Canada Gazette, Part I, Volume 158, Number 47: SUPPLEMENT 2

November 23, 2024

SUPPLEMENT Vol. 158, No. 47

Canada Gazette

Part I

OTTAWA, Saturday, November 23, 2024

COPYRIGHT BOARD

SOCAN Tariff 17 – Transmission of Pay, Specialty and Other Television Services by Distribution Undertakings (2014-2024)

Published pursuant to section 70.1 of the Copyright Act

Greg Gallo
Acting Secretary General
1‑833‑860‑7131 (toll-free number)
registry-greffe@cb-cda.gc.ca (email)

SOCAN TARIFF 17 – TRANSMISSION OF PAY, SPECIALTY AND OTHER TELEVISION SERVICES BY DISTRIBUTION UNDERTAKINGS (2014-2024)

Statement of royalties to be collected by the Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada (SOCAN) in compensation for the communication to the public by telecommunication, in Canada, of musical or dramatico-musical works forming part of its repertoire.

Definitions

1. In this tariff,

“affiliation payment”
means the amount payable by a distribution undertaking to a programming undertaking for the right to carry the signal of the programming undertaking. (« paiement d’affiliation »)
“ambient music”
means music unavoidably picked up in the background when an event is videotaped or broadcasted. (« musique ambiante »)
“cleared music”
means any music, other than ambient music or production music, in respect of which a licence from SOCAN is not required. (« musique affranchie »)
“cleared program”
means a program produced by a Canadian programming undertaking and containing no music other than cleared music, ambient music or production music. (« émission affranchie »)
“distribution undertaking”
means a distribution undertaking as defined in the Broadcasting Act, S.C. 1991, c. 11. (« entreprise de distribution »)
“gross income”
means the gross amount paid by any person for the use of one or more broadcasting services or facilities provided by a programming undertaking, excluding the following:
  • (a) income accruing from investments, rents or any other business unrelated to the broadcasting activities of the programming undertaking. However, income accruing from any allied or subsidiary business that is a necessary adjunct to the broadcasting services and facilities of the programming undertaking or which results in their being used shall be included in the “gross income”;
  • (b) amounts received for the production of a program that is commissioned by someone other than the programming undertaking and which becomes the property of that person;
  • (c) the recovery of any amount paid to obtain the exclusive national or provincial broadcast rights to a sporting event, if the programming undertaking can establish that it was also paid normal fees for its time and facilities. SOCAN may require the production of the contract granting these rights together with the billing or correspondence relating to the use of these rights by other parties;
  • (d) amounts received by an originating programming undertaking acting on behalf of a group of programming undertakings, which do not constitute a permanent network and which broadcast a single event, simultaneously or on a delayed basis, that the originating undertaking pays out to the other programming undertakings participating in the broadcast. These amounts paid to each participating undertaking are part of that undertaking’s “gross income”; and
  • (e) affiliation payments. (« revenus bruts »)
“premises”
has the meaning attributed to it in section 2 of the Regulations, which reads:
  • “ ‘premises’ means
    • (a) a dwelling, including a single-unit residence or a single unit within a multiple-unit residence; or
    • (b) a room in a commercial or institutional building.” (« local »)
“production music”
means music contained in interstitial programming such as commercials, public service announcements and jingles. (« musique de production »)
“programming undertaking”
means a programming undertaking as defined in the Broadcasting Act. (« entreprise de programmation »)
“Regulations”
means the Definition of “Small Cable Transmission System” Regulations, SOR/94-755 (Canada Gazette, Part II, Vol. 128, page 4096), amended by SOR/2005-148 (Canada Gazette, Part II, Vol. 139, page 1195). (« Règlement »)
“relevant month”
means the month for which the royalties are payable. (« mois pertinent »)
“service area”
has the meaning attributed to it in section 2 of the Regulations, which reads:
  • “ ‘service area’ means an area in which premises served in accordance with the laws and regulations of Canada by a cable transmission system are located.” (« zone de service »)
“signal”
means a television signal, other than a signal within the meaning of subsection 31(1) of the Copyright Act retransmitted in accordance with subsection 31(2) of the Copyright Act. “Signal” includes the signals of Canadian pay and specialty services, non-Canadian specialty services, community channels, and other programming and non-programming services. (« signal »)
“small cable transmission system”
has the meaning attributed to it in sections 3 and 4 of the Regulations, which read:
  • “3. (1) Subject to subsections (2) to (4) and section 4, ‘small cable transmission system’ means a cable transmission system that transmits a signal, with or without a fee, to not more than 2 000 premises in the same service area.
  • (2) For the purpose of subsection (1), where a cable transmission system is included in the same unit as one or more other cable transmission systems, the number of premises to which the cable transmission system transmits a signal is deemed to be equal to the total number of premises to which all cable transmission systems included in that unit transmit a signal.
  • (3) For the purpose of subsection (2), a cable transmission system is included in the same unit as one or more other cable transmission systems where
    • (a) they are owned or directly or indirectly controlled by the same person or group of persons; and
    • (b) their service areas are each less than 5 km distant, at some point, from at least one other among them, and those service areas would constitute a series of contiguous service areas, in a linear or non-linear configuration, were it not for the distance.
  • (4) Subsection (2) does not apply to a cable transmission system that was included in a unit on December 31, 1993.
  • 4. The definition set out in subsection 3(1) does not include a cable transmission system that is a master antenna system located within the service area of another cable transmission system that transmits a signal, with or without a fee, to more than 2 000 premises in that service area.” (« petit système de transmission par fil »)
“TVRO”
means a Television Receive Only Earth Station designed for the reception of signals transmitted by satellite. (« TVRO »)
“year”
means a calendar year. (« année »)

