Broadcasters

> Who Socan Works With > Music Users > Broadcasters

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.

What is a SOCAN license?

A SOCAN license gives your business or organization, the freedom and flexibility to use virtually any music you want – legally, ethically, and easily. Without SOCAN, you would have to get permission and negotiate a royalty with every songwriter, lyricist, and music publisher whose work you intend to play, or to have publicly performed. Instead, SOCAN simplifies the process by allowing businesses to pay a relatively small fee, often once a year to play all the music their customers enjoy hearing. These fees are then distributed as royalties to music creators in Canada and around the world, through reciprocal agreements with similar music rights organizations in other countries. To learn more about our Licensed To Play program, visit our Music Users page.

BADBADNOTGOOD

SOCAN members BadBadNotGood have expanded from an initial base of jazz and hip-hop to a unique, eclectic, critically acclaimed blend that incudes soul, electronic, R&B, and more. BBNG have collaborated with hip-hop heavyweights like Tyler the Creator, Earl Sweatshirt, and Ghostface Killah, with whom they recorded their JUNO-nominated 2015 album Sour Soul. On their 2016 recording IV, chosen as BBC Radio 6 Music's No. 1 album of the year, collaborators included sax player Colin Stetson, Polaris Prize 2016 winner Kaytranada, and fast-rising singer-songwriter Charlotte Day Wilson. Among their many accomplishments, BBNG was the band-in-residence at the 2012 Coachella Festival, and backed Frank Ocean on both weekends.