Re:Sound Streaming Tariff (2013–2018)

Summary#

This notice publishes the Re:Sound Non-Interactive and Semi-Interactive Streaming Tariff, 2013-2018 (a tariff setting royalties for certain past streaming uses). It was published by the Copyright Board on December 2, 2023 and requires affected services to report and pay amounts owing by March 4, 2024.

What it does#

• Sets per-play royalty amounts for non-interactive and semi-interactive streams for three time periods:
  • January 1, 2013 – August 12, 2014:
    • CBC non-interactive/semi-interactive: $0.000131 per file played
    • Other services non-interactive: $0.000102 per file played
    • Other services semi-interactive: $0.000089 per file played
  • August 13, 2014 – December 31, 2017:
    • All services (non-interactive and semi-interactive): $0.000193 per file played
  • January 1, 2018 – December 31, 2018:
    • All services (non-interactive and semi-interactive): $0.000208 per file played
• Imposes a minimum annual fee of $100 per service.
• Allows one single free trial of up to 31 days in any 12-month period with no royalty.
• Requires monthly royalty payments due 45 days after the end of each month, unless otherwise stated.
• Sets a deadline of March 4, 2024 for amounts owing under the tariff (with added interest using transitional factors).
• Interest on late payments is calculated daily at a rate of 1% above the Bank Rate (no compounding).
• Requires monthly reporting of detailed play data (track titles, performers, counts, identifiers like ISRC/ISWC, running time, etc.) and service identification information — generally within 45 days after each month or after a service’s first month of activity.
• Requires services to keep records for six years and allows Re:Sound to audit those records. Reports are treated as confidential but can be shared in limited ways (for example, with rights organizations and the Copyright Board).

Who's affected#

• Services that carried out non-interactive or semi-interactive streaming to Canadian listeners during 2013–2018. This includes internet radio, webcasters and any service that simulcast a radio signal over the internet, subject to some exclusions.
• The tariff explicitly treats simulcasts by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) and some other broadcast categories differently in certain cases, but other simulcasts into Canada (including by non-Canadian commercial stations) are generally covered.
• On-demand streams, downloads, podcasts and background-music supplier communications are excluded from this tariff.
• If it’s unclear whether a particular service’s streams count as non-interactive, semi-interactive or on-demand, that uncertainty remains in the text.

Why it matters#

• The tariff sets the specific amounts that streaming services owe for plays between 2013 and 2018, and establishes a firm reporting and payment deadline (March 4, 2024) for those past years. That can create backdated bills for services that did not previously pay under these rates.
• Even very small per-play fees can add up when a service has many plays. Services may face new costs or administrative work to assemble the required reports and records.
• The rules give Re:Sound audit and enforcement powers and require six years of record retention. That matters to services that must be ready to produce detailed play logs.
• For most listeners, there is no direct change to how they listen. But platforms might change their business practices, free-trial policies, or pricing to account for these charges.