Gilles Valiquette was elected socan president for a two-year term ending in the year 2000 at the society’s annual general meeting held recently in Toronto. First elected to socan’s board of directors in 1992, he’s well aware that the leadership role will be quite the challenge as socan continues to grapple with important issues that will need to be addressed during his term.

The issues

The most pressing issue for Valiquette is the Copyright Board’s decision on socan’s commercial television tariff, which he describes as a ‘douche froide’ (cold shower).

This decision, delivered last January, reduces the amount socan can collect from commercial television stations from 2.1% to 1.8% of their gross advertising revenues.

In addition, a modified blanket licence was introduced that allows television producers to negotiate performing right fees directly with composers for the first time, enabling producers to circumvent both socan and the Copyright Board. (For more details, see Binchmarks, p. 41.)

socan is now seeking to have the Federal Court of Appeal set aside this decision and have it sent back to the board for review. However, the results of this legal challenge won’t be known until the fall.

Some composers will benefit from direct negotiations if they’re among the top few who can command even higher rates than the tariff allows, but most won’t, says Valiquette.

If the decision is allowed to stand, many composers for television will be faced with an unwelcome choice. They will either have to accept a lower ‘buyout’ rate for their performing right than they might have received from socan, or face the fact that if they refuse and stay with socan, they could end up on the sidelines while projects go to those who are willing to negotiate.

socan’s tariff 22 for the use of music over the Internet is also in a holding pattern while the Copyright Board reviews evidence introduced at the first phase of a hearing held in Ottawa during April and May.

This phase was designed to address preliminary issues such as whether or not this use of music even falls within the board’s jurisdiction, and determining what liability can be attributed to the various players based on their current Internet activities.

The second phase, not yet scheduled, will deal with payment structure and amounts.

Based loosely on socan’s tariff 17 for cable and other broadcast distributors, tariff 22 targets the Internet access provider as the most logical point along the communication chain to have the responsibility of paying performing rights fees to socan.

The main reasons for this are first, like cable operators, the iaps have assumed the role of content distributor and they are receiving commercial benefits from this content, including socan’s repertoire, by charging subscription fees to consumers.

Secondly, targeting the iaps as the billing address reduces the potential administrative burden socan would face if it were to try and collect from each of the other parties involved in this line of communication.

This tariff is one of the first of its kind anywhere, so understanding and resolving the complexities involved means that a decision by the Copyright Board should not be expected in the near future.

One of last year’s highlights was the receipt of the first dollars from socan’s tariff 17 after years of litigation by the cable companies.

Aimed primarily at cable operators, it also includes other broadcast distribution services such as direct-to-home satellite. The total now owed to socan represents several years worth of unpaid royalties, which, including interest, is at least $50 million.

Members whose works were broadcast free for years on specialty channels now finally saw their first distribution in May. Collections from cable companies so far have totaled $21 million and represent payments for the years 1990 to 1993.

Valiquette says this is a great example of the increasing importance of collectives to creators. Even with socan’s resources, this tariff took many years to establish.

In view of the relative financial strength of the cable operators, it would have been impossible for individual composers or publishers to achieve the same result and very difficult to launch legal action against the cable companies or specialty channels if their copyrights are violated.

It’s clear to Valiquette that this is even more evident with socan’s tariff 22. In this case, the other players involved include financial heavyweights such as Stentor, at&t, Bell, BC Tel and aol.

Leader in new technologies

Valiquette brings with him a wealth of knowledge of music and industry experience to his new role. A cofounder of Musitechnic, a college located in Montreal, he’s become known as a leader in the field of new technologies.

His organization created the Computer Assisted Song Design program approved by the Ministere de l’Enseignement Superieur et de la Science, and is also part of cesam, a multimedia consortium based in Montreal.

Valiquette has also earned a total of eight awards for his songs from both bmi/procan and socan, and has released 11 albums as a singer/songwriter.

He is currently serving on the board of directors of spacq (Societe Professionnelle des Auteurs et des Compositeurs du Quebec).

Valiquette notes that the issues faced by composers are now not only greater in number, but much larger in scope than in the past. So that even though the collective administration of copyright is not a new concept, it is just as relevant, perhaps more so now than when it was first introduced in Canada in 1924.

As a means of illustrating the income erosion already faced by music creators, and thus the critical importance of collectives, Valiquette cites the evolution of mechanical rates for music and postal rates since 1924. In that year he says, it cost Canadians two cents to post a letter anywhere in the country, while music creators received two cents from record companies for each time one of their works was reproduced on a recording. Today, postal rates are 45 cents, while mechanical rates are at seven cents.

Communication key

The issue of valuation, not only of socan’s performing right, but of intellectual property generally, will become even more prominent through the use of new technology and globalization. socan’s members will need to know where they fit in this technological shift and how their work will be valued, used and paid for.

In this context, Valiquette believes that as trade in Intellectual Property becomes increasingly important to the health of national economies, so too will the role of collectives in ensuring that creators’ works, as the engine of this new economy, are appropriately valued.

One of Valiquette’s central goals then, is to ensure that socan not only remains strong, but increases in strength. He believes that keeping the lines of communication open with the membership will be a key element to success in this area, so that members continue to gain a full understanding of efforts made in the ongoing battles to protect their rights.

He believes that socan’s future success lies with fostering pride among members toward their organization, and that the response to the recent ‘town hall’ meetings held to discuss the commercial television decision is an example of the direction he’d like to continue.

Another area that Valiquette intends to address is occupational respect. He believes that allowing the decision on commercial television to stand would be the equivalent of saying that, as a society, ‘we don’t care about creators.’

Valuation of creator’s works is an ongoing issue, and he firmly believes that creative occupations in the cultural industries should be afforded the same respect and have their economic value measured by the same criteria as those of other occupational groups.

He points to the fact that most composers still cannot earn their livelihood as creators and need to hold other jobs in order to make ends meet.

As president, Valiquette would like to use his leadership role to further existing efforts made toward educating the public that the occupation of creator, and composer in particular, should be seen as an economically viable career choice.

If the decision on commercial television stands, Valiquette says it will make his job more difficult.

Timing right

In order for socan to be successful, Valiquette says he will need to keep board members tackling issues with the right ‘hat.’

Not only is a clear vision for dealing with external issues necessary, but the timing is right as well. Over the past several years much of socan’s energy has been devoted to merging the operations of its two former societies, procan and capac. Now that most of this is out of the way, says Valiquette, socan can concentrate on putting its resources to work to deal with outside pressures more efficiently by instilling a team approach between the board and staff.

He also believes that a low turnover rate among board members is an advantage. Although sensitive to the image this may portray of the board as an ‘old boys club’ (currently three of 18 board members are women), he believes that there is a steep learning curve involved for each newly elected board member, and the subsequent ‘brain drain’ when they leave.

The board has just two newly elected members for its current term, one of whom is film and television composer Pierre-Daniel Rheault.

Looking ahead

On a collective basis, socan’s members earn most of their royalties from the broadcast media, whether it’s radio, television or now cable and other ‘non-broadcast’ services such as satellite delivery.

However, individually, the income each composer earns depends on their activity at any given time. For example, if they’re touring, most of their income will be derived from their live performances, and if they have a newly released record that’s getting airplay, then radio revenues will represent a more significant portion of income. Likewise, if their work is included in film or television programming, then that source of income becomes more important.

Valiquette believes that part of his role will be to make sure all these areas of performance get the support and resources they need, because they’re all areas critical to the members’ success.

Mary Ellen Berwick is a Toronto-based freelance writer and was formerly with SOCAN.