2. For the purposes of this tariff, a cable transmission system shall be deemed to be a small cable transmission system in a given year if

Application

3. (1) This tariff sets the royalties to be paid for the communication to the public by telecommunication, as often as desired in the years 2014-2024, of any or all of the works in SOCAN’s repertoire, in connection with the transmission of a signal for private or domestic use.

(2) For greater certainty, this tariff does not apply to uses of music covered in other tariffs, including:

Small Cable Transmission Systems and Unscrambled Low Power Television Stations

4. (1) The total royalty payable in connection with the transmission of all signals shall be $10 a year where the distribution undertaking is

(2) The royalty payable pursuant to subsection (1) is due on the later of January 31 of the relevant year or the last day of the month after the month in which the system first transmits a signal in the relevant year.

(3) The following information shall be provided in respect of a system for which royalties are being paid pursuant to subsection (1):

Other Distribution Undertakings

5. (1) Sections 6 to 15 apply to distribution undertakings that are not subject to section 4.

(2) Unless otherwise provided, for the purposes of sections 6 to 15, any reference to a distribution undertaking, to affiliation payments or to premises served excludes systems subject to section 4 or payments made or premises served by such systems.

Community and Non-Programming Services

6. The total royalty payable in any month in respect of all community channels, non-programming services and other services generating neither affiliation payments nor gross income that are transmitted by a distribution undertaking shall be 0.14¢ per premise or TVRO served by the distribution undertaking on the last day of the relevant month.

Election of Licence

7. (1) A programming undertaking other than a service that is subject to section 6 can elect for the standard or modified blanket licence.

(2) An election must be in writing, and must be received by SOCAN at least 30 days before the first day of the month for which the election is to take effect.

(3) An election remains valid until a further election is made.

(4) A programming undertaking can make no more than two elections in a year.

(5) A programming undertaking that has never made an election is deemed to have elected for the standard blanket licence.

Standard Blanket Licence

8. (1) Subject to subsection (2), the monthly royalty payable for the transmission of the signal of a programming undertaking that has elected for the standard blanket licence is

(2) Notwithstanding subsection (1),

(3) The royalty payable pursuant to subsection (1) is calculated in accordance with Form A (found at the end of this tariff) if the royalties are being paid by the distribution undertaking, and in accordance with Form B (found at the end of this tariff) if the royalties are being paid by the programming undertaking.

Modified Blanket Licence

9. (1) Subject to subsection (2), the monthly royalty payable for the transmission of the signal of a programming undertaking that has elected for the modified blanket licence (MBL) is calculated in accordance with Form C (found at the end of this tariff).

(2) Notwithstanding subsection (1),

Due Date for Royalties

10. Royalties shall be due on the last day of the third month following the relevant month.

Reporting Requirements

11. No later than the last day of the month following the relevant month, a distribution undertaking shall provide to SOCAN and to each programming undertaking whose signal it transmitted during the relevant month

12. (1) No later than the last day of the second month following the relevant month, a programming undertaking that does not intend to pay the royalty owed in respect of its signal for the relevant month shall provide to SOCAN and to each distribution undertaking that transmitted its signal during the relevant month

(2) A programming undertaking referred to in subsection (1) shall also provide to SOCAN by the date mentioned in subsection (1),

13. No later than the last day of the second month following the relevant month, a programming undertaking that has elected for the modified blanket licence shall provide to SOCAN, using Form D (found at the end of this tariff), reports identifying, in respect of each cleared program, the music used in that program as well as any document supporting its claim that the music identified in Form D is cleared music, or a reference to that document, if the document was provided previously.

