37 C.F.R. § 380.21 – Royalty fees for the public performance of sound recordings and for ephemeral recordings.

(a) Minimum fee for eligible Noncommercial Educational Webcasters. 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. (1) 2026: $800;
2. (2) 2027: $850;
3. (3) 2028: $900;
4. (4) 2029: $950; and
5. (5) 2030: $1,000.
(b) Consequences of unexpectedly exceeding the ATH cap. In the case of a Noncommercial Educational Webcaster eligible to pay royalties under paragraph (a) of this section that unexpectedly makes total transmissions in excess of 160,000 ATH on any individual channel or station in any calendar month during the applicable calendar year:
1. (1) The Noncommercial Educational Webcaster shall, for such month and the remainder of the calendar year in which such month occurs, pay royalties in accordance, and otherwise comply, with the provisions of subpart B of this part applicable to Noncommercial Webcasters;
2. (2) The Minimum Fee paid by the Noncommercial Educational Webcaster for such calendar year will be credited to the amounts payable under the provisions of subpart B of this part applicable to Noncommercial Webcasters; and
3. (3) The Noncommercial Educational Webcaster shall, within 30 days after the end of each month, notify the Collective if it has made total transmissions in excess of 160,000 ATH on a channel or station during that month; pay the Collective any amounts due under the provisions of subpart B of this part applicable to Noncommercial Webcasters; and provide the Collective a statement of account pursuant to subpart A of this part.
(c) Royalties for other Noncommercial Educational Webcasters. A Noncommercial Educational Webcaster that is not eligible to pay royalties under paragraph (a) of this section shall pay royalties in accordance, and otherwise comply, with the provisions of subpart B of this part applicable to Noncommercial Webcasters.
(d) Estimation of performances. In the case of a Noncommercial Educational Webcaster that is required to pay royalties under paragraph (b) or (c) of this section on a per-Performance basis, that is unable to calculate actual total Performances, and that is not required to report actual total performances under § 380.22(d)(3), the Noncommercial Educational Webcaster may pay its applicable royalties on an ATH basis, provided that the Noncommercial Educational Webcaster shall calculate such royalties at the applicable per-Performance rates based on the assumption that the number of sound recordings performed is 12 per hour. The Collective may distribute royalties paid on the basis of ATH hereunder in accordance with its generally applicable methodology for distributing royalties paid on such basis. In addition, and for the avoidance of doubt, a Noncommercial Educational Webcaster offering more than one channel or station shall pay per-Performance royalties on a per-channel or -station basis.
(e) Allocation between ephemeral recordings and performance royalty fees. The Collective must credit 5% of all royalty payments as payment for Ephemeral Recordings and credit the remaining 95% to section 114 royalties. All Ephemeral Recordings that a Licensee makes which are necessary and commercially reasonable for making Educational Transmissions are included in the 5%.