§380.2. Making payment of royalty fees. — Inbound Citations

(a) Each Noncommercial Educational Webcaster that did not exceed 160,000 total ATH for any individual channel or station for more than one calendar month in the immediately preceding calendar year and does not expect to make total transmissions in excess of 160,000 ATH on any individual channel or station in any calendar month during the applicable calendar year shall pay an annual, nonrefundable minimum fee in the amount set forth in paragraphs (a)(1) through (5) of this section (the “Minimum Fee”) for each of its individual channels, including each of its individual side channels, and each of its individual stations, through which (in each case) it makes Educational Transmissions, for each calendar year it makes Educational Transmissions subject to this subpart. For clarity, each individual stream (e.g., HD radio side channels, different stations owned by a single licensee) will be treated separately and be subject to a separate Minimum Fee. However, all of the streams of Digital Audio Transmissions of music programming by a Noncommercial Educational Webcaster, or by a group of affiliated Noncommercial Educational Webcasters, that are the same or have only immaterial variations (e.g., differences in station identification, acknowledgement of sponsors or occasional substitute programming) shall be treated as part of one channel or station for purposes of this section. For this purpose, two Noncommercial Educational Webcasters shall be considered affiliates if one is controlling, controlled by, or under common control with the other. This principle applies whether the streams are offered from only a single outlet or through multiple outlets (e.g., websites, broadcast radio station simulcasts, aggregators, mobile applications or other online locations where listeners can access music streaming). The Minimum Fee shall constitute the annual per channel or per station royalty for all Educational Transmissions totaling not more than 160,000 ATH in a month on any individual channel or station, and for Ephemeral Recordings to enable such Educational Transmissions. In addition, a Noncommercial Educational Webcaster electing the reporting waiver described in § 380.22(d)(1) shall pay a $100 annual fee (the “Proxy Fee”) to the Collective (for purposes of this subpart, the term “Collective” refers to SoundExchange, Inc.). The Minimum Fee for each year of the royalty period is:

(1) 2026: $800;

(2) 2027: $850;

(3) 2028: $900;

(4) 2029: $950; and

(5) 2030: $1,000.

(g) If the auditor determines the Payor underpaid royalties, the Payor shall remit the amount of any underpayment determined by the auditor to the verifying entity, together with interest at the rate specified in § 380.2(d). In the absence of mutually-agreed payment terms, which may, but need not, include installment payments, the Payor shall remit promptly to the verifying entity the entire amount of the underpayment determined by the auditor. If the auditor determines the Payor overpaid royalties, however, the verifying entity shall not be required to remit the amount of any overpayment to the Payor, and the Payor shall not seek by any means to recoup, offset, or take a credit for the overpayment, unless the Payor and the verifying entity have agreed otherwise.

(g) If the auditor determines the payor or distributor underpaid royalties, the payor or distributor shall remit the amount of any underpayment determined by the auditor to the verifying entity, together with interest at the rate specified in § 380.2(d). In the absence of mutually-agreed payment terms, which may, but need not, include installment payments, the payor or distributor shall remit promptly to the verifying entity the entire amount of the underpayment determined by the auditor. If the auditor determines the payor or distributor overpaid royalties, however, the verifying entity shall not be required to remit the amount of any overpayment to the payor or distributor, and the payor or distributor shall not seek by any means to recoup, offset, or take a credit for the overpayment, unless the payor or distributor and the verifying entity have agreed otherwise.

(g) If the auditor determines the Payor underpaid royalties, the Payor shall remit the amount of any underpayment determined by the auditor to the verifying entity, together with interest at the rate specified in § 380.2(d) of this chapter. In the absence of mutually agreed payment terms, which may, but need not, include installment payments, the Payor shall remit promptly to the verifying entity the entire amount of the underpayment determined by the auditor. If the auditor determines the Payor overpaid royalties, however, the verifying entity shall not be required to remit the amount of any overpayment to the Payor, and the Payor shall not seek by any means to recoup, offset, or take a credit for the overpayment, unless the Payor and the verifying entity have agreed otherwise.