‘‘(i) BOARD OF DIRECTORS.—The me-
chanical licensing collective shall have a 
board of directors consisting of 10 voting 
members and 3 nonvoting members, as fol-
lows: 
‘‘(I) Eight voting members shall 
be music publishers to which song-
writers have assigned exclusive rights 
of reproduction and distribution of 
musical works with respect to covered 
activities; provided, however, that no 
such music publisher member may be 
owned by, or under common control 
with, any other board member. 
‘‘(II) Two voting members shall 
be professional songwriters who have 
retained and exercise exclusive rights 
of reproduction and distribution with 
respect to covered activities with re-
spect to musical works they have au-
thored. 
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‘‘(III) One nonvoting member 
shall be a representative of the non-
profit trade association of music pub-
lishers that represents the greatest 
share of the licensor market for uses 
of musical works in covered activities, 
as measured over the preceding 3 full 
calendar years. 
‘‘(IV) One nonvoting member 
shall be a representative of the digital 
licensee coordinator, provided that a 
digital licensee coordinator has been 
designated pursuant to subsection 
(d)(5)(B). Otherwise, the nonvoting 
member shall be the nonprofit trade 
association of digital licensees that 
represents the greatest share of the li-
censee market for uses of musical 
works in covered activities, as meas-
ured over the preceding 3 full cal-
endar years. 
‘‘(V) 
One 
nonvoting 
member 
shall be a representative of a nation-
ally recognized nonprofit trade asso-
ciation whose primary mission is advo-
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cacy on behalf of American song-
writers. 
‘‘(ii) BOARD
MEETINGS.—The board 
of directors shall meet no less than 2 times 
per year and discuss matters pertinent to 
the operations, including the budget, of the 
board of directors. 
‘‘(iii) OPERATIONS
ADVISORY
COM-
MITTEE.—The board of directors of the 
mechanical licensing collective shall estab-
lish an operations advisory committee con-
sisting of no fewer than 6 members to 
make recommendations to the board of di-
rectors concerning the operations of the 
mechanical licensing collective, including 
the efficient investment in and deployment 
of information technology and data re-
sources. Such committee shall have an 
equal number of— 
‘‘(I) copyright owners of musical 
works who are appointed by the board 
of directors of the mechanical licens-
ing collective; and 
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‘‘(II) representatives of digital 
music providers who are appointed by 
the digital licensee coordinator. 
‘‘(iv) UNCLAIMED
ROYALTIES
OVER-
SIGHT COMMITTEE.—The board of direc-
tors of the mechanical licensing collective 
shall establish and appoint an unclaimed 
royalties oversight committee consisting of 
10 members, 6 of which shall be copyright 
owners of musical works and 4 of which 
shall be professional songwriters whose 
works are used in covered activities. 
‘‘(v) 
DISPUTE
RESOLUTION
COM-
MITTEE.—The board of directors of the 
mechanical licensing collective shall estab-
lish and appoint a dispute resolution com-
mittee consisting of no fewer than 6 mem-
bers, which committee shall include an 
equal number of representatives of copy-
right owners of musical works and profes-
sional songwriters. 
‘‘(E) MUSICAL WORKS DATABASE.— 
‘‘(i) ESTABLISHMENT
AND
MAINTE-
NANCE OF DATABASE.—The mechanical li-
censing collective shall establish and main-
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tain a database of musical works (and 
shares of such works) and, to the extent 
known, the identity and location of the 
copyright owners of such works (and 
shares thereof) and the sound recordings 
in which they are embodied. In furtherance 
of maintaining such database, the mechan-
ical licensing collective shall engage in ef-
forts to identify the musical works em-
bodied in particular sound recordings, as 
well as to identify and locate the copyright 
owners of such works (and shares thereof), 
and update such data as appropriate. 
‘‘(ii) MATCHED WORKS.—With respect 
to musical works (and shares thereof) that 
have been matched to copyright owners, 
the musical works database shall include— 
‘‘(I) the title of the musical work; 
‘‘(II) the copyright owner of the 
work (or share thereof), and such 
owner’s ownership percentage; 
‘‘(III) contact information for 
such copyright owner; 
‘‘(IV) to the extent available— 
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‘‘(aa) 
the 
international 
standard musical work code for 
the work; and 
‘‘(bb) identifying informa-
tion for sound recordings in 
which the musical work is em-
bodied, including the name of the 
sound recording, featured artist, 
producer, international standard 
recording code, and other infor-
mation commonly used to assist 
in associating sound recordings 
with musical works; and 
‘‘(V) such other information as 
the Register of Copyrights may pre-
scribe by regulation. 
