What you should definitely know about Re:Sound

What is Re:Sound?

Re:Sound is the Canadian not-for-profit music licensing company dedicated to obtaining fair compensation for artists and record companies for their performance rights. Re:Sound was formed (as the Neighbouring Rights Collective of Canada - NRCC) following an amendment to the Copyright Act of Canada in 1997, and began collecting upon tariffs for broadcasters in that same year.

The Society of Composers, Authors, and Music Publishers of Canada (“SOCAN”) operates in a similar fashion but collects and distributes royalties on behalf of the authors and publishers of music. Re:Sound and SOCAN are distinct and separate organizations representing different groups. Where recorded music is used publically, both Re:Sound and SOCAN licenses are required.

For more information on the different rights for the use of music, consult Music Canada’s Licensing Music – Who’s Who.

Re:Sound’s tariffs

Re:Sound’s tariffs are certified by the Copyright Board of Canada, an independent regulatory body that establishes the rates to be paid for the use of copyrighted works. Re:Sound tariffs are subject to a transparent certification process. All tariffs are proposed in the year prior to the first year that royalties are owed. This process often takes a number of years in order to complete before tariffs are certified. However, once certified by the Copyright Board, tariffs are legally enforceable and become payable back to the first year for which they were proposed.

Re:Sound issues blanket licenses for recorded music use. These licenses are designed to account for all recorded music used and prevent the need for individual agreements with every artist and record company whose recorded music is used. To this end, Re:Sound tariffs are both economical and efficient.

When a licence is required

Anytime that a published sound recording is used in your venue or at events held by your organization, a Re:Sound license is required. Re:Sound only licenses the public performance of a published sound recording. No Re:Sound license is necessary for the performance of live music. No Re:Sound license is necessary for the performance of a sound recording that was commissioned to accompany a live performance (i.e., incidental music composed and recorded specifically for a play) and that was not published by a record company.

Thanks to CAPACOA, CAPACOA members and members of affiliated presenting networks (like Ontario Presents) are subject to special remittance conditions pursuant to an agreement between CAPACOA and Re:Sound.

To find out more, check out the CAPACOA website. CAPACOA held a very helpful webinar in January on Re: Sound called Neighbouring Rights Made Easy. View it here