§1006 Entitlement to Royalty Payments

Summary

Money deposited under section 1005 must be paid out to copyright owners and other claimants whose musical works or sound recordings were included in digital or analog recordings that were released or publicly sent during the payment period, as long as they file a claim under section 1007. The money is split into two funds. Sixty-six and two-thirds percent goes to the Sound Recordings Fund and thirty-three and one-third percent goes to the Musical Works Fund. From the Sound Recordings Fund, 2 and 5/8 percent is put into an escrow for nonfeatured musicians (managed by an administrator chosen by the copyright parties and the American Federation of Musicians or its successor), and 1 and 3/8 percent is put into an escrow for nonfeatured vocalists (managed by an administrator chosen by the copyright parties and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists or its successor). The rest of the Sound Recordings Fund is split 60/40 between two groups named elsewhere in the law. The Musical Works Fund is split equally: 50 percent to music publishers and 50 percent to writers. If members of any group cannot agree on how to divide their share, the Copyright Royalty Judges will divide it based on how much each recording or musical work was distributed or transmitted during the period.