CHANGES
SOCAN Collects Over $405M, But Says Average
Domestic Digital Royalties Still Too Low
SOCAN has released its preliminary numbers for the fiscal year 2019,
reporting that its annual collections exceeded $400 million for the first
time. The estimated total is $405.5 million collected, an eight per cent
increase over the previous record of $375 million set in 2018.
SOCAN attributed most of the approximately $30 million in growth to
an increase of approximately $23 million in collections from digital sources, as
well as an additional $7 million from reproduction rights collections following
SOCAN’s 2018 acquisition of SODRAC.
While digital collections ($86.1 million) increased by approximately $23 million, up 38 per cent over the $62.5 million collected in 2018, a
SOCAN member who earned any royalties last year received an average of only $67 from domestic digital royalties – despite it being a $13
(24 per cent) increase over the 2018 average of $54.
“It is clear that more must be done to improve the SOCAN writer and publisher’s share from streaming royalties,” says SOCAN CEO Eric
Baptiste. “The Canadian government has acknowledged that Canadian content rules and discoverability must be modernized for the digital
age. If music creation – the lifeblood of Canada’s music industry – is not supported quickly through the development of updated rules, there
could be dire economic and cultural consequences.”
For more information, visit www.socan.ca.
Six Shooter Records Launches Know & Tell
Mentorship Program
Facebook Launches New Music Features in
Canada
Facebook and Instagram have launched new music-focused features
in Canada that were previously not possible because of licensing
restrictions.
Among the new features, Facebook and Instagram users in Can-
ada can now add a song to their photos and videos on their Stories.
As well, users can add videos with music to a new music section on
their Facebook profile. Songs can also be pinned to the top of a pro-
file, which shares the artist’s name and track. The popular Instagram
Stories questions sticker also now has music.
“Facebook has licensed music from the largest societies in
Canada, independent Canadian labels, and global major labels,” a
Facebook representative told Canadian Musician in an email, though
did not specify details or which labels or music rights organizations.
“We work directly with these entities to ensure artists and songwrit-
ers are compensated.”
Facebook says it has created unique Canadian-specific themes, so
when searching for a song to include in a personal video or Story, Ca-
nadians will find a large library of music by Canadian artists, including
Indigenous and Francophone artists and popular stars.
12 CANADIAN MUSICIAN
Canadian indie label Six Shooter Records, home to White-
horse, Tanya Tagaq, Rheostatics, and others, is celebrating its
20 th anniversary throughout 2020. As part of its anniversary
initiatives, the label and management company launched a
new mentorship program called Know & Tell, in which it will
offer free 45-minute appointments, either in-person or via video
conference, to give participants general advice, consultation,
and encouragement. To make an appointment, applicants are
invited to fill out an online form to be matched with a resident
expert from the label’s 17-person team.
For more information and to sign up, go to
www.sixshooterrecords.com/knowandtell
FACTOR Backs Keychange Women’s
Mentorship Program
FACTOR is supporting a new Keychange mentorship initiative
with a $350,000 investment over four years. This international
mentorship program, started by the PRS Foundation in the U.K.,
will involve 74 artists and industry professionals in professional
development and exchange programs targeted to women in
the music industry. The eight Canadian participants, four artists
and four music innovators, were chosen after a lengthy applica-
tion process and a review by the Keychange selection commit-
tee. This is the largest individual national delegation.
The first meeting of participants took place in Sweden in
February. Participants will receive year-long mentorship via She-
SaidSo, attend one European festival, and a meeting at Reeper-
bahn Festival. The program will continue until 2023 with a new
cohort chosen every year and an equivalent investment from
FACTOR and other partners, including the SOCAN Foundation.
For more information, go to www.factor.ca.