Continuing our series on the biggest music associations in Canada. This post, meet Songwriters Association of Canada, Canadian Music Publishers Association, and the Canadian Musical Reproduction Rights Agency.
Songwriters Association of Canada (SAC)
SAC advocates on behalf of our community of songwriters to protect the value of our creations.
SAC membership includes opportunities for songwriters’ networking and technical advice. As well, work can be protected through The Canadian Song Vault.
The Songwriters Association of Canada (SAC) describes some of the issues that are currently facing its members.: First, copyright protection. S.A.C. advocates for copyright reform and has taken every step to assist the government with its consultation and review of the Copyright Act. Next is fair compensation. We conducted research and presented “The Study Concerning Fair Compensation for Music Creators in the Digital Age” to top-level decision makers and created Fair Trade Music to certify transparency and fair remuneration along the music value chain.
Canadian Music Publishers Association (CMPA)
The Canadian Music Publishers Association is actively involved in the Federal Government review of the Copyright Act. Large, profit-driven tech companies have been able to profit immensely from the creations of rights-holders without fairly compensating, if at all, the creators of the works and the companies that invest in them. also have an out-of-date private copying regime that doesn’t accommodate present-day audio recording devices such as digital recorders and tablets, as well as technologies that have yet to be invented.
Export is a key driver of growth for Canadian music publishers. 68 per cent of our members’ revenues are now from foreign sources compared to 28 per cent in 2005.
Canadian Musical Reproduction Rights Agency (CMRRA)
The Canadian Musical Reproduction Rights Agency Ltd is a music licensing collective that represents rights-holders from the single songwriter to large corporate music publishers.
CMRRA issues licences to these or organizations or individuals for the reproduction of songs, as described below. Together, the administrate or own most of the songs recorded and/or broadcast in Canada.
CMRRA collects royalties from Licensees pay royalties to which are re-distributed to our rights-holder clients. These rates are determined in accordance with negotiated agreements and tariffs by the Copyright Board of Canada.
The following services are offered by CMRRA:
- Private copying – for the collection of the private copying levy via the Canadian Private Copying Collective (CPCC)
- Mechanical licensing – for the reproduction of songs on CDs, vinyl, and similar physical products
- Online music licensing – for the reproduction of songs for distribution as permanent downloads (e.g., via iTunes), limited downloads, on-demand streaming, and webcasting
- Broadcast mechanical licensing – for the reproduction of songs by radio stations and satellite broadcasters
- Private copying – for the collection of the private copying levy via the Canadian Private Copying Collective (CPCC)
- Audiovisual post-synchronization licensing – for the reproduction of songs already embedded in existing audiovisual content (e.g., music videos)
Searching the Repertoire
CMRRA represents the majority of music publishers doing business in Canada and can generally issue most of the mechanical licences you’ll need for your product. You can perform a search of CMRRA’s Repertoire here.In some cases, however, there may be songs (or portions of songs) that CMRRA does not represent. In those cases, it’s your responsibility to obtain licences for the missing shares. There are a number of online resources available to locate copyright owners. The following organizations each have searchable online databases that we have found to be helpful in this regard:
Accueil – Musique
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