Music rights management organization SOCAN announced Wednesday its royalty revenue grew to a record $587.1 million in 2025, a five-per-cent increase over 2024.
SOCAN said it distributed $511.9 million in royalties to songwriters, composers and music publishers in 2025, closely matching the previous year’s record of $512.4 million distributed.
Breaking down the revenue figure, SOCAN said revenue from music used in Canada increased by $23.9 million to $445.5 million, led by digital revenue sources totalling $232.8 million, an 11.5-per-cent year-over-year increase. Revenue from general licensing and concerts grew 16.1 per cent, while revenue from international territories increased by $3.9 million to $141.7 million, according to SOCAN.
Performing rights royalty distributions from music used internationally and paid to SOCAN members totalled $126 million in 2025, while performing rights distributions from music used in Canada paid to members totalled $183.8 million, SOCAN said in a press release. Reproduction rights royalty distributions totalled $11.8 million, SOCAN said.
In addition to reporting its 2025 financial results, SOCAN stressed that music creators are operating in “a rapidly shifting music-industry landscape where, alongside existing discoverability, and streaming economic challenges, AI is placing mounting pressure on music rights and the livelihoods of music creators.”
A SOCAN-Pollara survey conducted in 2025 found 81 per cent of Canadians believe supporting local music creators is essential to the future of Canadian culture, SOCAN said. The same survey found 87 per cent of Canadians want to listen to music created by humans, not AI.
In February of this year, SOCAN launched a national advocacy campaign that it says generated 8,700 letters to the Government of Canada, urging policymakers to reject any copyright exception that would allow the unlicensed use of music to train AI systems.
“The urgency of the issue reached the highest levels of government as SOCAN CEO Jennifer Brown and CISAC president Björn Ulvaeus (member of ABBA) met with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney to discuss protecting human creativity in the era of AI,” SOCAN’s press release said.
“SOCAN’s financial results show increased revenues but we all need to acknowledge that Canadian songwriters and composers are living a different reality,” Brown said in the press release. “There is an urgent need for modern protections rooted in consent, credit and compensation, to provide songwriters and composers with a reliable foundation from which to support their families and continue making music.”
SOCAN said it continued to invest in its members in 2025, by advancing key enterprise technology initiatives and advocacy work, as well as expanding educational, career and craft development opportunities, outlined in its 2025 SOCAN Annual Report, released Wednesday.
“These essential enhancements contributed to an increase in the organization’s expense-to-revenue ratio, which reached 13.4%,” SOCAN said.
The largest music rights management organization in Canada, SOCAN licenses and administers performing and reproduction rights and collects license fees on behalf of its more than 200,000 members, which include songwriters, composers and music publishers.
