SOCAN Hotel In‑Room Royalties (2025–2027)

Summary#

This is a tariff published by the Copyright Board that sets the fees hotels and motels must pay to SOCAN for in-room audiovisual and music services for 2025 to 2027. It was published in the Canada Gazette on August 24, 2024 and spells out percentage-based royalty rates, reporting rules, and some exemptions.

What it does#

• Sets a royalty of 1.25% of the fees guests pay to view in-room audiovisual content that is not adult material.
• Sets a royalty of 0.3125% of the fees guests pay to view in-room mature audience (adult) films that include music or other works covered by SOCAN.
• Sets a royalty of 5.5% of the revenues of any in-room musical service (for example, paid music channels or streaming music provided to rooms).
• Requires quarterly payments and reports, due no later than 60 days after the end of each quarter. Reports must show fees/revenues, titles of works used, and identifying codes (like UPC and ISRC) for recordings. For some adult films, providers must show if the film does not include any work requiring a SOCAN licence.
• Gives SOCAN the right to audit a user’s books and records on reasonable notice to check reported fees and royalties.
• Charges interest on late payments at 1% above the Bank Rate (calculated daily, not compounded).
• Exempts certain uses from this tariff, including:
  • music played as part of a private/domestic TV signal;
  • music delivered by online services (music or audiovisual streaming, user-generated content platforms, game services, etc.);
  • pay audio services, Internet access services, and video game services.

Who's affected#

• Hotels and motels that offer pay-per-view movies, in-room video-on-demand, or in-room music services.
• Companies that operate or supply those in-room audiovisual and music systems.
• SOCAN, as the organization collecting the royalties and enforcing reporting/audit rules.
• Guests are not directly charged by the tariff, but hotel providers may pass costs on through service fees or room pricing.
  If it’s unclear whether a particular in-room service falls under these rules, the tariff text lists specific exemptions (for example, many online streaming services and game services are excluded).

Why it matters#

• Hotels and motel operators will need to account for an added cost based on a percentage of what guests pay for in-room entertainment.
• Providers must keep detailed records (titles, fees, UPC/ISRC codes) and be prepared for audits, which means more administrative work and possible compliance costs.
• The lower rate for mature-audience films (0.3125%) vs. other audiovisual content (1.25%) could affect how hotels price different types of in-room content.
• The exemptions mean many online or app-based services and video games won’t be covered by this tariff; this matters if a hotel uses those platforms instead of traditional pay-per-view systems.