SOCAN symposium aims to show content creators the money

The themes of royalties, success and technology dominated the Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada’s (SOCAN) July 13th symposium in Vancouver’s International Film Centre. The auditorium was filled with comments and queries on the state of the Canadian music industry, copyrights, and new ventures, but impressions of Cuba Gooding Jr. infamous line – "Show me the money!" – were also in abundance. Featuring several information sessions on earning and receiving royalties, the event, titled The Business of Creating Music for Film, Television, and Video Games, did not disappoint. The collection of small amounts of money from many places enables SOCAN’s 80,000-strong membership to earn their livelihoods, and the society collected more than $204.2 million in fees and royalties in 2004, with 20,000 Canadian artists sharing in the distribution. While technology is helping to spur an increase in sources of income, record sales, performances, and film and television scores continue to dominate. However, Todd Brabec, executive VP and director of membership for the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) and co-author, with brother Jeff, of "Music, Money and Success: The Insiders Guide to Making Money in the Music Business," pointed out that "… ringtones and ringbacks are a major source of income throughout the world these days." The potential for profits is awesome: in the US, 10% of mobile users download ring tones every month, and Canadians aren’t far behind. SOCAN’s Tariff 24, Ringtones and Ringbacks (2003-2005) proposes a licence fee of 10% of the retail price of a ringtone with a minimum fee of 10 cents, and 15% of the retail price of a ringback with a minimum fee of 15 cents. The Copyright Board of Canada’s decision on the proposed tariff is currently under advisement, and SOCAN has filed a comparable tariff for 2007. The widespread emergence of Web content and podcasts was another hot topic among the symposium’s attendees. The consensus was that Canadian artists aren’t reaping any financial rewards from these technological innovations, and neither are their American counterparts. "There are very few podcasts that are licensed right now. Most of the podcasts, at least in the US, that are legitimate podcasts are being done by stations like KCRW, a public broadcasting station," says Jeff Brabec, Chrysalis Music Group’s VP of business affairs. "We are not issuing performance licenses, and most people are podcasting without any permission. Something will be done about this in the future, but there is virtually no money being earned in podcasting right now." Artists whose songs are downloaded in the US, however, are benefiting at a rate of 9.1 cents per song. Yet the medium most accessible to aspiring Canadian artists, with the largest potential for listeners, and profits, remains largely out of their pocketbook’s reach. For over a decade SOCAN has been trying to collect licensing fees and royalties from music played over the Internet. Their proposed tariffs generated substantial controversy (CNM, May 13/05) and considerable legal fees. "This has been subject to court battles for several years. We filed a tariff in 1995 for Internet use, and it was basically for any performance or communication of music on the Internet," says SOCAN’s VP of legal services and general counsel, Paul Spurgeon. "The Internet service providers objected to the approach that we took, and it went all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada." Ultimately, the ISPs won the battle, but SOCAN is aiming to win the war: the Copyright Board will hear SOCAN’s proposed Tariff 22 – Communications of Musical Works via the Internet or similar Transmission Facilities – in April 2007. "We’re going after the websites, and we’re still going to go after the ISPs," says Spurgeon. "If they’re doing things like a website, providing content and not just the means to communicate the music, than we’re going…after ISPs as well." Of particular note is the proposed licensing fee for gaming sites. Several of the event’s speakers lauded interactive games as a largely overlooked revenue stream for composers and music publishers. SOCAN is not currently involved in licensing musical scores for games, but SOCAN’s Irene Herzuk, senior account executive, film and television, did point out that members could earn royalties "if a song that was specifically created for a game was used in a film or as part of a television program." Tariff 22 proposes to grant SOCAN’s members much more earning power here as well: a licensing fee of 10% of gross revenues or 10% of gross operating costs for gaming sites, with a minimum monthly payment of $200. In fact, judging from the audience’s queries and the speakers’ legal and business expertise, creating musical masterpieces doesn’t just require talent, but also business savvy. "Gone are the days when artists need only worry about the music,"says Todd Brabec, "you’ve got to know the business side too."

SOCAN symposium aims to show content creators the money

News | 07/25/2006 4:00 am EDT

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