{
  "id": "RL34020",
  "type": "CRS Report",
  "typeId": "REPORTS",
  "number": "RL34020",
  "active": false,
  "source": "EveryCRSReport.com, University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department",
  "versions": [
    {
      "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
      "id": 355972,
      "date": "2010-01-28",
      "retrieved": "2016-04-07T01:59:30.502124",
      "title": "Statutory Royalty Rates for Digital Performance of Sound Recordings: Decision of the Copyright Royalty Board",
      "summary": "Under the Copyright Act, Internet radio broadcasters, or \u201cwebcasters,\u201d that stream copyrighted music to their listeners are obliged to pay royalty fees to the sound recording copyright owners at statutory rates established by the Copyright Royalty Board (CRB). However, some webcasters may also have the option of paying different royalty fees that are privately negotiated with SoundExchange, the entity that collects performance royalties on behalf of sound recording copyright owners and recording artists. \nOn March 9, 2007, the CRB announced statutory royalty rates for certain digital transmissions of sound recordings by webcasters for the royalty period January 1, 2006, through December 31, 2010. Several webcasters appealed the CRB\u2019s decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. The appellants argued that the rates were unreasonably high and that the absence of a cap on minimum fees paid per licensee was arbitrary and capricious. On July 10, 2009, the federal court of appeals issued a decision that upheld nearly all aspects of the CRB\u2019s determination of rates.\nTwo recent laws, the Webcaster Settlement Act of 2008 (WSA of 2008; P.L. 110-435) and the Webcaster Settlement Act of 2009 (WSA of 2009; P.L. 111-36), facilitated the ability of webcasters to enter into voluntary agreements with SoundExchange that provide alternative royalty rates that substitute for the statutory rates established under the CRB\u2019s decision. These agreements generally permit a webcaster to pay lower rates and may cover a longer royalty period. Pursuant to the WSA of 2008 and 2009, voluntarily negotiated royalty agreements were reached between SoundExchange and the following entities: the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (for the online streaming of public radio stations); the National Association of Broadcasters (for online simulcasts by FM and AM radio stations); a group of \u201csmall\u201d webcasters; certain \u201cpureplay\u201d commercial webcasters (those that derive nearly all of their revenue from the streaming of sound recordings) such as Pandora, Live365.com, and AccuRadio; noncommercial educational webcasters (college-affiliated Internet radio stations); noncommercial religious broadcasters (that stream their AM/FM programming over the Internet); and Sirius XM (concerning Internet streaming of Sirius programming as opposed to its satellite-transmitted programming).\nAlthough the above settlements cover the same royalty period as the CRB\u2019s determination (from 2006 through 2010), some rate agreements extend beyond that period, until the end of 2015. Thus, webcasters that are parties to extended agreements need not participate in the CRB proceedings to determine statutory royalty rates for the period 2011 to 2015, which were initiated in January 2009. Any webcaster that chooses not to opt-in to a settlement agreement with SoundExchange must instead comply with the applicable statutory rates and terms established by the CRB for the period 2006-2010, and will be subject to any new rates that the CRB determines for 2011-2015. \nThis report surveys the legislative history of this issue, the CRB\u2019s rate decision, and the congressional and public response.",
      "type": "CRS Report",
      "typeId": "REPORTS",
      "active": false,
      "formats": [
        {
          "format": "HTML",
          "encoding": "utf-8",
          "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/RL34020",
          "sha1": "eb35115f5b63cf1f3e8f46cb5e1f88597e70a793",
          "filename": "files/20100128_RL34020_eb35115f5b63cf1f3e8f46cb5e1f88597e70a793.html",
          "images": null
        },
        {
          "format": "PDF",
          "encoding": null,
          "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/RL34020",
          "sha1": "c0c377bba314153ec49eb0a813647dc1f3a4544b",
          "filename": "files/20100128_RL34020_c0c377bba314153ec49eb0a813647dc1f3a4544b.pdf",
          "images": null
        }
      ],
      "topics": []
    },
    {
      "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department",
      "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc809235/",
      "id": "RL34020_2009Aug27",
      "date": "2009-08-27",
      "retrieved": "2016-03-19T13:57:26",
      "title": "Statutory Royalty Rates for Digital Performance of Sound Recordings: Decision of the Copyright Royalty Board",
      "summary": null,
      "type": "CRS Report",
      "typeId": "REPORT",
      "active": false,
      "formats": [
        {
          "format": "PDF",
          "filename": "files/20090827_RL34020_90e974df65d06443561036ee0437fa492a302e86.pdf"
        },
        {
          "format": "HTML",
          "filename": "files/20090827_RL34020_90e974df65d06443561036ee0437fa492a302e86.html"
        }
      ],
      "topics": []
    },
    {
      "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department",
      "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc806234/",
      "id": "RL34020_2009Mar23",
      "date": "2009-03-23",
      "retrieved": "2016-03-19T13:57:26",
      "title": "Statutory Royalty Rates for Digital Performance of Sound Recordings: Decision of the Copyright Royalty Board",
      "summary": null,
      "type": "CRS Report",
      "typeId": "REPORT",
      "active": false,
      "formats": [
        {
          "format": "PDF",
          "filename": "files/20090323_RL34020_cedb9bb3b6ac87bff9671c36edbcabbf8ab76e3a.pdf"
        },
        {
          "format": "HTML",
          "filename": "files/20090323_RL34020_cedb9bb3b6ac87bff9671c36edbcabbf8ab76e3a.html"
        }
      ],
      "topics": []
    },
    {
      "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department",
      "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc815201/",
      "id": "RL34020_2008Oct19",
      "date": "2008-10-19",
      "retrieved": "2016-03-19T13:57:26",
      "title": "Statutory Royalty Rates for Digital Performance of Sound Recordings: Decision of the Copyright Royalty Board",
      "summary": null,
      "type": "CRS Report",
      "typeId": "REPORT",
      "active": false,
      "formats": [
        {
          "format": "PDF",
          "filename": "files/20081019_RL34020_e72503b1f583a75679a66ec27ee847fe0cc30d2f.pdf"
        },
        {
          "format": "HTML",
          "filename": "files/20081019_RL34020_e72503b1f583a75679a66ec27ee847fe0cc30d2f.html"
        }
      ],
      "topics": []
    },
    {
      "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department",
      "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc818882/",
      "id": "RL34020_2007May25",
      "date": "2007-05-25",
      "retrieved": "2016-03-19T13:57:26",
      "title": "Statutory Royalty Rates for Digital Performance of Sound Recordings: Decision of the Copyright Royalty Board",
      "summary": null,
      "type": "CRS Report",
      "typeId": "REPORT",
      "active": false,
      "formats": [
        {
          "format": "PDF",
          "filename": "files/20070525_RL34020_d9eebd26027bb0b5224f48b86fb4007e5f6b7a86.pdf"
        },
        {
          "format": "HTML",
          "filename": "files/20070525_RL34020_d9eebd26027bb0b5224f48b86fb4007e5f6b7a86.html"
        }
      ],
      "topics": []
    }
  ],
  "topics": []
}