‘‘(iii) UNMATCHED WORKS.—With re-
spect to unmatched works (and shares of 
works) in the database, the musical works 
database shall include— 
‘‘(I) to the extent available— 
‘‘(aa) the title of the musical 
work; 
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‘‘(bb) the ownership percent-
age for which an owner has not 
been identified; 
‘‘(cc) if a copyright owner 
has been identified but not lo-
cated, the identity of such owner 
and such owner’s ownership per-
centage; 
‘‘(dd) identifying informa-
tion for sound recordings in 
which the work is embodied, in-
cluding sound recording name, 
featured artist, producer, inter-
national standard recording code, 
and other information commonly 
used to assist in associating 
sound recordings with musical 
works; and 
‘‘(ee) any additional infor-
mation reported to the mechan-
ical licensing collective that may 
assist in identifying the work; 
and 
‘‘(II) such other information re-
lating to the identity and ownership of 
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musical works (and shares of such 
works) as the Register of Copyrights 
may prescribe by regulation. 
‘‘(iv) SOUND
RECORDING
INFORMA-
TION.—Each copyright owner of musical 
works shall engage in commercially reason-
able efforts to deliver to the mechanical li-
censing collective for use in the musical 
works database, to the extent such infor-
mation is not then available in the data-
base, information regarding the names of 
the sound recordings in which that copy-
right owner’s musical works (or shares 
thereof) are embodied, to the extent prac-
ticable. 
‘‘(v) ACCESSIBILITY OF DATABASE.— 
The musical work database shall be acces-
sible to the public in a searchable, online 
format free of charge. The mechanical li-
censing collective shall also make such 
database available free of charge in a bulk, 
machine-readable format, via a widely 
available software application, to— 
‘‘(I) digital music providers oper-
ating under valid notices of license; 
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‘‘(II) significant nonblanket li-
censees; and 
‘‘(III) authorized vendors of the 
entities described in subclauses (I) 
and (II). 
‘‘(vi) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS.— 
The Register of Copyrights shall establish 
requirements by regulations to ensure the 
usability, interoperability, and usage re-
strictions of the musical works database. 
‘‘(F) NOTICES
OF
LICENSE
AND
NON-
BLANKET ACTIVITY.— 
‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The mechanical li-
censing collective shall receive, review, and 
confirm or reject notices of license from 
digital music providers, as provided in sub-
section (d)(2)(A). The collective shall 
maintain a current, publicly accessible list 
of blanket licenses obtained by digital 
music providers under this subsection that 
includes contact information for the licens-
ees and the effective dates of such licenses. 
‘‘(ii) PUBLIC LIST OF NOTICES.—The 
mechanical licensing collective shall receive 
notices of nonblanket activity from signifi-
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cant nonblanket licensees, as provided in 
subsection (d)(6)(A). The collective shall 
maintain a current, publicly accessible list 
of notices of nonblanket activity submitted 
by significant nonblanket licensees that in-
cludes contact information for such licens-
ees and the dates of receipt of such no-
tices. 
‘‘(G) COLLECTION AND DISTRIBUTION OF 
ROYALTIES.— 
‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Upon receiving re-
ports of usage and payments of royalties 
from digital music providers for covered 
activities, the mechanical licensing collec-
tive shall— 
‘‘(I) engage in efforts to— 
‘‘(aa) identify the musical 
works embodied in sound record-
ings reflected in such reports, 
and the copyright owners of such 
musical works (and shares there-
of); 
‘‘(bb) confirm uses of musi-
cal works subject to voluntary 
and individual download licenses, 
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and the corresponding pro rata 
amounts to be deducted from 
royalties that would otherwise be 
due under the blanket license; 
and 
‘‘(cc) confirm proper pay-
ment of royalties due; 
‘‘(II) distribute royalties to copy-
right owners in accordance with the 
usage and other information contained 
in such reports, as well as the owner-
ship and other information contained 
in its records; and 
‘‘(III) deposit royalties that can-
not be distributed due to an inability 
to identify or locate a copyright owner 
of a musical work (or share thereof), 
or due to a pending dispute before the 
dispute resolution committee of the 
mechanical licensing collective, in an 
interest-bearing account as provided 
in subparagraph (H)(ii). 
‘‘(ii) REGULATIONS REQUIRED.—The 
Register of Copyrights shall adopt regula-
tions regarding adjustments to reports of 
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usage by digital music providers, including 
establishing mechanisms to account for 
overpayments and underpayments made in 
prior periods. 
