Canadian Musician - January/February 2018 | Page 13

Bell Media, Music Canada & Re:Sound Partner to Improve
Radio Royalty Collections
Music Canada, Re:Sound, and Bell Media have launched new advancements in cross-platform reporting. The new process aligns terrestrial
broadcast data with digital to serve music industry stakeholders with greater efficiency, transparency, and accountability.
Bell Media radio stations are now automatically tracking complete sound recording data, including International Standard Recording
Codes (ISRC), on new tracks from major record labels and independent label partners. With the elimination of manual processes, the new re-
porting system has resulted in cleaner data, which significantly benefits all rights holders, such as artists, background musicians, songwriters,
and music publishers, through organizations (SOCAN, CMRRA, SODRAC, etc.) relying on broadcast data to get royalties to rights holders.
The new system is part of an ongoing project to develop administrative efficiencies by Music Canada and Re:Sound. Through consolidat-
ing multiple data sets, maximizing the use of ISRC, and other improvements, the project has so far resulted in faster payouts and 28 per cent
more revenue for major labels and members of CIMA (the Canadian Independent Music Association), according to the organizations.
Music Canada & SOCAN
Welcome Copyright
Act Review
In mid-December 2017, the Minister of In-
novation, Science and Economic Develop-
ment, Navdeep Bains, in conjunction with
Mélanie Joly, Minister of Canadian Heritage,
launched the federal government’s review
of the Copyright Act with a motion asking
the Standing Committee on Industry, Sci-
ence and Technology to conduct a study
on the issue. The review of the Copyright
Act was expected as the 2012 reforms
mandated a five-year review in order to
assess its effectiveness.
“Music creators, and all creators who
depend on copyright, deserve a Copyright
Act that protects their rights when their
works are commercialized by others,” says
Music Canada President Graham Hen-
derson. “This is our chance to address the
value gap threatening the livelihood of
Canadian creators and the future of Cana-
dian culture.”
Music Canada says it will be participat-
ing in the process to “ensure that creators
are fairly compensated for the use of their
works under the revised Act.”
“Canadian copyright legislation is lag-
ging behind that of other G7 countries, and
I hope that, through this review, Canada
will want to assume a world leadership
position on copyright, as it does on other
issues,” adds SOCAN CEO Eric Baptiste.
“In a sector in turmoil, especially with the
arrival of new ways to consume and listen
to music, more than ever we need strong
copyright protection to ensure that music
creators and publishers are fairly compen-
sated for their work.”
SOCAN will work with the various par-
liamentary committees that will review the
current law to provide expertise.
W W W. C A N A D I A N M U S I C I A N . CO M
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