By Ahmad Hathout
The CRTC has contract work to purchase Canadian music data for its public database.
The contract, opened for bids Tuesday and valued at $95,000, seeks a supplier from which to purchase data and metadata to supplement its existing bank of information which it says is “incomplete or insufficient” to assist it in classifying Canadian content.
The supplied information “is meant to be integrated seamlessly within a data management tool procured from a third-party Contractor allowing CRTC staff to handle, validate, and certify high volumes of Canadian content using data and metadata on an ongoing basis,” the contract reads.
“On a larger scale, this data will be used to determine the Canadian status of each selection, which will be shared to the public through open data, as well as used by the CRTC’s radio monitoring team to perform better and more accurate monitoring of the Canadian musical landscape,” it adds.
Earlier this year, the regulator opened a consultation on the definition and discoverability of Canadian audio content, which includes a proposal to increase the playtime for certain Canadian music. In order to ensure compliance with future rules on that front, the commission said it needs to have a better grasp of the available Canadian music out there, so it has committed to creating said public database.
According to the contract document, the CRTC seeks – for specific pre-selected musical titles – data on the copyright splits of lyricists and composers as well as identifier codes including the International Standard Musical Work Code (ISWC), the Interested Party Information (IPI), and the International Performer Number (IPN).
The CRTC is looking for the supplier to deliver the data on approximately 35,000 titles over a three-year period, with the option to purchase data on up to 50,000 up-to-date individual music selection, it said, adding the data will remain the property of the contractor.
Within six months, the CRTC expects information on at least 10,000 titles; within six to nine months, it expects data on at least 3,000 titles; within nine and 12 months, it wants at least another 3,000 titles; and expects at least data on 2,000 titles in each of the remaining quarters until the end of the contract, which is slated for June 30, 2030.
The start of the contract is July 1 and its bid close date is June 18.
