As reported by Digital Journal, a new agreement has been formed that will help Canadian musicians utilize youtube to its full potential. SOCAN (the Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada) has entered into a groundbreaking agreement with Audiam that will make it possible for SOCAN members to receive revenue from the use of their music in any videos posted to YouTube.

The deal allows unsigned artists and unsigned songwriters, or their record labels and publishers, to collect money from:

Fans covering their songs on YouTube

Fan lyric videos

Fan-created “album cover” or static image videos

Fan videos of live performances

Official music videos

Fan-created music videos

Any other type of video on YouTube using their song, either from the original recording or a new version

Launched in July 2013, Audiam identifies and collects money earned by songwriters and music publishers for use of their works in YouTube videos. Earlier in 2013, SOCAN granted YouTube a performing rights license for Canada covering the years from 2007 to the present, but now SOCAN members can also sign up with Audiam (www.audiam.com/socan) to earn additional money from rights – other than from the rights that are administered by SOCAN – whenever ads are shown next to videos containing their songs, whether uploaded by the rights-holder or by the millions of other YouTube users.

“SOCAN members now can obtain an additional revenue stream on YouTube with Audiam,” said Eric Baptiste, chief executive officer of SOCAN. “YouTube is the number-one destination site on the planet for music discovery, streaming more than a trillion views annually across billions of videos. Our members should be compensated for the commercial use of their music no matter where it appears. With the SOCAN and Audiam cooperation, we make possible and practical the extraordinarily complicated process of identifying, tracking and collecting money that SOCAN members have rightfully earned, including for the first time revenues above and beyond the one generated by copyright licensing.”

There is no up-front fee to join Audiam. In return for the comprehensive service, Audiam normally charges a 25-percent administration fee of whatever it collects from YouTube for videos using music that Audiam represents outside of a member’s own YouTube “channel.”

Any of the more than 115,000 members of SOCAN who sign up with Audiam by November 30, 2013, will enjoy a reduced administration fee of 15-percent until December 31, 2014. To get started, SOCAN members must go to: http://www.audiam.com/socan. Once they create a free account, they simply provide song and publishing information.

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Written by Destrukto. Original content here: Canadian Music News