‘‘(H) HOLDING
OF
ACCRUED
ROYAL-
TIES.— 
‘‘(i) HOLDING PERIOD.—The mechan-
ical licensing collective shall hold accrued 
royalties associated with particular musical 
works (and shares of works) that remain 
unmatched for a period of at least 3 years 
from the date on which the funds were re-
ceived by the mechanical licensing collec-
tive, or at least 3 years from the date on 
which they were accrued by a digital music 
provider that subsequently transferred 
such funds to the mechanical licensing col-
lective pursuant to paragraph (10)(B), 
whichever period expires sooner. 
‘‘(ii) INTEREST-BEARING ACCOUNT.— 
Accrued royalties for unmatched works 
(and shares thereof) shall be maintained 
by the mechanical licensing collective in an 
interest-bearing account that earns month-
ly interest at the Federal, short-term rate, 
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such interest to accrue for the benefit of 
copyright owners entitled to payment of 
such accrued royalties. 
‘‘(I) MUSICAL
WORKS
CLAIMING
PROC-
ESS.—The mechanical licensing collective shall 
publicize the existence of accrued royalties for 
unmatched musical works (and shares of such 
works) within 6 months of receiving a transfer 
of accrued royalties for such works by publicly 
listing the works and the procedures by which 
copyright owners may identify themselves and 
provide ownership, contact, and other relevant 
information to the mechanical licensing collec-
tive in order to receive payment of accrued roy-
alties. When a copyright owner of an un-
matched work (or share of a work) has been 
identified and located in accordance with the 
procedures of the mechanical licensing collec-
tive, the collective shall— 
‘‘(i) update the musical works data-
base and its other records accordingly; and 
‘‘(ii) provided that accrued royalties 
for the musical work (or share thereof) 
have not yet been included in a distribution 
pursuant to subparagraph (J)(i), pay such 
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accrued royalties and a proportionate share 
of accrued interest associated with that 
work (or share thereof) to the copyright 
owner, accompanied by a cumulative state-
ment of account reflecting usage of such 
work and accrued royalties based on infor-
mation provided by digital music providers 
to the mechanical licensing collective. 
‘‘(J) DISTRIBUTION
OF
UNCLAIMED
AC-
CRUED ROYALTIES.— 
‘‘(i) DISTRIBUTION
PROCEDURES.— 
After the expiration of the prescribed hold-
ing period for accrued royalties provided in 
subparagraph (H)(i), the mechanical li-
censing collective shall distribute such ac-
crued royalties, along with a proportionate 
share of accrued interest, to copyright 
owners identified in its records, subject to 
the following requirements, and in accord-
ance with the policies and procedures es-
tablished under clause (ii): 
‘‘(I) The first such distribution 
shall occur in the first full calendar 
year to commence after the license 
availability date, with at least one 
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such distribution to take place in each 
calendar year thereafter. 
‘‘(II) Copyright owners’ payment 
shares for unclaimed accrued royalties 
for particular reporting periods shall 
be determined in a transparent and 
equitable manner based on data indi-
cating the relative market shares of 
such copyright owners as reflected by 
royalty payments made by digital 
music providers for covered activities 
for the periods in question, including, 
in addition to royalty payments made 
to the mechanical licensing collective, 
royalty payments made to copyright 
owners under voluntary and individual 
download licenses for covered activi-
ties, to the extent such information is 
available to the mechanical licensing 
collective. In furtherance of the deter-
mination of equitable market shares 
under this paragraph— 
‘‘(aa) the mechanical licens-
ing collective may require copy-
right owners seeking distribu-
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‘‘(B) 
EXPIRATION
OF
EXISTING
LI-
CENSES.—Except to the extent provided in sub-
paragraph (A), as of the license availability 
date, licenses obtained under this section for 
covered activities prior to the license availability 
date shall no longer continue in effect. 
‘‘(C) TREATMENT
OF
VOLUNTARY
LI-
CENSES.—A voluntary license for a covered ac-
tivity in effect as of the license availability date 
will remain in effect unless and until it expires 
according to its terms, or the parties agree to 
amend or terminate the license. In a case where 
a voluntary license for a covered activity en-
tered into before the license availability date in-
corporates the terms of this section by ref-
erence, the terms so incorporated (but not the 
rates) shall be those in effect immediately prior 
to the license availability date, and those terms 
shall continue to apply unless and until such li-
cense is terminated or amended, or the parties 
enter into a new voluntary license. 
‘‘(D) FURTHER ACCEPTANCE OF NOTICES 
FOR COVERED ACTIVITIES BY COPYRIGHT OF-
FICE.—As of the enactment date— 
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