Commercial Radio Reproduction Tariff 2024–2026

Summary#

On July 8, 2023, the Copyright Board published the Commercial Radio Reproduction Tariff (2024-2026). It sets the monthly royalty rates and the reporting and record-keeping rules that commercial radio stations in Canada must follow when they reproduce music, sound recordings and performers’ performances (including some simulcasts).

What it does#

• Sets who must pay and for what: stations must pay royalties for over-the-air broadcasting and for certain simulcasts under the Copyright Act.
• Distinguishes two kinds of stations:
  • Low-use stations: those that play musical works or sound recordings for less than 20% of broadcast time (measured in a reference month). Low-use stations get lower royalty rates.
  • Other stations: pay higher rates.
• Bases fees on bands of a station’s annual revenue. The tariff uses three bands: the first $625,000, the next $625,000, and the remainder. Rates are set separately for four rights organizations: CMRRA, SOCAN, Connect/SOPROQ and Artisti. Rates also differ for French-language stations listed in Schedule A.
  • Example rates (non-French, not low-use): on the first $625,000 the fee for CMRRA is 0.1989% and for SOCAN is 0.0041%; on the rest the fee for CMRRA is 0.8095% and for SOCAN is 0.0165%. (The tariff contains full tables for all combinations.)
• Reporting and payments:
  • Stations must pay monthly (reported against a “reference month”) and report gross income for that reference month.
  • Stations must provide daily, sequential lists of all musical works and sound recordings broadcast (full music-use reporting for 365 days per year).
  • For simulcasts stations must also report simulcast gross income and listener metrics (listeners and listening hours or other available measures).
• Records and audits:
  • Stations must keep recordings and logs (the tariff requires keeping the last 90 broadcast days available for low-use checks).
  • Financial records that show gross income must be kept for 6 years; logs to support music-use must be kept for 6 months.
  • Collective societies may audit records. If royalties were understated by more than 10%, the station must pay reasonable audit costs within 30 days.
• Confidentiality and sharing:
  • Information supplied by stations is treated as confidential, but may be shared with the collective societies, Re:Sound, the Copyright Board, service providers (under confidentiality agreements), royalty claimants and where required by law.
• Late payments bear interest from the due date at a rate equal to 1% above the Bank Rate as published by the Bank of Canada. Interest does not compound.

Who's affected#

• Commercial radio stations in Canada. The tariff treats a specific set of French-language stations as such; those are listed in Schedule A of the tariff.
• The collective licensing organizations that collect and distribute the royalties: CMRRA, SOCAN, Connect, SOPROQ and Artisti. Re:Sound is named as a party that may receive audit reports.
• Stations that sell advertising, barter or bundled services: the tariff’s definition of “gross income” includes amounts paid for the use of broadcasting services, including barter and some turnkey contracts, so those kinds of revenue can affect royalty calculations.
• Service providers used by the societies to process audits or distributions (they may handle confidential station information under agreement).

Why it matters#

• Money flow to creators: the tariff determines how much radio stations pay each month to rights holders (songwriters, performers and record companies). That affects how much those creators and rights organizations receive for radio airplay.
• Business impact on stations: royalties are tied to a station’s gross income and to how much music they play. That can affect small and specialty stations differently than large ones. The detailed reporting, record-keeping and audit rules also add administrative work.
• Simulcasts and streaming: stations that stream over-the-air programming in real time must report simulcast use and may owe additional royalties.
• Risk for non-compliance: mistakes in reporting or late payments can trigger interest charges, audits and possibly paying audit costs if underpayments exceed 10%.