case may be, with any new designation to be effective as of the first day of a month that is no less than 6 months and no longer than 9 months after the date of publication of such notice, as specified by the Register. (II) If a new entity is designated as a mechanical licensing collective, the Register shall adopt regulations to govern the transfer of licenses, funds, records, data, and administrative responsibilities from the existing mechanical licensing collective to the new entity. (iii) Closest alternative designation If the Register is unable to identify an entity that fulfills each of the qualifications set forth in clauses (i) through (iii) of subparagraph (A), the Register shall designate the entity that most nearly fulfills such qualifications for purposes of carrying out the responsibilities of the mechanical licensing collective. (C) Authorities and functions (i) In general The mechanical licensing collective is authorized to perform the following functions, subject to more particular requirements as described in this subsection: (I) Offer and administer blanket licenses, including receipt of notices of license and reports of usage from digital music providers. (II) Collect and distribute royalties from digital music providers for covered activities. (III) Engage in efforts to identify musical works (and shares of such works) embodied in particular sound recordings, and to identify and locate the copyright owners of such musical works (and shares of such works). (IV) Maintain the musical works database and other information relevant to the administration of licensing activities under this section. (V) Administer a process by which copyright owners can claim ownership of musical works (and shares of such works), and a process by which royalties for works for which the owner is not identified or located are equitably distributed to known copyright owners. (VI) Administer collections of the administrative assessment from digital music providers and significant nonblanket licensees, including receipt of