Canada's SOCAN posted record collections in 2019

By Emmanuel Legrand

Canada's music rights society SOCAN has collected CA$405.5 million in fiscal year 2019, up 8% from the previous year. The figure marks a historical record for the society.

  The CA$30m year-over-year growth was attributed to a CA$23m jump in digital revenues to CA$86.1m, up 38% over 2018 figures. Another source of revenue growth was the integration of SODRAC, delivering some CA$7 million in extra business to SOCAN, which bought the Montréal-based mechanical rights society in 2018. Revenue from international collections reached the new record of CA$88.5m.

  SOCAN CEO Eric Baptiste said royalties from television, radio, international, and concerts remained "strong," and noted that "most growth this year came from domestic digital sources." However, Baptiste claimed that "more must be done to improve the SOCAN writer’s and publisher’s shares from streaming royalties."

Modernising content rules

  Added Baptiste: "The Canadian government has acknowledged that Canadian content rules and discoverability must be modernised for the digital age. If music creation – the lifeblood of Canada’s music industry – isn’t supported quickly through the development of updated rules, there could be dire economic and cultural consequences.”

  Final figures will be confirmed in March 2020, during SOCAN’s Board of Directors, and released alongside SOCAN’s annual general meeting in Montréal in June.