2026-06055: Adjustment to Sound Recordings by New Subscription Services and Ephemeral Recordings To Facilitate Those Performances License 2026 Royalty Rates
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The Copyright Royalty Judges announce an adjustment (based on CPI-U figures) in the royalty for the digital performances of sound recordings by new subscription services and for the making of ephemeral recordings necessary to facilitate those transmissions.
The agency’s own summary, as published.
The rule, in full
696 words as published, March 30, 2026. View the original →
Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 60 (Monday, March 30, 2026) [Federal Register Volume 91, Number 60 (Monday, March 30, 2026)] [Rules and Regulations] [Pages 15543-15544] From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] [FR Doc No: 2026-06055] ======================================================================= ----------------------------------------------------------------------- LIBRARY OF CONGRESS Copyright Royalty Board 37 CFR Part 383 [Docket No. 23-CRB-0013-NSR (2026-2030)] Adjustment to Sound Recordings by New Subscription Services and Ephemeral Recordings To Facilitate Those Performances License 2026 Royalty Rates
Agency
Copyright Royalty Board (CRB), Library of Congress.
Action
Final rule--technical amendment. -----------------------------------------------------------------------
Summary
The Copyright Royalty Judges announce an adjustment (based on CPI-U figures) in the royalty for the digital performances of sound recordings by new subscription services and for the making of ephemeral recordings necessary to facilitate those transmissions.
Dates
Effective date: March 30, 2026. Applicability dates: These rates are applicable to the period January 1, 2026, through December 31, 2030.
For Further Information Contact
Anita Brown, (202) 707-7658, [email protected].
Supplementary Information
Sections 112(e) and 114(f) of the Copyright Act, title 17 of the United States Code, create statutory licenses for certain digital performances of sound recordings and the making of ephemeral reproductions to facilitate transmission of those sound recordings. On March 10, 2026, the Copyright Royalty Judges (Judges) adopted final regulations governing the rates and terms of copyright royalty payments under those licenses for the license period 2026-2030 for the digital performances of sound recordings by new subscription services and for the making of ephemeral recordings [[Page 15544]] necessary to facilitate those transmissions. See 91 FR 11471. Pursuant to those regulations, the calculation of the rate for each year shall be cumulative based on a calculation of the percentage increase in the CPI-U from the CPI-U published in November 2024 (CPI- U%) and shall be made according to the following formulas: (A) For Stand-Alone Contracts, (1 + (Cy-315.664)/315.664) x $0.0234; and (B) For Bundled Contracts, (1 + (Cy-315.664)/315.664) x $0.0390; and (ii) For both formulas, Cy is the CPI-U published by the Secretary of Labor before December 1 of the preceding year. The adjusted rate shall be rounded to the nearest fourth decimal place. See 37 CFR 385.3. The CPI-U published by the Secretary of Labor from the most recent index published before December 1, 2025, is 324.800.\1\ Applying the formulas above, adjusted rates for 2026 are $0.0241 for standalone contracts and $0.0401 for bundled contracts. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- \1\ The CPI-U announced on October 24, 2025, by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in its Consumer Price Index News Release--Consumer Price Index, is available at https://www.bls.gov/news.release/archives/cpi_10242025.htm. The Copyright Royalty Judges note that the October 24, 2025, publication is the most recent CPI-U published by the Secretary of Labor before December 1 of the preceding year (i.e., 2026). The Bureau of Labor statistics has explained ``BLS could not collect October 2025 reference period survey data due to a lapse in appropriations.'' See https://www.bls.gov/bls/2025-lapse-revised-release-dates.htm. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- List of Subjects in 37 CFR Part 383 Copyright, Sound recordings, Webcasters. Final Regulations In consideration of the foregoing, the Copyright Royalty Board amends part 383 of title 37 of the Code of Federal Regulations as follows: PART 383--RATES AND TERMS FOR SUBSCRIPTION TRANSMISSIONS AND THE REPRODUCTION OF EPHEMERAL RECORDINGS BY CERTAIN NEW SUBSCRIPTION SERVICES 0
1. The authority citation for part 383 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 17 U.S.C. 112(e), 114, 801(b)(1). 0
2. Amend Sec. 383.3 by revising paragraphs (a)(1) and (2) to read as
follows: Sec. 383.3 Royalty fees for public performances of sound recordings and the making of ephemeral recordings. (a) * * * (1) For Stand-Alone Contracts, a monthly payment of $0.0241 per Subscriber to the Service of such Licensee, which is equivalent to the 2025 royalty rate of $0.0234, as adjusted by the annual royalty fee adjustment in paragraph (b) of this section. (2) For Bundled Contracts, a monthly payment of $0.0401 per Subscriber to the Service of such Licensee, which is equivalent to the 2025 royalty rate of $0.0390, as adjusted by the annual royalty fee adjustment in paragraph (b) of this section. * * * * * Dated: March 25, 2026. Trevor Jefferson, Interim Chief Copyright Royalty Judge. [FR Doc. 2026-06055 Filed 3-27-26; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 1410-72-P
What this changes
Amends 1 part of the Code of Federal Regulations — the standing rules this notice rewrites.
Documents
- Full text (Federal Register) · March 30, 2026
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