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H.R. 848: Performance Rights Act

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H.R. 848: Performance Rights Act

111th Congress · introduced 2009-02-04 · Commerce · Latest: Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 405.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

  1. Where it came from: introduced 2009-02-04 · official record
  2. Who proposed it: Rep. Conyers, John, Jr. [D-MI-14] · what a sponsor is
  3. What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
  4. Where it stands now: Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 405. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
  5. If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

Performance Rights Act

Plain summary

Performance Rights Act - (Sec. 2) Amends federal copyright law to: (1) grant performers of sound recordings equal rights to compensation from terrestrial broadcasters (AM and FM radio); and (2) modify the circumstances under which the public performance of a sound recording is subject to statutory licensing. (Sec. 3) Establishes separate annual flat fees in lieu of royalty payments for certain minority, female, religious, rural, small, noncommercial, public, educational, and community terrestrial broadcast stations that have annual revenues falling within corresponding separate specified ranges. Prohibits such annual fees from being taken into account in any Copyright Royalty Board rate-setting proceeding or in any other federal government proceeding. Includes broadcasts of religious services and incidental uses of musical sound recordings publicly by digital audio transmission among performances of a sound recording that are not copyright infringements. (Sec. 4) Provides a per program license option for terrestrial broadcast stations that make limited feature uses of sound recordings. (Sec. 5) Prohibits: (1) license fees payable for the public performance of sound recordings from being used in any governmental proceeding to set the license fees payable to copyright owners of musical works for the public performance of their works to adversely affect such license fees; (2) a licensee of a sound recording from publicly performing such sound recording unless a license has been granted for the public performance of any copyrighted musical work contained in the sound recording; (3) anything in this Act from adversely affecting the public performance rights or royalties payable to songwriters or copyright owners of musical works; and (4) rates established by the Copyright Royalty Judges for the public performance of sound recordings from being used in any governmental proceeding to adversely affect license fees payable to copyright owners of musical works for the public performance of their works by terrestrial broadcast stations. (Sec. 6) Entitles a featured recording artist who performs on a sound recording that has been licensed for public performance by means of an audio transmission to payments from the sound recording's copyright owner in accordance with the terms of the artist's contract. Requires: (1) sound recording copyright owners to deposit 1% of the receipts from their licensing of public performance rights by means of an audio transmission into the American Federation of Musicians and American Federation of Television and Radio Artists Intellectual Property Rights Distribution Fund for distribution to nonfeatured performers who have performed on sound recordings; and (2) the Fund to pay 50% to nonfeatured musicians and 50% to nonfeatured vocalists. (Sec. 7) Prohibits a broadcaster's payment of royalties on underlying works publicly performed by terrestrial broadcast stations from affecting that broadcaster's public interest obligations to its local community under the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulations related to radio broadcast services. (Sec. 8) Directs copyright royalty judges making determinations or adjustments of rates and terms of copyright royalty payments for public performances of sound recordings, to consider the effect of such rates and terms on: (1) religious, minority-owned, female-owned, small, and noncommercial broadcasters; (2) non-music programming, including local news and information programming for stations that are part of station groups located in one designated market area; and (3) religious, minority or minority-owned, and female or female-owned royalty recipients.

Congressional Research Service summary (Reported to House with amendment(s)), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

What a vote does

A “Yea” vote

If it passes both chambers and is signed, it becomes law.

A “Nay” vote

If it is not passed, current law stays as it is.

PSI Sci description of the legislative step (not an opinion).

What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

Performance Rights Act

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Reported to House with amendment(s))

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The strongest published arguments

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Alternatives

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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Rep. Conyers, John, Jr. [D-MI-14] · 55 cosponsors

Cost estimate: CBO cost estimate: H.R. 848, Performance Rights Act (2009-07-07); CBO cost estimate: H.R. 848, Performance Rights Act (2009-07-07)

Cosponsors on this site

Darrell Issa (R-CA), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), Steve Cohen (D-TN), Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), Henry C. "Hank" Johnson, Jr. (D-GA), Adam B. Schiff (D-CA), Brad Sherman (D-CA), Linda T. Sánchez (D-CA), Paul Tonko (D-NY), Yvette D. Clarke (D-NY), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO), Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), John Garamendi (D-CA), Janice D. Schakowsky (D-IL)

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Words on this page, explained (3)
Obligation
A binding promise by a government agency to pay money, for example by signing a contract or awarding a grant. Spending data such as USAspending.gov counts money when it is obligated, which can be before it is actually paid out.
Rulemaking
The process agencies use to write regulations that carry out laws passed by Congress or a legislature. Usually an agency publishes a proposed rule, takes public comments, then publishes a final rule.
Statute
A written law passed by a legislature. A statute can be changed by a later law; changing a constitution needs an amendment.

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Record fed-us-cong111-hr848 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong111 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong111