Non-commercial Radio Reproduction Tariff 2020–2023

Summary#

The Canada Gazette published the CMRRA/SOCAN – Non-Commercial Radio Reproduction Tariff (2020-2023). It sets the royalties and reporting rules that non-commercial AM/FM radio stations in Canada must pay for reproducing and transmitting musical works from 2020 through 2023, and it sets a transitional payment deadline of September 29, 2025.

What it does#

• Sets annual royalty rates for traditional over‑the‑air use of music by non-commercial radio stations. Rates are calculated on brackets of gross operating costs:
  • For stations that are not French‑language:
    • on the first $625,000: 0.1472% (CMRRA) and 0.0128% (SOCAN)
    • on the next $625,000: 0.2852% (CMRRA) and 0.0248% (SOCAN)
    • on the rest: 0.4232% (CMRRA) and 0.0368% (SOCAN)
  • For French‑language stations:
    • on the first $625,000: 0.0368% (CMRRA) and 0.1232% (SOCAN)
    • on the next $625,000: 0.0713% (CMRRA) and 0.2387% (SOCAN)
    • on the rest: 0.1058% (CMRRA) and 0.3542% (SOCAN)
• Sets flat annual fees for online transmission of files (webcasts, downloads, on‑demand streams): $96 to CMRRA and $4 to SOCAN per year.
• Requires stations to provide financial reports with payments:
  • audited statements if gross operating costs are $1,250,000 or greater;
  • a report of actual gross operating costs if under $1,250,000.
• Requires stations to keep logs and metadata and to provide them on request:
  • collective societies must give 30 days’ notice and may request once per year for a period of up to 12 days;
  • stations must deliver requested information within 15 days of the requested period ending.
• Record retention and audit rules:
  • keep program‑level records for 1 month after the period they cover;
  • keep financial records for 6 years;
  • audits may be carried out on reasonable notice; if royalties are understated by more than 15%, the station pays the audit costs.
• Special rule for small payers: stations paying less than $2,000 per year only have to submit logs for 4 days when requested.
• Payment timing and interest:
  • royalties for a calendar year are due on January 31 of the following year;
  • transitional amounts for 2020–2023 are due no later than September 29, 2025, and must be increased by specified interest factors for each year (2020: 1.1399, 2021: 1.1349, 2022: 1.1098, 2023: 1.0593).

Who's affected#

• Primarily licensed non-commercial AM and FM radio stations in Canada (those licensed by the CRTC and not operated by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation).
• The two collective societies involved: CMRRA and SOCAN.
• The change matters most to community, campus, campus‑community and other not‑for‑profit stations that play recorded music and that also offer web streaming or downloads.
• If anything above is unclear in the original tariff text, this summary notes it; the Gazette item itself contains the detailed legal language.

Why it matters#

• Stations that played or streamed recorded music between 2020 and 2023 may now owe royalties calculated under these rules, potentially creating new or larger costs and paperwork for small stations.
• There is a lump‑sum deadline (September 29, 2025) for amounts covering those years, so stations should check whether they owe money and prepare required reports and records.
• The rules also standardize what information stations must keep and provide, and allow audits, so stations should review their logging and metadata practices to avoid disputes or penalty costs.