OTTAWA – Canadian radio stations now know what their CMRRA/SODRAC (CSI) commercial radio tariffs are for the years 2005 and 2006.
Negotiated between the Canadian Association of Broadcasters and CSI, most tariff provisions continue unchanged, but the 2006 tariff now covers revenues from Internet simulcast.
CMRRA, stands for the Canadian Musical Reproduction Rights Agency, which issues licenses to users of the reproduction right in copyrighted music. Licensees pay royalties to these licenses to CMRRA (and SODRAC, its French-language equivalent) which, in turn, distributes the proceeds to its publisher clients. The publisher then distributes the songwriter’s portion of such revenues to the songwriter involved.
As for the tariff rates themselves, a low-use radio station (where it plays less than 20% music) will pay 0.12% of the station’s first $625,000 gross income in a year, 0.23% of the station’s next $625,000 gross income in a year and 0.35% on the rest. For a station with $2 million in gross revenue, it would pay $4812.50.
Any other station pays 0.27% of the station’s first $625,000 gross income in a year, 0.53% of the station’s next $625,000 and 0.8% on the rest. For a station like this pulling in $2 million a year, it would pay $11,000.
The CAB also announced it filed its written submission Friday in the judicial review launched against the last October’s Copyright Board decision on the SOCAN/NRCC Radio Tariff for 2003-07.
As reported on several times by cartt.ca in the fall of 2005 (and responded to by SOCAN), the CAB is pursuing the review in response to what its radio members say is a bad decision that will cost jobs.
The copyright collectives will file a reply to the CAB in early May, with an oral hearing to be held in the fall.
