Musicians to be paid 90% less when their music is streamed in Canada

Remember when we were up in arms about Spotify only paying artists $0.007 per play? The Copyright Board of Canada just threw out years of negotiation between the music industry and Internet music streaming services by introducing new royalty rates in Canada that are 90% lower than the rest of the world.

Under Tariff 8, streaming services are now subject to a rate of 10.2 cents per 1,000 plays (or $0.0001 per play). This means that musicians around the world will be paid 90% less when their music is streamed by Canadians on services like Rdio and Spotify.

The CBC will be paying a slightly higher rate of 13.1 cents per 1,000 plays on the web (or $0.00013 per play) due to their higher use of Canadian material than other services. This equates to a paltry $36,000 in streaming royalties paid to Canadian artists by the CBC each year. Yes, that’s a $36,000 annual income for all musicians in Canada to share.

Re:Sound, who are responsible for collecting and distributing the royalties have applied for judicial review of the Copyright Board’s decision and are supported by a group of over 70 music organizations from across the country who are appalled by and wish to overturn the decision. Re:Sound suggested the Copyright Board set a rate between $1 to $2.30 per 1,000 plays during public hearings leading up to the decision.

Those wishing to voice their opposition to Tariff 8 may join the I Stand For Music Facebook page to show your support for Canada’s music community.

— Featured image by Flickr user foreverseptemer, Creative Commons