Commercial Use of Sound Recordings Amendment

Commercial Use of Sound Recordings Amendment- Amends the copyright law to give the owner of a sound recording copyright the exclusive right to perform or authorize the performance of the copyrighted work publicly. Exempts specified educational, religious, literary, and governmental performances of sound recordings from copyright infringement liability.

Limits further the exclusive right of the owner of copyrights in sound recordings of specified kinds of works to the right to perform publicly all or any part of the actual sounds fixed in such recordings.

Stipulates that the exclusive right to perform publicly, by means of a phonorecord, a copyrighted literary, musical, or dramatic work, and to perform publicly a copyrighted sound recording are separate and independent rights under this Act.

Subjects the exclusive performance right in a sound recording to compulsory licensing if phonorecords of such recording have been distributed to the public under the authority of the copyright owner. Sets forth the requirements for obtaining such license.

Establishes the royalty rates or payments for broadcast stations based on gross receipts of advertising sponsors, and gives the compulsory licensee the option of computing such royalty fees on either a prorated or blanket basis.

Directs that royalty fees shall be deposited by the Register of Copyrights in the United States Treasury and invested by the Secretary of the Treasury in interest-bearing United States securities. Establishes the procedure for the distribution of royalties to persons claiming entitlement to compulsory license fees.

Exempts certain broadcast stations and transmitters which publicly perform a copyrighted sound recording from liability for infringement and compulsory licensing requirements if the gross receipts of such stations are less than specified amounts.

Provides that if an owner of a copyright authorizes the public distribution of material objects that reproduce such copyrighted sounds but do not include any accompanying motion picture, a compulsory licensee shall be freed from further liability for infringement for the public performance of such sounds.

Directs the Copyright Royalty Tribunal to retain the services of one or more private, nongovernmental entities to monitor and value sound recording performances, distribute royalty funds to recipients, and perform other functions deemed necessary.