Allocation for Music Producers Act or the AMP Act
Amends federal copyright law to require a collective designated by the Copyright Royalty Judges to implement a policy providing for the acceptance of instructions (referred to as a "letter of direction") from a person who owns the exclusive right to publicly perform a sound recording by means of a digital audio transmission, or from a recording artist of a such a sound recording, to distribute a portion of royalty payments to a producer, mixer, or sound engineer who was part of the creative process behind the sound recording.
Requires the collective to adopt special procedures for a producer, mixer, or sound engineer to receive a portion of royalties for recordings fixed before November 1, 1995, by certifying that a reasonable effort has been made to obtain a letter of direction from an artist who owns the right to receipts payable with respect to the sound recording.
[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1457 Introduced in House (IH)]
114th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 1457
To amend title 17, United States Code, to provide for direct payment of
statutory sound recording performance royalties to record producers,
and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 19, 2015
Mr. Crowley (for himself and Mr. Rooney of Florida) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend title 17, United States Code, to provide for direct payment of
statutory sound recording performance royalties to record producers,
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 ``Allocation for Music Producers Act''
or the ``AMP Act''.
SEC. 2. PAYMENT OF STATUTORY PERFORMANCE ROYALTIES.
(a) Letter of Direction.--Section 114(g) of title 17, United States
Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
``(5) Letter of direction.--A collective designated by the
Copyright Royalty Judges to distribute receipts from the
licensing of transmissions in accordance with subsection (f)
shall adopt and reasonably implement a policy that provides, in
circumstances determined by the collective to be appropriate,
for acceptance of instructions from a payee identified in
subparagraph (A) or (D) of paragraph (2) to distribute a
portion of the payments to which the payee otherwise would be
entitled from the licensing of transmissions of a particular
sound recording to a producer, mixer, or sound engineer who was
part of the creative process that created the sound recording
(in this section, referred to as a `letter of direction'). To
the extent that the collective accepts a letter of direction,
the person entitled to payment pursuant to such letter of
direction shall, during the time such letter of direction is in
effect and followed by the collective, be treated for all
purposes as the owner of the right to receive such payment.
This paragraph shall not be interpreted to imply that a
collective cannot accept or act upon payment instructions in
other circumstances.''.
(b) Additional Provisions for Recordings Fixed Before November 1,
1995.--Section 114(g) of title 17, United States Code, as amended by
subsection (a), is further amended by adding at the end the following
new paragraph:
``(6) Sound recordings fixed before november 1, 1995.--
``(A) Payment absent letter of direction.--A
collective designated by the Copyright Royalty Judges
to distribute receipts from the licensing of
transmissions in accordance with subsection (f) shall
adopt and reasonably implement a policy that provides,
in circumstances determined by the collective to be
appropriate, for deduction of 2 percent of the receipts
from the licensing of transmissions of a sound
recording fixed before November 1, 1995, from receipts
otherwise payable to the recording artist or artists
featured on such sound recording (or the persons
conveying rights in the artists' performance in the
sound recordings) pursuant to paragraph (2)(D) (which
leaves the recording artist or artists featured on such
sound recording (or the persons conveying rights in the
artists' performance in the sound recordings) 43
percent of the total receipts paid pursuant to
paragraph (2)) and distribution of such amount to one
or more persons described in subparagraph (B), after
deduction of costs as described in paragraph (3) or
(4), as applicable, if each of the following
requirements is met:
``(i) Certification of attempt to obtain a
letter of direction.--A person described in
subparagraph (B) certified to the collective,
under penalty of perjury, that--
``(I) for a period of at least 4
months, that person made reasonable
efforts to contact the artist payee for
such sound recording to request and
obtain a letter of direction
instructing the collective to pay a
portion of the royalties from the
featured recording artist or artists to
that person; and
``(II) during the period beginning
on the date that person began the
reasonable efforts described in
subclause (I) and ending on date of
that person's certification to the
collective, the artist payee did not
definitively affirm or deny the request
for a letter of direction.
``(ii) Collective attempt to contact
artist.--After receipt of the certification
described in clause (i) and for a period of at
least 4 months before the collective's first
distribution to the person described in
subparagraph (B), the collective attempted to
notify the artist payee of the certification
made by the person described in subparagraph
(B) in a manner reasonably determined by the
collective.
``(iii) No objection received.--An
objection to the distribution has not been
submitted to the collective by the artist payee
as of the date that is 10 business days before
the date on which the first distribution is
made.
``(B) Eligibility for payment.--A person shall be
eligible for payment under subparagraph (A) if such
person--
``(i) is a producer, mixer, or sound
engineer of the relevant sound recording;
``(ii) has entered into a written contract
with a record company involved in the creation
or lawful exploitation of the relevant sound
recording, or with the recording artist or
artists featured on such sound recording (or
the persons conveying rights in the artists'
performance in the sound recordings), pursuant
to which such person is entitled to participate
in royalty payments based on exploitation of
the relevant sound recording that are payable
from royalties otherwise payable to the
recording artist or artists featured on such
sound recording (or the persons conveying
rights in the artists' performance in the sound
recordings); and
``(iii) made a contribution, of a nature
subject to copyright protection under section
102, to the creation of the relevant sound
recording; and
``(iv) submits a written certification to
the collective stating, under penalty of
perjury, that such person meets the
requirements in clauses (i) through (iii) and
includes a true copy of the contract described
in clause (ii).
``(C) Multiple certifications.--Subject to
subparagraph (D), in a case in which more than one
person described in subparagraph (B) has met the
requirements for a distribution pursuant to
subparagraph (A) with respect to a sound recording as
of the date that is 10 business days before the date on
which a distribution is made, the collective shall
divide the 2 percent distribution equally among all
such persons.
``(D) Objection to payment.--Not later than 10 days
after the collective receives from the artist payee a
written objection to a distribution made pursuant to
subparagraph (A), the collective shall cease making any
further payment related to such distribution. In any
case in which the collective has made one or more
distributions pursuant to subparagraph (A) to a person
described in subparagraph (B) before the date that is
10 business days after the date on which the collective
receives an objection by the artist payee to such
distribution, the objection shall not affect that
person's entitlement to any distribution made before
the collective ceases such distribution pursuant to
this subparagraph.
``(E) Ownership of the right to receive payments.--
To the extent that the collective determines that a
distribution will be made pursuant to subparagraph (A)
to a person described in subparagraph (B), such person
shall during the period of such distribution be treated
for all purposes as the owner of the right to receive
such payments.
``(F) Artist payee defined.--In this paragraph, the
term `artist payee' means a person, other than a person
described in subparagraph (B), who owns the right to
receive all or part of the receipts payable under
paragraph (2)(D) with respect to a sound recording. In
a case in which there are multiple artist payees with
respect to a sound recording, an objection by one such
payee shall apply only to that payee's share of the
receipts payable under paragraph (2)(D), and does not
preclude payment under subparagraph (A) from the share
of an artist payee that does not object.''.
(c) Technical and Conforming Amendments.--Section 114(g) of title
17, United States Code, as amended by subsections (a) and (b), is
further amended--
(1) in paragraph (2), by striking ``An agent designated''
and inserting ``Except as provided for in paragraph (6), a
collective designated by the Copyright Royalty Judges'';
(2) in paragraph (3)--
(A) by striking ``agent designated'' and inserting
``collective designated by the Copyright Royalty
Judges''; and
(B) by striking ``agent'' and inserting
``collective'', each place it appears; and
(3) in paragraph (4), by striking ``agent'' and inserting
``collective'', each place it appears.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet.
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