OTTAWA – The Copyright Board of Canada has set the royalties that Internet music streaming services must pay for their use of sound recordings between2009 to 2012, an amount estimated at close to $500,000 per year.
Friday’s decision authorizes Canadian collective society Re:Sound Music Licensing Company to collect the royalties payable under Tariff 8 and distribute them equally (50/50) between performers (singers, musicians) and makers (record labels).
The tariff rate for commercial webcasters was set at 10.2 cents per 1,000 plays, which according to Board estimates, means that a large music streaming service with annual revenues of about $130,000 will pay annual royalties of about $7,000. Smaller sized webcasters will pay less, subject to a minimum fee of $100 per year, and the tariff rate for non-commercial webcasters is set at $25 per year.
The tariff rate for CBC was set slightly higher, at 13.1 cents per 1,000 plays, which the Board said is essentially a reflection of a higher use of the Re:Sound repertoire by CBC than by commercial webcasters. This means that CBC will be paying annual royalties of about $36,000 for all of its webcasting operations, English and French.
The decision follows a 10 day public hearing where the Board heard experts and other evidence from both Re:Sound and the potential music users who objected to the proposed tariff.
“I believe that royalties to be paid in respect of the tariff set today are fair and equitable for both the users and the copyright owners”, said Gilles McDougall, Secretary General of the Board, in a statement. “These royalty rates will not be an impediment for webcasters to do business in Canada.”
