SOCAN Tariff for Online Music Videos

Summary#

This Canada Gazette notice publishes the Copyright Board’s SOCAN Tariff 22.A.2 – Online Music Video Services (2014-2018). It sets the royalties that online music-video services must pay SOCAN for using songs in music videos from 2014 through 2018, and it requires detailed monthly reports and quarterly payments, with outstanding amounts due by September 25, 2026.

What it does#

• Sets how royalties are calculated for on-demand and recommended music-video streams: the greater of 2.99% of a service’s gross monthly revenue or 0.07¢ per stream that needs a SOCAN licence.
• Requires online music-video services to send detailed metadata about each music video and usage data no later than 20 days after the end of each month. Required data include identifiers, titles, performers, ISRC/ISWC codes, play counts, subscriber counts and revenue.
• Requires quarterly royalty payments due no later than 20 days after each quarter ends.
• Requires services to keep records for six years and allows SOCAN to audit those records. If an audit finds royalties understated by more than 10%, the service must pay the audit costs within 30 days.
• Includes confidentiality rules for reported data, with limited exceptions (for example, sharing with the Copyright Board or to distribute royalties).
• Sets interest rules for late payments: interest accrues daily at a rate equal to 1% above the Bank Rate.
• Contains transitional rules saying any amounts owed under the tariff are due September 25, 2026, and that outstanding amounts will be increased using specified interest factors for each quarter from 2014 to 2018. Reports under the new rules must also be filed by September 25, 2026.

Who's affected#

• Online music-video services that predominantly offer music videos (including cloud-based services).
• Services that provide on-demand or recommended streams and therefore need a SOCAN licence.
• Music creators and rights-holders represented by SOCAN (songwriters, composers, publishers) who may receive royalties for past use.
• Authorized distributors and platforms that host or distribute music-video streams.
• The tariff does not apply to services that are mainly audio-only platforms, sites for games, online services that transmit mostly user-generated content, or the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.

Why it matters#

• Services may owe money for past streaming activity from 2014–2018, with interest added up to the September 25, 2026 due date.
• Platforms will need to provide detailed technical and sales data each month. That creates an administrative burden and could affect smaller services more.
• The tariff clarifies how royalty payments are calculated for music in videos. That affects how much money flows to songwriters, performers and publishers represented by SOCAN.
• The rules may influence how online video services negotiate licences, set prices, or design features that affect how music is delivered to users.