14. (1) A programming undertaking that makes a payment shall provide to SOCAN with its payment the total amount of affiliation payments payable to it for the relevant month and the calculation of the royalty for the relevant month, using the applicable form.

(2) A distribution undertaking that makes a payment shall provide to SOCAN with its payment, for the relevant month and in respect of each programming undertaking whose signal it transmitted during the relevant month,

MBL: Incorrect Cleared Program Claims

15. Amounts paid pursuant to lines B and C of Form C on account of a program that a programming undertaking incorrectly claimed as a cleared program are not refundable.

Audit

16. (1) A programming undertaking or a distribution undertaking shall keep and preserve, for a period of six years after the month to which they relate, records from which the information set out in sections 2, 4, 6 to 9 and 11 to 15 can be easily ascertained.

(2) SOCAN may audit these records at any time during the period set out in subsection (1) on reasonable notice and during normal business hours.

(3) Subject to subsection (4), if an audit discloses that royalties due have been understated in any quarter by more than 10%, the programming undertaking or distribution undertaking shall pay the reasonable costs of the audit within 30 days of the demand for such payment.

(4) For the purposes of subsection (3), any amount owing as a result of an error or omission on the part of SOCAN shall not be taken into account.

Confidentiality

17. (1) Subject to subsections (2), (3) and (4), information received pursuant to this tariff shall be treated in confidence, unless the undertaking that supplied the information consents in writing to the information being treated otherwise.

(2) Information referred to in subsection (1) can be shared

(3) Where confidential information is shared with a service provider pursuant to paragraph (2)(a), that service provider shall sign a confidentiality agreement.

(4) Subsection (1) does not apply to information that must be provided pursuant to the Copyright Act, to information that is publicly available, to aggregated information, or to information obtained from someone other than the undertaking and who is not under an apparent duty of confidentiality to that undertaking.

Adjustments

18. If, as a result of the discovery of an error or otherwise, the amount of the royalties paid or payable, including excess payments, requires an adjustment, then any of SOCAN, a distribution undertaking, or a programming undertaking shall notify the other party/parties as soon as reasonably possible, provide an explanation for the claimed adjustment, and propose an adjustment solution, such solution subject to the other party’s/parties’ consent (not to be unreasonably withheld). For clarity, this provision does not apply to any adjustments pursuant to an audit conducted under this tariff.

Interest on Late Payments and Taxes

19. (1) Any amount not received by the due date shall bear interest from that date until the date the amount is received. Interest shall be calculated daily at a rate equal to 1% above the Bank Rate effective on the last day of the previous month (as published by the Bank of Canada). Interest shall not compound.

(2) All amounts payable under this tariff are exclusive of any federal, provincial or other governmental taxes or levies of any kind.

SOCAN TARIFF 17

FORM A

CALCULATION OF ROYALTY FOR A STANDARD BLANKET LICENCE FOR THE MONTH OF (Payment by the distribution undertaking)

Name of the distribution undertaking:

Name of the programming undertaking or signal on account of which the royalties are being paid (please provide one form per programming undertaking or signal):

(A) 1.9% × amount payable by the distribution undertaking for the right to carry the signal for the relevant month:

(B) 1.9% × number supplied by the programming undertaking pursuant to paragraph 12(1)(a) of the tariff × number of premises or TVROs served by the distribution undertaking and lawfully receiving the signal of the programming undertaking on the last day of the relevant month:

(C) TOTAL ROYALTY FOR THE MONTH (A + B):

Please remit the amount set out in (C).

NOTE: If the programming undertaking claims that it complies with paragraph 8(2)(b) of the tariff, the applicable royalty rate is 0.8%.

SOCAN TARIFF 17

FORM B

CALCULATION OF ROYALTY FOR A STANDARD BLANKET LICENCE FOR THE MONTH OF (Payment by the distribution undertaking)

Name of the programming undertaking or signal:

List of the distribution undertakings on account of which royalties are being paid:

(A) 1.9% × total amount payable by the relevant distribution undertakings for the right to carry the signal of the programming undertaking for the relevant month:

(B)

X × Y × 1.9 % Z : 
where
X
is the gross income of the programming undertaking during the relevant month
Y
is the total number of premises or TVROs served by the distribution undertakings and lawfully receiving the signal of the programming undertaking on the last day of the relevant month
Z
is the total number of premises or TVROs (including those served by systems subject to section 4 of the tariff) lawfully receiving the signal of the programming undertaking on the last day of that month.

