Federal Copyright Royalty Judges have released updated cost-of-living figures for 2026 that touch several statutory royalty programs at once, covering how noncommercial educational radio stations pay for certain music catalogs, how phonorecords are manufactured and distributed, and how satellite carriers pay compulsory licensing fees. These new figures take hold on January 1, 2026 and remain in force through December 31, 2026, meaning broadcasters, music rightsholders, and any licensee working under the Copyright Act’s statutory system need to take note.
College and Educational Radio Stations See Their 2026 Rate Change
Among the updates is a cost-of-living increase affecting what noncommercial stations based at colleges, universities, and comparable educational institutions — provided they are not linked to National Public Radio — will owe in 2026 for playing published nondramatic musical works drawn from the catalogs of SESAC Performing Rights, LLC and Global Music Rights, LLC. This particular change falls under the statutory license governing noncommercial broadcasters, and it stays in place across the whole of 2026.
The change carries weight because it directly touches stations operating within academic settings that depend on statutory licenses to legally air copyrighted songs as part of everyday programming. While the bulletin stops short of spelling out the precise new dollar figure, it does confirm this update fits within the Copyright Royalty Board’s standard yearly process of adjusting rates for inflation.
New 2026 Pricing Arrives for Physical Records and Permanent Digital Downloads
A separate cost-of-living update touches the statutory license that governs producing and distributing phonorecords of nondramatic musical compositions — specifically covering physical record formats as well as Permanent Downloads. According to the Copyright Royalty Judges, these revised rates take effect January 1, 2026 and run through the close of that year on December 31.
This shift carries real consequences for companies that press and ship releases under the phonorecords statutory license, spanning both tangible product and the digital download formats the rule addresses. The bulletin names the licensing category involved and spells out when it takes effect, though it stops short of listing the actual rate schedule or specific dollar figures in the text supplied.
Satellite Radio Providers Face a 2.9 Percent Rate Increase
The third update centers on the compulsory license rates that satellite carriers must pay. Copyright Royalty Judges pegged this cost-of-living bump at 2.9 percent for the royalty rates satellite operators owe under the Copyright Act, calculating the figure from the shift in the Consumer Price Index between October 2024 and September 2025.
Just like the other categories, this satellite carrier adjustment applies to the 2026 rate year in full, starting January 1 and lasting through December 31. Although the bulletin withholds the updated dollar amounts from the supplied text, it does spell out both the 2.9 percent figure and the CPI window used to reach it.
The Copyright Royalty Board Keeps Up Its Yearly Rate Review
According to the bulletin, these three changes are simply part of the Copyright Royalty Board’s ordinary, recurring work of setting and adjusting rates. Each notice reportedly comes with a link pointing readers toward further detail, even though the text provided here omits the actual rate tables or dollar totals tied to the new figures.
In practical terms, the announcement means three distinct areas of statutory licensing will see inflation-driven changes take effect in 2026: the fees noncommercial educational stations pay to use SESAC and GMR repertories, the rates tied to manufacturing and distributing phonorecords in physical and permanent-download form, and the compulsory license rates satellite carriers pay. All three rate changes share the same window, running for the entirety of the 2026 calendar year.
Nothing in the supplied bulletin text points to any additional procedural steps, ongoing disputes, or implementation details beyond the cost-of-living adjustments themselves and their 2026 effective dates.
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