Canada has extended music royalties to broadcasters on the Internet in a move that will encompass commercial TV and radio station Web sites, as well as electronic gaming sites and online radio stations.
But the Copyright Board of Canada stopped short of imposing a new tariff on amateur podcasts or social networking sites like YouTube or MySpace that employ music, or music-based webcasts heard in restaurants, hotels or bars.
“Such a tariff, if certified, could potentially target hundreds of thousands of users who either make very limited use of music or attract little or no attention,” Justice William Vancise and Stephen Callary of the federal government agency said in a majority decision.
The tariff decision was prompted by the Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada (SOCAN), a performance rights group, which has long called for music royalties for Internet-base distribution and delivery of music product for which artists hold a copyright.
“For the users already paying royalties to SOCAN for their conventional activities, the decision essentially extends the existing tariffs to their Internet activities,” said Copyright Board secretary general Claude Majeau.
A royalty tariff for online music services, also covering 1996 to 2006, was agreed in Oct. 2007.
