Performing Rights | Neighbouring Rights | Mechanicals | Streaming
The collectives, and what each does.
SOCAN: performing rights and, since absorbing SODRAC in 2018, reproduction rights in musical works.
Re:Sound: equitable remuneration for performers and makers of published sound recordings.
CMRRA: mechanical and reproduction rights in musical works for publishers and self published writers.
On demand streaming sits outside equitable remuneration and is licensed directly.
Quick Answer
How do musicians actually get paid in Canada?
Through several parallel channels, and the common problem is being registered with some and not others. SOCAN administers performing rights in musical works and, since acquiring SODRAC in 2018, reproduction rights as well, so the description of SOCAN as a performing rights society only is out of date. Re:Sound administers the equitable remuneration right under section 19 of the Copyright Act, which entitles the performer and the maker of a published sound recording to be paid for its performance in public or communication to the public, with section 19(3) splitting that fifty fifty between performers in aggregate and makers in aggregate. CMRRA administers mechanical and reproduction rights in musical works for publishers and self published songwriters. There is one structural point that surprises people: on demand streaming is expressly carved out of the equitable remuneration right and is instead an exclusive right of the performer and the maker, licensed directly rather than through a tariff.
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TWO COPYRIGHTS, SEPARATE INCOME
The Song and the Recording
Every income stream in music traces back to the split between the musical work and the sound recording. The composition generates income for writers and publishers. The recording generates separate income for performers and makers.
A songwriter who did not perform on the record earns from the composition and nothing from the recording. A session performer who wrote nothing earns from the recording and nothing from the composition. An artist who wrote and performed and funded the session earns from both, in several capacities at once, and needs to be registered in each of them.
This is why artists find money missing. Being a SOCAN member does not register you for neighbouring rights, and being represented for neighbouring rights does nothing for your mechanicals. The channels are separate by design.
EQUITABLE REMUNERATION
Section 19, and Its Carve Out
Section 19 provides that where a sound recording has been published, the performer and the maker are entitled to equitable remuneration for its performance in public or its communication to the public by telecommunication. Section 19(3) allocates fifty per cent in aggregate to performers and fifty per cent in aggregate to makers. Re:Sound administers this.
The critical qualification is in section 19(1) itself. The right does not extend to communications falling within paragraphs 15(1.1)(d) and 18(1.1)(a), which are the making available and on demand transmissions, nor to retransmissions. Those are exclusive rights of the performer and the maker instead, licensed directly by rightsholders rather than collected through a tariff.
That is why Re:Sound covers non interactive and semi interactive webcasting and not on demand streaming, and it is why streaming income arrives through the label or distributor rather than through a collective. Re:Sound says so plainly: interactive services such as download and on demand streaming are licensed directly by the record labels.
ELIGIBILITY
Not Every Recording Qualifies
Section 20 limits who may claim under section 19. It applies where the maker was, at the date of first fixation, a Canadian citizen or permanent resident or a corporation headquartered in Canada, or where all the fixations took place in Canada, with parallel provisions for Rome Convention and WPPT countries.
The Act also allows the Minister to limit the scope and duration of these rights by statement where reciprocity is lacking, which is the mechanism by which certain foreign repertoire is treated differently. The detail of which countries are affected changes and should be checked rather than assumed.
There is also an exclusion built into the definition of sound recording itself in section 2: a soundtrack of a cinematographic work is excluded where it accompanies the work. So a recording used in a film generates no section 19 remuneration when performed with the film, which is a meaningful gap for performers whose work reaches audiences mainly through screen use.
THE COLLECTIVES
Who to Register With
SOCAN represents composers, authors and music publishers, administers both performing and reproduction rights in musical works, and since the SODRAC transaction in 2018 also represents visual artists. Entandem, a joint venture of SOCAN and Re:Sound, handles public performance licensing of Canadian businesses such as bars, restaurants and retail.
Re:Sound administers the section 19 right and distributes through member organisations representing performers and makers. Its membership has changed recently, so an artist relying on older guidance about which organisation to join may be looking at a body that no longer performs that role.
CMRRA administers mechanical and reproduction rights in musical works for publishers and self published songwriters, licensing services including streaming platforms and radio. A songwriter signed to a publisher is generally represented through the publisher rather than directly. This part of the landscape has been consolidating, so the right first step is to confirm the current position rather than rely on a list.
Common Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is SOCAN not enough on its own?
Because SOCAN covers rights in the musical work. Income from the sound recording, meaning the performer and maker share of equitable remuneration, comes through Re:Sound and its member organisations. If you performed on records as well as writing them, SOCAN membership alone leaves that stream uncollected.
Do I get paid through Re:Sound for Spotify streams?
No. On demand streaming is expressly excluded from the equitable remuneration right by section 19(1) and is instead an exclusive right licensed directly by rightsholders. Re:Sound covers non interactive and semi interactive webcasting. Streaming income reaches you through your label or distributor.
Is SOCAN only a performing rights society?
Not any more. SOCAN administers reproduction rights as well as performing rights, following its acquisition of SODRAC which closed in 2018. Descriptions of SOCAN as performing rights only reflect the position before that transaction.
My recording was used in a film. Do I get neighbouring rights income?
Generally not for the use with the film. Section 2 excludes from the definition of sound recording any soundtrack of a cinematographic work where it accompanies the work, so no section 19 remuneration arises for that use. Payment for screen use is normally contractual, through the synchronisation and master use licences.
How long does copyright in a recording last?
Under section 23(1.1) a sound recording is protected for 70 years from the end of the year of first fixation, but if it is published before that expires, the term becomes the earlier of 75 years from first publication and 100 years from first fixation. Note this is not the same as the widely quoted older formulation, which was replaced in July 2020.
Start My Enquiry
Sort Out Where Your Royalties Are Going
Tell us what you write, what you perform on and what you funded. Those three answers determine which channels you should be registered in, and it is usually more than you are in now.
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The firm charges a fee for substantive consultations, including in civil litigation,
criminal defence and immigration matters. The firm may waive that fee at its discretion.
Any fee is disclosed in advance and credited in full toward your account if you retain the
firm.
Referral fees
Where we refer a matter to another firm, including through LexKonnect, we comply with Rule 3.6-6.1 of the Law Society of Ontario’s Rules of Professional Conduct. Any referral fee is set out in the Law Society’s standard referral agreement, signed by you before the referral proceeds, and no fee is payable to us unless and until the receiving firm has been paid for its work. You are never obliged to accept a referral and are free to retain any firm you choose. No referral arrangement affects the independent professional judgment of any lawyer at this firm.
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Limitation periods
Failure to start a proceeding within the applicable limitation period may permanently bar
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under the Limitations Act, 2002, S.O. 2002, c. 24, Sched. B.
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