(C) TOTAL ROYALTY FOR THE MONTH (A + B):

Please remit the amount set out in (C).

NOTE: If the programming undertaking claims that it complies with paragraph 8(2)(b) of the tariff, the applicable royalty rate is 0.8%.

SOCAN TARIFF 17

FORM C

CALCULATION OF ROYALTY FOR A MODIFIED BLANKET LICENCE (MBL) FOR THE MONTH OF

For the purposes of this form and for the month for which the royalties are being calculated

“Affiliation payments”
does not include payments made by systems subject to section 4 of the tariff (small systems).
“Total affiliation payments”
means
  • (a) if a distribution undertaking fills the form, the affiliation payment payable by the distribution undertaking to the relevant programming undertaking for that month;
  • (b) if a programming undertaking fills the form, the affiliation payments payable to the programming undertaking by all the distribution undertakings that carried its signal during that month.
“Affiliation payments from cleared programs”
means the total affiliation payments multiplied by the percentage of total air time attributable to cleared programs in that month. (That figure is provided by the programming undertaking pursuant to paragraph 12(1)(b) of the tariff if a distribution undertaking fills the form.)
“Affiliation payments from programs other than cleared programs”
means the difference between total affiliation payments and affiliation payments from cleared programs.
“Total gross income”
means
  • (a) if a distribution undertaking fills the form, the number provided by the programming undertaking for that month pursuant to paragraph 12(1)(a) of the tariff multiplied by the number of premises or TVROs served by the distribution undertaking and lawfully receiving the signal of the programming undertaking on the last day of that month;
  • (b) if a programming undertaking fills the form, the undertaking’s gross income for that month multiplied by the ratio of the total number of premises or TVROs (excluding those served by systems subject to section 4 of the tariff) lawfully receiving its signal on the last day of that month over the total number of premises or TVROs (including those served by systems subject to section 4 of the tariff) lawfully receiving its signal on the last day of that month.
“Gross income from cleared programs”
means the total gross income multiplied by the percentage of gross income from cleared programs. (That figure is provided by the programming undertaking pursuant to paragraph 12(1)(b) of the tariff if a distribution undertaking fills the form.)
“Gross income from programs other than cleared programs”
means the difference between total gross income and gross income from cleared programs.

If the distribution undertaking fills the form, one form must be completed with respect to each programming undertaking that has elected for the MBL that the distribution undertaking transmits in the relevant month. If the programming undertaking fills the form, only one form needs to be completed.

Payment on account of cleared programs
— to account for additional expenses incurred by SOCAN because of the availability of the MBL: 3% × 1. 9% × (total gross income + total affiliation payments) (A)
— to account for the use of ambient and production music in cleared programs: 5% × 1.9% × (gross income from cleared programs + affiliation payments from cleared programs) (B)
— to account for SOCAN’s general operating expenses: 22% × 95% × 1.9% × (gross income from cleared programs + affiliation payments from cleared programs) (C)
TOTAL of A + B + C (D)
Payment on account of all programs other than cleared programs
— 1.9% × (gross income from programs other than cleared programs + affiliation payments from programs other than cleared programs) (E)
TOTAL ROYALTY FOR THE MONTH (D + E) (F)

Please remit the amount set out in (F)

NOTE: If the programming undertaking claims that it complies with paragraph 9(2)(b) of the tariff, the applicable royalty rate is 0.8%.

SOCAN TARIFF 17

FORM D

MUSIC REPORT FOR CLEARED PROGRAMS

Signal / Channel:

Program Title and Episode Number:

Air Date:

Producer:

Gross Income from Program:

Please complete the following report for EVERY musical work included in the program. Please provide, for each musical work, a copy of any document on which you rely to conclude that the music is cleared music, or a reference to that document, if you provided it previously.

Table: Music Report for Cleared Programs
Item Title Use (Theme, Feature, Background) Timing COMPOSER PUBLISHER PERFORMER
NAME CLEARANCE (DIRECT, SOURCE, PUBLIC DOMAIN) (with reference to any supporting documents) NAME CLEARANCE (DIRECT, SOURCE, PUBLIC DOMAIN) (with reference to any supporting documents)