We won’t share your data, and you can unsubscribe at any time.
At SOCAN, it is our mission to ensure music creators are respected, recognized, and fairly compensated. We support and champion their right to earn an income when their music is publicly performed, whether on a festival stage, on radio, or on a streaming platform.
We are proud of the vibrant Canadian music festival landscape. These events bring communities together, generate economic activity, and showcase incredible talent.
When any festival puts on commercial performances, it is not legal, fair or ethical to withhold payment from the songwriters and publishers whose work makes these performances possible. Performers, technicians, and vendors are paid, and so too should the songwriters be paid for the public performance of their work.
Paying an artist to perform live and paying SOCAN license fees are two entirely different actions that serve different purposes. SOCAN license fees are paid to the people who created the music, who are not necessarily the performers.
The tax status of an organization does not, in itself, exempt that organization from its legal obligations to pay music creators. Festivals across the country meet their responsibilities each year by obtaining a SOCAN license for their performances, and, by doing so, compensate the creators whose music powers their stages.
Festival concerts can’t exist without songs, and those songs must be paid for. Let’s work together to build a sustainable, respectful future for Canadian music.
FAQ
Why are SOCAN license fees required when artists have already been paid for their live performances at a festival?
Paying an artist to perform live and paying SOCAN license fees are two entirely different things that serve different purposes.
When a festival pays an artist to perform, that payment compensates the artist for their time, talent, and live performance on stage. However, it does not cover the live performance in public of the musical works themselves – no matter if those works were written by the performing artist himself, by someone else (as for covers) or co-written with others non-performing artists.
When a festival pays SOCAN license fees, the royalties are then distributed by SOCAN to the writers, composers and publishers whose works were performed, who may not necessarily be the same people who performed on stage.
How are SOCAN’s license fees calculated?
Festivals are required to pay license fees to SOCAN in the amount of 3% of ticket sales for ticketed concerts and the equivalent of 3% of the amount paid to performers for any free concerts. These fees are set by the Copyright Board of Canada, an independent administrative tribunal.
Are charitable organizations exempt from paying license fees?
All entities, regardless of tax status, must pay license fees for commercial live performances in public of musical works. The Copyright Act provides a limited exception in some cases for charitable organizations – but this doesn’t apply when admission is charged or when the performers, technicians, producers, vendors, or others working at the concert are paid. It is only reasonable that the writers, composers and music publishers of the musical works performed in public are also paid for the use of their music.
FEQ specific questions
Are the performers mentioned in the statement of claim suing Festival d’été de Québec as well?
No, SOCAN is the only plaintiff. No individuals are parties to the claim.
Why was the claim against Festival d’été de Québec brought on the first day of FEQ?
The timing was driven by legal constraints. To include all performances from the 2022 festival, the claim had to be filed by July 6, 2025. SOCAN delayed enforcement during the pandemic to allow festivals time to recover but could not delay any further without risking the ability to seek license fees owed to writers, composers and music publishers for the 2022 festival performances.
Do other charities that run music festivals pay license fees to SOCAN?
We can confirm that there are other festivals put on by registered charities that do pay license fees and are properly licensed.
Are there other festivals that could be sued?
SOCAN is committed to taking necessary steps to ensure that songwriters, composers, and music publishers are fairly paid when their works are used. We can confirm the existence of other proceedings brought by SOCAN involving infringing festival performances.