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.
Full-throated singer-songwriter Serena Ryder has earned six JUNO Awards, and in 2014 she co-hosted the televised JUNO gala. SOCAN member Ryder was the first Canadian artist to top the CBC Radio 2 Top 20 chart, with “Stompa,” which also went Top 20 in Canada and the U.S., was featured in Grey's Anatomy, and sold platinum at home. Ryder has performed at the Luminato Festival, the Calgary Stampede, the NBA All Star game, and on The Tonight Show. She co-wrote and recorded “Together We Are One,” the official 2015 Pan Am Games theme, which also topped the aforementioned CBC chart. And she's won a Canadian Film Award and two SOCAN Pop/Rock Awards.