Title: Ask Musicians for Music Act of 2019
Policy area: Commerce

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.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2932 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 2932

   To amend title 17, United States Code, to require broadcasters to 
obtain permission to transmit content owned by another person, and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           November 21, 2019

Mrs. Blackburn introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
               referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend title 17, United States Code, to require broadcasters to 
obtain permission to transmit content owned by another person, and for 
                            other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Ask Musicians for Music Act of 
2019''.

SEC. 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'' and 
inserting ``an''.
    (b)  Transmission Consent.--Section 114(d)(1)(A) of title 17, 
United States Code, is amended by adding after ``transmission'' the 
following: ``, 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)''.

SEC. 3. SMALL BROADCASTERS; PUBLIC AND EDUCATIONAL RADIO; PAYMENTS.

    (a) Small Broadcasters.--
            (1) Definition.--
                    (A) In general.--In this subsection, the term 
                ``small broadcaster'' means a radio station with 
                revenues in a year of less than $1,000,000, including 
                all revenues arising from or relating to the operation 
                of the station, as calculated in accordance with 
                generally accepted accounting principles in the United 
                States.
                    (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.

SEC. 4. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.

    (a) Definition.--Section 101 of title 17, United States Code, is 
amended by inserting after the item relating to ``architectural work'' 
the following:
            ``An `audio transmission' is the communication of a sound 
        recording, whether in digital, analog, or other format, through 
        which sounds are received beyond the location from which the 
        sounds are sent. An audio transmission does not include the 
        transmission of any audiovisual work.''.
    (b) Other Conforming Amendments.--Title 17, United States Code, is 
amended--
            (1) in section 112(e)(8), by striking ``a digital audio 
        transmission'' and inserting ``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'' and inserting ``an''; and
                                    (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'' and 
                                        inserting ``retransmission is a 
                                        non-simultaneous,'';
                            (ii) in paragraph (2)--
                                    (I) in the matter preceding 
                                subparagraph (A), by striking 
                                ``subscription digital'' and inserting 
                                ``subscription''; and
                                    (II) in subparagraph (C)(viii), by 
                                striking ``digital signal'' and 
                                inserting ``signal''; and
                            (iii) in paragraph (4)--
                                    (I) in subparagraph (A), by 
                                striking ``a digital audio 
                                transmission'' and inserting ``an audio 
                                transmission''; and
                                    (II) in subparagraph (B)(i), by 
                                striking ``a digital audio 
                                transmission'' and inserting ``an audio 
                                transmission'';
                    (B) in subsection (g)(2)(A), by striking ``a 
                digital'' and inserting ``an''; and
                    (C) in subsection (j)--
                            (i) in paragraph (6)--
                                    (I) by striking ``digital''; and
                                    (II) by striking ``retransmissions 
                                of broadcast transmissions'' and 
                                inserting ``broadcast transmissions and 
                                retransmissions of broadcast 
                                transmissions''; and
                            (ii) in paragraph (8), by striking 
                        ``subscription digital'' and inserting 
                        ``subscription''; and
            (3) in section 1401(b), in the matter preceding paragraph 
        (1), by striking ``a digital'' and inserting ``an''.
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