Default/Standard rates
1Eligible Services
First, ensure your service is eligible to operate under the statutory license. Begin by reviewing the U.S. Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C., §§ 112 and 114 to familiarize yourself with the applicable requirements that would govern your service. For more information about statutory licensing, please review the Licensing 101 section on our website.
These rates, set by the Copyright Royalty Board, are to be paid by all non-commercial webcasters operating under the statutory license, until and unless they have elected into alternate rates and terms as published in the Federal Register. In order to be eligible for these non-commercial rates, webcasters must be registered as tax-exempt under Section 501 of the Internal Revenue Code or is operated by a state or possession or any other governmental entity, for exclusively public purposes. NPR or CPB affiliate stations, or those wholly owned by a state or federal government entity may also be eligible.
2Terms
View all rates and terms in the Code of Federal Regulations (37 C.F.R. Part380) Non-commercial webcasters are afforded a minimum fee of $500 per channel or station, which covers all usage up to 159,140 aggregated tuning hours per channel or station monthly. Any usage above that cap will accrue a “per performance” rate for each track played.
Services will be required to supply regular reporting in accordance with regulations. For more information about reporting and payment requirements, see “How Do I Pay”.
3Rates
For usage beyond the annual ATH cap, the following commercial rates apply:
| Year | Per Performance | ATH Other programming | ATH Broadcast simulcast programming | ATH Non-music programming |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | $0.0008 | $0.0123 | $0.0092 | $0.0008 |
| 2007 | $0.0011 | $0.0169 | $0.0127 | $0.0011 |
| 2008 | $0.0014 | NA | NA | NA |
| 2009 | $0.0018 | |||
| 2010 | $0.0019 |
4Reporting and Recordkeeping Requirements
Services generally must provide regular reporting (actual recordings played and total listenership) within 45 days of the end of the month. The current requirements are for full census reporting for each month. These requirements enable SoundExchange to most accurately process royalty payments to artists and copyright holders. For more information, see our reporting requirements page.
5Notices of Use
Eligible webcasters wishing to operate under statutory licensing must provide notice to the Copyright Royalty Board of your intent to operate under the statutory license by submitting a Notice of Use of Sound Recordings Under Statutory License (“Notice of Use”). This form must be submitted directly to the copyright office, not to SoundExchange, and need only be filed once. The Notice of Use must be accompanied by a $25 filing fee and should be submitted to the Copyright Royalty Board at the address listed on the form. Please note that the Copyright Royalty Board WILL NOT confirm receipt of form and fee. If you wish to receive confirmation of receipt, you will need to send via certified mail, return receipt requested.
6Compliance
Services must provide all minimum fees, monthly statements of account and payments, and reports of use to SoundExchange as required by law. For guidelines and forms, see “How Do I Pay?”