Copyright Board
Commission du droit d’auteur
Canada
Canada
NEWS RELEASE
1996-2006 SOCAN Internet Tariff
THE COPYRIGHT BOARD ISSUES THE SECOND PART OF THE
SOCAN
TARIFF FOR MUSIC USE OVER THE INTERNET
October 24, 2008
Ottawa. The Copyright Board of Canada today issued a decision dealing with the second part of
the Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada (SOCAN) Tariff 22 with
respect to the communication of musical works on the Internet.
The first part of that tariff was issued on October 18, 2007 and dealt exclusively with online
music services. This second part sets rates for other music uses over the Internet such as the
websites of radio and television stations as well as other sites that use musical works as part of
their Internet activities. As was the case for the first part, this second part of the tariff sets the
rates to be paid to SOCAN for the period 1996 to 2006.
“For the users already paying royalties to SOCAN for their conventional activities, today’s
decision essentially extends the existing tariffs to their Internet activities”, said Claude Majeau,
Secretary General of the Copyright Board. Hence, the rate for commercial radio stations’
websites is set at 1.5% of Internet-related revenues for low music use stations and at 4.2% for the
others. A rate of 1.9% of Internet operating costs will apply to non-commercial radio stations, a
rate these stations already pay for their conventional operations.
In addition, in recognition that not all pages of a radio station’s website contain sounds, these
rates will apply to no more than half of a site’s advertising revenues or operating costs. Users
will be allowed to further reduce this proportion in the event that less than 50% of a site’s web
pages contain sound.
Internet-only radio will also pay royalties to SOCAN according to a rate structure of between
1.5% and 5.3% of their revenues, depending on the amount of music they use.
Commercial as well as Pay and Specialty Television will pay the same rate for their Internet site
activities they already pay SOCAN for their conventional activities, that is 1.9%. They will also
pay royalties only on a fraction of the site’s revenues.
Finally, game sites will pay a rate equal to 0.8%, also applied on a fraction of the site’s revenues.
- 2
In a majority decision, Mr. Justice William J. Vancise and Mr. Stephen J. Callary also decided
not to impose a tariff on a number of disparate sites for which the main activity is not related to
music. These include, for instance, restaurants, hotels, bars and any other business websites that
use music. It also includes amateur podcasts, social networking sites such as Facebook and
MySpace and video sharing sites such as YouTube, as well as sites operated by individuals who
use music.
Such a tariff, if certified, could potentially target hundreds of thousands of users who either make
very limited use of music or attract little or no attention. SOCAN was unable to provide the
Board with any reliable evidence on these users and, in these circumstances, “it would be highly
disruptive and unfair to set a tariff for these users in the absence of any reliable benchmark”, said
Claude Majeau.
In the opinion of the majority, the amounts involved for the period 1996 to 2006 would most
probably be quite modest since many of the sites that might involve important use of music, such
as social networking (for instance, Facebook or MySpace) and video sharing sites (for instance,
YouTube), are relatively new phenomena. Mr. Majeau added that, “in any event, when the Board
hears again this tariff in the future for the years 2007 and beyond, parties will be expected to
provide the necessary evidence to allow the Board to properly assess the situation.”
For more information, please contact:
Mr. Claude Majeau
Secretary General
Copyright Board of Canada
Ottawa ON K1A 0C9
Telephone: 613-952-8621
Fax: 613-952-8630
Email: claude.majeau@cb-cda.gc.ca
Note
: The certified tariff, along with the Reasons and a Fact Sheet, can be found on the Board’s
website under “What’s New”: www.cb-cda.gc.ca
- 30 -
You are being directed to the most recent version of the statute which may not be the version considered at the time of the judgment.