§ 385.12 - Calculation of royalty payments in general.

§ 385.12 Calculation of royalty payments in general.

(a) Applicable royalty. Licensees that make or authorize licensed activity pursuant to 17 U.S.C. 115 shall pay royalties therefor that are calculated as provided in this section, subject to the minimum royalties and subscriber-based royalty floors for specific types of services provided in § 385.13, except as provided for certain promotional uses in § 385.14.

(b) Rate calculation methodology. Royalty payments for licensed activity shall be calculated as provided in paragraph (b) of this section. If a service includes different offerings, royalties must be separately calculated with respect to each such offering taking into consideration service revenue and expenses associated with such offering. Uses subject to the promotional royalty rate shall be excluded from the calculation of royalties due, as further described in this section and the following § 385.13.

(1) Step 1: Calculate the All-In Royalty for the Offering. For each accounting period, the all-in royalty for each offering of the service provider is the greater of

(i) The applicable percentage of service revenue associated with the relevant offering as set forth in paragraph (c) of this section (excluding any service revenue derived solely from licensed activity uses subject to the promotional royalty rate), and

(ii) The minimum specified in § 385.13 of the offering involved.

(2) Step 2: Subtract Applicable Performance Royalties. From the amount determined in step 1 in paragraph (b)(1) of this section, for each offering of the service provider, subtract the total amount of royalties for public performance of musical works that has been or will be expensed pursuant to public performance licenses in connection with uses of musical works through such offering during the accounting period that constitute licensed activity (other than licensed activity subject to the promotional royalty rate). Although this amount may be the total of the service's payments for that offering for the accounting period , it will be less than the total of such public performance payments if the service is also engaging in public performance of musical works that does not constitute licensed activity. In the case where the service is also engaging in the public performance of musical works that does not constitute licensed activity, the amount to be subtracted for public performance payments shall be the amount of such payments allocable to licensed activity uses (other than promotional royalty rate uses) through the relevant offering, as determined in relation to all uses of musical works for which the public performance payments are made for the accounting period. Such allocation shall be made on the basis of plays of musical works or, where per-play information is unavailable due to bona fide technical limitations as described in step 4 in paragraph (b)(4) of this section, using the same alternative methodology as provided in step 4.

(3) Step 3: Determine the Payable Royalty Pool. The payable royalty pool is the amount payable for the reproduction and distribution of all musical works used by the service provider by virtue of its licensed activity for a particular offering during the accounting period. This amount is the greater of

(i) The result determined in step 2 in paragraph (b)(2) of this section, and

(ii) The subscriber-based royalty floor resulting from the calculations described in § 385.13.

(4) Step 4: Calculate the Per-Work Royalty Allocation for Each Relevant Work. This is the amount payable for the reproduction and distribution of each musical work used by the service provider by virtue of its licensed activity through a particular offering during the accounting period. To determine this amount, the result determined in step 3 in paragraph (b)(3) of this section must be allocated to each musical work used through the offering. The allocation shall be accomplished by dividing the payable royalty pool determined in step 3 for such offering by the total number of plays of all musical works through such offering during the accounting period (other than promotional royalty rate plays) to yield a per-play allocation, and multiplying that result by the number of plays of each musical work (other than promotional royalty rate plays) through the offering during the accounting period. For purposes of determining the per-work royalty allocation in all calculations under this step 4 only (i.e., after the payable royalty pool has been determined), for sound recordings of musical works with a playing time of over 5 minutes, each play shall be counted as provided in paragraph (d) of this section. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the service provider is not capable of tracking play information due to bona fide limitations of the available technology for services of that nature or of devices useable with the service, the per-work royalty allocation may instead be accomplished in a manner consistent with the methodology used by the service provider for making royalty payment allocations for the use of individual sound recordings.

(c) Percentage of service revenue. The percentage of service revenue applicable under paragraph (b) of this section is 10.5%.

(d) Overtime adjustment. For purposes of the calculations in step 4 in paragraph (b)(4) of this section only, for sound recordings of musical works with a playing time of over 5 minutes, adjust the number of plays as follows:

(1) 5:01 to 6:00 minutes - Each play = 1.2 plays

(2) 6:01 to 7:00 minutes - Each play = 1.4 plays

(3) 7:01 to 8:00 minutes - Each play = 1.6 plays

(4) 8:01 to 9:00 minutes - Each play = 1.8 plays

(5) 9:01 to 10:00 minutes - Each play = 2.0 plays

(6) For playing times of greater than 10 minutes, continue to add .2 for each additional minute or fraction thereof.

(e) Accounting. The calculations required by paragraph (b) of this section shall be made in good faith and on the basis of the best knowledge, information and belief of the licensee at the time payment is due, and subject to the additional accounting and certification requirements of 17 U.S.C. 115(c)(5) and § 201.19 of this title. Without limitation, a licensee's statements of account shall set forth each step of its calculations with sufficient information to allow the copyright owner to assess the accuracy and manner in which the licensee determined the payable royalty pool and per-play allocations (including information sufficient to demonstrate whether and how a minimum royalty or subscriber-based royalty floor pursuant to § 385.13 does or does not apply) and, for each offering reported, also indicate the type of licensed activity involved and the number of plays of each musical work (including an indication of any overtime adjustment applied) that is the basis of the per-work royalty allocation being paid.

[74 FR 4529, Jan. 26, 2009, as amended at 78 FR 67943, Nov. 13, 2013]