The livelihood of our music creators continues to be threatened by the ever-changing pace of the industry. New technologies, like artificial intelligence (AI)-generated music, could forever change our music landscape by altering the way music creators are able to own and monetize their work.
As an artist who has been in the music industry for over 20 years, I have seen first-hand the impact of the anxiety that uncertainty has on music creators.
On the board of Re:Sound, a music rights management company, we are regularly in contact with peers from all sectors of the industry and hear directly about their struggles to make ends meet. My own professional direction has led me to new projects, but it is certainly not a solution for all our music creators. Our artistic ecosystem would be greatly weakened because we would witness a considerable reduction in the cultural production of our country and the enrichment of our culture.
That’s why we’re pressing governments to immediately enact meaningful legislative changes to ease the burden on music creators. It is high time to begin a cycle of positive change for the betterment of our music industry.
We must immediately amend the outdated Copyright Act with solutions based on today’s market. Long awaited, these updates will not only establish a more technologically neutral copyright regime, but also level the playing field for thousands of Canadian creators, starting now.
The upcoming 2024 federal budget is a golden opportunity for our government to create fairer and more just copyright law to protect the livelihoods of Canadian music creators.
First, the government must amend its definition of “sound recording” in the Copyright Act to address the unfair exclusion of performers and producers from television performance royalties. , films, platforms streaming video and other audiovisual content.
Currently, Canadian recording artists and producers receive no performance royalties when their sound recording is used in a television show, film, video streaming platform or other audiovisual content. By changing the definition of sound recording, they will be compensated fairly and equitably when a sound recording is used in film, television or other audiovisual content.
Second, the government must eliminate the $1.25 million “temporary” exemption for commercial radio stations, introduced in 1997 — a subsidy to commercial radio at the direct expense of music rights holders. A special, transitional exemption of $1.25 million was created in 1997 to provide temporary relief to commercial radio stations. More than twenty-five years later, this subsidy still exists, despite the consolidations of the radio industry and the extraordinary profits made during this period.
This loophole continues to be exploited at the expense of music creators. This unfair $1.25 million exemption must be removed from Canadian copyright law so that radio stations fairly compensate Canadian performers and producers for their work.
Third, the government must update the private copying regime to make it technologically neutral. The Copyright Act is not up to date; it does not take into account the way Canadians listen to and copy music today. Despite the prevalence of music streaming, nearly six billion music tracks are currently stored on Canadians’ phones and tablets. Re:Sound continues to support the efforts of the Canadian Private Copying Corporation to achieve a technologically neutral private copying regime so that rights holders are paid for copies of their works.
These three amendments are market-based solutions. They will greatly improve the lives of music creators. These amendments do not require any additional funding from taxpayers. Canada has already fallen behind more than 40 countries whose creators benefit from these rights. Canada must remain competitive and adopt these amendments to ensure our creators are on a level playing field both here and abroad.
These amendments will lay a solid foundation for future legislation that will ensure the viability and prosperity of the Canadian music industry for generations to come.