Supporting Canadian composers & music in TV, movies not a ‘zero-sum game,’ CRTC hears

GATINEAU, Que. – The CRTC is being urged by groups representing music composers to reconsider a proposed change to the system which awards audio-visual productions with “points” that help qualify them as Canadian content, saying the change could cause issues for Canadian composers. Appearing on May 20 for the Society of Composers, Authors, and Music Publishers of Canada (SOCAN) at the CRTC’s hearing on redefining “Canadian program” was Julia Werneburg, legal counsel for the rights management group representing more than 190,000 English and French-Canadian songwriters, composers, and music publishers. Werneburg told the CRTC that audio-visual productions should both be encouraged to hire Canadian screen composers and support the greater use of pre-existing/recorded Canadian music in productions. “The two goals should not be pitted against each other in the definition of a Canadian program – it doesn't have to be a zero-sum game, particularly when the audio-visual market is already a highly competitive and challenging space for Canadian music,” Werneburg said Tuesday. In front of the CRTC and intervenors to the proceeding is the regulator’s proposal to modernize the existing points system used to determine whether a production qualifies as Canadian. Currently, the music composer point is just that – a single “key position” with a single point awarded. The CRTC has proposed adding the following criteria to that same point: Music composer or “the rights holders of the pre-existing or pre-recorded music for which the rights were purchased must be Canadian, rather than requiring an original composed song for the production.” In its intervention, SOCAN argued the music composer key creative point “must be maintained as it currently exists,” and that “no amendment to this point should be made.” When asked whether the points system should recognize music that is owned by a Canadian rights holder, Werneburg said that could take away from the incentive to hire a Canadian composer. Part of the problem with that suggestion, Werneburg said, is that “Canadian rights holders could include a Canadian subsidiary of a major international label where no Canadian is ultimately benefiting in a significant way from the licensing of that work. So, the money would mostly flow internationally,” Werneburg said. “In order to encourage the use of the hiring of Canadians in these creative positions, it makes no sense to focus on the rights holder. It would be preferable to focus on the composer or the writer.” Werneburg noted SOCAN is also in favour of requiring, for example, a production to spend at least 75 per cent of its music budget for pre-recorded music on music written by Canadians, or that would qualify as a Canadian musical selection, though SOCAN is open to more flexible measures that could achieve similar results. “At the end of the day, the important thing is that more Canadian music is played in audio-visual productions, and that more Canadians are able to discover Canadian music,” Werneburg said. John Rowley, president of the Screen Composers Guild of Canada, told the CRTC the guild is also concerned about the CRTC’s preliminary view on the music composer point. “The role of screen composer is not merely a technical or supporting role. It is an authorial role with a high degree of visibility and control,” Rowley said. “Simply put, rights holders are not key creators, therefore they should not be awarded key creative certification points.” The guild is concerned that the proposed point change would allow productions to gain a point for Canadian content by licensing foreign songs via the Canadian offices of global media giants. Appearing for Music Canada was CEO Patrick Rogers, who told the CRTC on Tuesday the non-profit is concerned that the commission’s proposed list of positions recognized by the points system leaves out performing artists. “Canadian performing artists should be considered a key creative position eligible for a point under the CRTC point system. Adding performing artists would recognize the valuable contributions these creators make for music that enriches film and TV productions. We believe this aligns nicely with the policy objectives of the Broadcasting Act,” Rogers said. Rogers also spoke about the use of artificial intelligence in productions, particularly related to sound. “When we take away the excitement of the unknown, we are left with the fact that generative AI models have scraped the internet for and ingested the world's most famous songs,” Rogers said. “Ultimately, this is what makes AI, especially generative AI, a copyright issue. Music Canada and our music industry allies around the world are working on behalf of human creativity with governments in order to make sure that policy makers like yourselves understand these concerns.” In addition to appearances by the Indigenous Screen Office; the Société professionnelle des auteurs, compositeurs du Québec et des artistes entrepreneurs; the Association des professionnels de l'édition musicale; and the Société de télédiffusion du Québec were several intervenors appearing to advocate for resources for Canadian content geared toward children. The Youth Media Alliance, Epic Story Media Inc., and Huminah Huminah Animation Inc. appeared together to advocate for more funding in support of Canadian-made content for kids. The Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC), meanwhile, argued during the hearing for changes including enhanced discoverability of Canadian content. PIAC Staff lawyer Tahira Dawood told the CRTC panel the points system should continue to be used to identify Canadian content in a way that is flexible enough to allow for diverse content to be recognized as Canadian and which encourages the creation of new content. hdaley@thewirereport.ca

Supporting Canadian composers & music in TV, movies not a ‘zero-sum game,’ CRTC hears

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By Hannah Daley
| May 21, 2025

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Supporting Canadian composers & music in TV, movies not a ‘zero-sum game,’ CRTC hears

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