Bill > HR791

This bill, the American Music Fairness Act of 2023, aims to provide fair treatment of radio stations and artists for the use of sound recordings. The key provisions are: 1. Establishing a performance right applicable to audio transmissions, including terrestrial (non-digital) broadcasts, which were previously exempt from such a right. This ensures equitable treatment between terrestrial and internet-based music services. 2. Requiring the Copyright Royalty Judges to commence a proceeding to determine royalty rates and terms for non-subscription broadcast transmissions, effective from the date of the bill's enactment and to be repeated every five years. 3. Providing special protection for small broadcasters, setting lower royalty rates for stations with revenue under $1.5 million in the previous year, to support smaller entities. 4. Specifying that the royalty rates for small broadcasters shall not be considered in determining royalty rates in other proceedings, to prevent these lower rates from affecting the standard rates. 5. Requiring entities with direct licenses for transmissions otherwise covered by statutory licenses to pay 50% of those royalties to the collective designated to distribute statutory licensing receipts. 6. Ensuring the bill does not adversely affect the public performance rights or royalties of songwriters and copyright owners of musical works. 7. Directing the Copyright Royalty Judges to consider whether the use of a terrestrial broadcast station's service may substitute for or promote the sales of sound recordings and the station's impact on the sound recording copyright owner's other revenue streams.