Canada Gazette, Part I, Volume 160, Number 26: SUPPLEMENT
COPYRIGHT BOARD
Summary
The Canada Gazette published a Copyright Board tariff from SOCAN that sets how much online music‑video services would owe for using music in videos made available between 2014 and 2018. It sets a royalty formula, reporting rules and deadlines, and requires owed amounts for those years to be reported and paid by September 25, 2026 (with interest).
What it does
The text lays out a tariff that would require online music‑video services (services that mainly offer music videos) to pay royalties for streams of music videos from 2014–2018. Royalties for a given month would be the higher of: 2.99% of that service’s gross revenue, or 0.07 cents (i.e. $0.0007) per stream that needs a SOCAN licence. It also sets monthly reporting rules (detailed metadata about each file, play counts, subscriber numbers, and revenue), quarterly payment timing, record‑keeping for six years, audit rights for SOCAN, confidentiality limits, interest on late payments, and a deadline (Sept. 25, 2026) for amounts owed for 2014–2018 with prescribed interest factors.
Who it affects
Mainly online music‑video services and their authorized distributors — meaning platforms that predominantly offer music videos (for example, cloud‑based music‑video services and similar platforms). It would not apply to sites that are audio‑only, game sites, services that mainly carry user‑generated content, or the CBC, according to the text. Rights holders represented by SOCAN (songwriters and publishers) would be the recipients of royalties. It may also affect advertisers, subscribers, and tech platforms that host or distribute music videos. If anything in the source is unclear about which exact services are covered, that is noted above.
Why it matters
If adopted, platforms that host music videos could face new or retroactive licensing bills for 2014–2018. Services will need to provide detailed data about each music video and keep records for audits. That can increase operating costs and paperwork for platforms, and could influence subscription prices, ad models, or which videos remain available. Songwriters and publishers could receive more predictable payments for past streaming of their work. The Gazette publication does not clearly state whether this is a final, binding decision or a published proposal, so some uncertainty about the immediate legal effect remains.
Key dates
- Published
- June 27, 2026
- Comment deadline
- Unclear
- Effective date
- Unclear
Source: Canada Gazette