SOCAN Tariff for Online Music Videos

Summary#

This Canada Gazette supplement publishes a decision from the Copyright Board that sets the SOCAN Tariff 22.A.2 – Online Music Video Services (2014-2018). It fixes how much online music-video platforms owe for using songs in music videos from 2014 to 2018, and it makes those services report usage and pay any amounts due by September 25, 2026.

What it does#

• Sets the royalty for on-demand and recommended music-video streams as the greater of:
  • 2.99% of the service’s gross monthly revenue, or
  • 0.07¢ per stream that needs a SOCAN licence.
• Applies to communications of music in music videos (as opposed to audio-only) for the years 2014 to 2018.
• Excludes some services entirely, including:
  • sites or services used mainly for audio-only listening,
  • sites focused on downloading or playing games,
  • online audiovisual services that transmit predominantly user-generated content, and
  • the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
• Reporting and record rules:
  • Services must give identification details within 20 days after their first month of offering licensed files (or before first making such a file public).
  • Monthly usage reports must be sent 20 days after the end of each month. These reports include track identifiers, titles, performer and publisher names, play counts, subscriber numbers, and gross revenue.
  • Records must be kept for six years and are subject to audit by SOCAN.
  • If an audit shows royalties were understated by more than 10%, the service must pay the audit cost within 30 days.
• Payment and interest:
  • Royalties are due quarterly, 20 days after the end of each quarter.
  • Any late amount accrues interest at 1% above the Bank of Canada rate (calculated daily, not compounded).
• Transitional rule: amounts owed under this tariff for the covered years are due on September 25, 2026 and will be increased by prescribed interest factors; reports required by the tariff must also be filed on or before September 25, 2026.

Who's affected#

• Primarily commercial online platforms that predominantly offer music videos — for example, streaming services that host music-video catalogs or cloud-based music-video services.
• Digital distributors and platforms that act on behalf of those services.
• Songwriters, music publishers and performers whose works are in SOCAN’s repertoire (they may receive payments from collected royalties).
• Subscribers and advertisers on affected services could feel effects if platforms change pricing or ad policies to cover costs.
• The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and services principally delivering audio-only or user-generated content are not covered by this tariff.

Why it matters#

• This is a retrospective tariff covering 2014 to 2018, so eligible services may face sizeable past bills. The fixed due date is September 25, 2026.
• It creates clear formulas for how royalties are calculated (percentage of revenue or per-stream fee). That can change how services price subscriptions, sell ads, or negotiate licences.
• The monthly reporting, six-year record-keeping, and audit rules increase administrative work for platforms.
• For music creators and publishers, the tariff provides a route to collect royalties for music used in online music videos during the covered years.
• If anything in the notice is unclear about who exactly must file or how some definitions apply in specific cases, the notice itself does not resolve those ambiguities.