Deal to ease process for businesses that want to play music

The two organizations that oversee Canada’s mandatory music licensing regime have agreed to end a seven-year-war and join forces in a bid to make it easier on consumers to pay for the licenses they need to play music in public places.

In a news release sent Wednesday morning, officials from Re: Sound, a member of the Canadian Private Copyright Collective, and the Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada (SOCAN) announced they would be launching a company called Entandem, which will be co-owned by the two licensing initiatives. The new organization will launch in July. Until then, the licensing will continue to be administered separately.

“Entandem is all about simplicity,” said Ian MacKay, president of Re: Sound. “For most businesses that use music, a single licensing organization means a simplified experience, by interacting with one organization instead of two, with one payment for both Re: Sound and SOCAN music licenses, and one point of contact to answer questions and resolve issues.”

As of 2012, Canadian business owners had to begin purchasing two licences from two different organizations if they wanted to play music in the background of their operation. One licence is to be obtained from SOCAN, which handles live music licences in Canada. The second must be obtained from Re: Sound which is responsible for collecting tariffs on media used to record music.

The licences are required under Canadian Copyright laws and enforced by the Copyright Board of Canada. Ignoring the licences can be a costly gamble. Businesses caught playing music without a licence are often forced to settle with the collectives in order to avoid astronomical legal fees. Enforcement officers have been known to patrol malls, community events and other venues looking for infringers.

Pricing varies depending on the event or business, its size and the number of clients. A small-business owner, such as a hair salon or clothing retailer, could expect to spend as much as $1.23 for each square foot of their store for licences from SOCAN and Re: Sound annually. Other events, such as receptions, assemblies and conventions where music is played, could be charged between $22.06 and $93.78 depending on attendance. If dancing is taking place at that reception, the levy doubles.

An amusement park is expected to pay $5.40 for each 1,000 people who attend the park. Karaoke bars are looking at between $205.20 and $295.68, depending on the number of days they offer sing alongs. Exhibitions and fairs are to pay between $13.75 and $69 per day depending on attendance. Buskers are expected to pay $34.93 per day, up to a maximum of $239.21 annually.

In 2012, a spokesman for Re: Sound said the two licensing bodies would not be working together to unify the licensing regime. However, that position seemed to have softened in recent years as in 2017 the two began a trial project that combined music licensing for both organizations using an online portal.

Entandem is the culmination of the organizations’ work to simplify their licensing regimes.