TORONTO – The success of Canadian music creators like The Weeknd, Drake and Alessia Cara helped to drive huge increases in music streaming revenues for 2016, according to the Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada (SOCAN).
The performing rights organization said Tuesday that it set new records last year for the royalties identified, collected and distributed to its more than 150,000 members. SOCAN’s total revenue of approximately $330 million was 8% higher than the $310 million posted in 2015, while distribution to members exceeded $285 million for the first time ever.
Domestic revenue of nearly $265 million was up approximately 8%, and also a new high for SOCAN, while foreign royalties of approximately $66 million increased 30% from only three years ago. AV composers also experienced “substantial growth” of at least 47% to more than $20 million collected for streamed works in film and television.
Internet audio streaming revenues were the star, jumping more than 460% (approximately $13 million) over 2015 streaming revenue.
"SOCAN's work to lead the global transformation of music rights continues, benefitting music creators and publishers even more in terms of royalties identified, collected, and distributed in Canada and worldwide”, said CEO Eric Baptiste, in the news release. "Our efforts to improve our technology, partnerships and alliances, to be more accurate, more comprehensive, and faster are paying off for our members with new revenue and distribution records across-the-board in 2016."
