{"id":4493,"date":"2017-08-08T18:00:08","date_gmt":"2017-08-08T22:00:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/utopsie.com\/work\/menonb\/?p=4493"},"modified":"2020-06-10T15:33:50","modified_gmt":"2020-06-10T19:33:50","slug":"socan-sodrac-soproq-artisti","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/utopsie.com\/work\/menonb\/en\/socan-sodrac-soproq-artisti\/","title":{"rendered":"SOCAN, SOPROQ & ARTISTI : WHO\u2019S WHO AND WHAT DO THEY DO?"},"content":{"rendered":"

As a lawyer who works for the most part with musicians, I often get asked, \u201cSOCAN, SOPROQ, ARTISTI\u2026 What are they and who does what?<\/strong>\u201d The following is an introduction to collecting societies and a brief overview of the most important three.<\/p>\n

[There are, however, as many collecting societies as there are countries, including others in Canada].<\/p>\n

A. WHAT ARE THEY ?<\/strong><\/p>\n

From a practical standpoint, collecting societies are, among other things, a significant source of revenue. If you are not yet a member of one, your money may be sitting in their coffers!<\/p>\n

What’s more, collecting societies simplify things for everyone.<\/p>\n

As previously<\/a> discussed, authors\/composers are the primary owners of their musical works, makers of their sound recordings and performers of their performances. In other words, to perform a musical work or share a sound recording and\/or artistic performance, one must obtain permission of said songwriter, maker and\/or performer.<\/p>\n

Imagine the nightmare of tracking down every single author, composer, performer and maker every time you want to use a song. Collecting societies act as an intermediary between users and rights holders.<\/p>\n

Generally speaking (and I cannot emphasize how general <\/em>this statement is!), collecting societies grant licences (i.e. authorizations to exploit a musical work) according to rates determined by the Copyright Board<\/em>, then collect the money and pay their members in royalties.<\/p>\n

** Important:<\/strong> Before you read further, be sure you understand what musical work, sound recordings (masters), author\/composer, maker and performer mean in legal terms. You can read about them here<\/u><\/a>.<\/p>\n

B. WHO DOES WHAT<\/strong><\/p>\n

1. SOCAN : AUTHORS\/COMPOSERS and MUSICAL WORKS<\/strong><\/p>\n

The SOCAN<\/a> (Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada) is primarily responsible for compensating authors and composers<\/strong> (or publishers, as the case may be) when their musical works are performed, or broadcasted, to the public<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

THIS INCLUDES  :<\/p>\n