Whether you broadcast a TV or cable TV show that includes music in some of the programming, or operate a terrestrial, satellite or online radio station that broadcasts music, getting Licensed To Play by SOCAN means that the people who created that music are compensated for your use of their work. You’re also making sure that the music used to build your viewership or listenership is used fairly, legally and ethically. The license fees that broadcasters pay to SOCAN for the public performance of music – whether via cue sheets for individual music performances or blanket licenses for all music performances within a given time period – compensate songwriters, composers and music publishers that make up SOCAN.
I already paid for the music (i.e., purchased a CD or download), so why do I need a SOCAN license?
When you buy a CD, or download music from a legal site, you gain the right to play music in private, but not in public. A SOCAN license allows you to perform that music in public.
In 2014, MAGIC!’s song “Rude” became a No. 1 hit in the U.S., and spent six weeks on top of the Billboard singles chart, selling more than three million in America, and spawning a video that has now earned more than 1.24 billion views on YouTube. The reggae-pop song went gold, platinum, or multi-platinum in Canada, the U.S., the U.K. and Australia. In 2015, the four SOCAN songwriters in MAGIC! opened for Maroon 5 on tour throughout North America and Europe, and the group won two JUNO Awards. That year, MAGIC! also earned the SOCAN International Achievement Award, and in 2016 they collaborated with Sean Paul on “Lay You Down Easy.”