After what can only be called a year of ups and downs, socan and its 20,000-plus Canadian membership still have a lot more fight left in them. socan (the Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada) is taking a ruling handed down by the Copyright Board and planning to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada on behalf of its members.

The initial decision on tariff rates, spawned from the ongoing dispute between socan and the Canadian Association of Broadcasters, was made by the Copyright Board in January 1998. The board ruled that the tariff structure for socan had to be reworked and that a modified blanket licensing (mbl) be introduced.

As a result of the mbl decision, composers are no longer required to go through socan as the liaison and bookkeeper for performing rights fees when dealing with production companies. Instead, composers can deal with the producers directly to discuss fees. socan’s tariff rates were also reduced to 1.8% from 2.1% of tv stations’ advertising revenues.

In March of this year, socan took the decision to the Federal Court of Appeal, which dismissed the case, once again putting the decision in the hands of the board for reconsideration.

According to socan, the effects of the Copyright Board’s decision, especially the mbl component, will have negative ramifications, not only for socan but also for the film and television composers it represents.

socan’s general counsel Paul Spurgeon says the composers stand to lose the most, especially where their bank accounts are concerned.

‘Our [socan’s] view is that bypassing socan, which is what the modified blanket licensing does, will reduce incomes that flow to the composers for the use of their music.’ Spurgeon adds that the mbl will also ‘hurt the collective administration and the ability [of composers] to effectively advocate their position as a group, so we are obviously concerned about the consequences of that decision.’

Steps are being taken by socan, regardless of whether the case is heard by the Supreme Court, to ensure that the mbl is as agreeable as it can be to socan and composers.

‘We have met with cab representatives to discuss the decision of the Copyright Board insofar that it applies to mbl,’ says Spurgeon. ‘We had one meeting on it and the intention is that we are going to be having additional meetings. As well, a committee will be established with the cab and interested parties, including socan and the Guild of Canadian Film Composers, to discuss the implementation process.’

As the advocate for the rights of Canadian composers and musicians, socan keeps abreast of the Canadian music industry. One of the most widely debated issues currently is the performance and reproduction of music over the Internet – for which many composers receive no royalties.

The crtc recently handed down a decision that the Internet would not be regulated, despite socan’s lobbying efforts to the contrary. Record companies have also reported a significant loss of revenue courtesy of online use of music.

‘The Internet is a new way of delivering music, and when I say `delivering’ I don’t mean selling,’ says Spurgeon, who says socan plans to introduce a new tariff (tariff 22) that will regulate the use of music online. The proposal is still under review by the Copyright Board.

‘We have composed a tariff that covers that particular use of music, and we are still awaiting a decision from the board,’ says Spurgeon.

Another ongoing concern at socan is that of cost recovery for Canadian composers. Cost recovery, as relates to composers, is an initiative set by the federal government to fund the Copyright Board. A certain percentage of each composer’s royalties will be taken and used to subsidize the board.

socan is opposed to such a program, saying a user fee for a quasi-judicial tribunal such as the Copyright Board is not appropriate. The board also determines the value of privately owned rights and fees.

‘We don’t feel that the authors should take a reduction in their royalties that pay for the cost of a copyright tribunal that sits there and sets the royalties when they didn’t even ask for that regime in the first place,’ says Spurgeon. ‘It is not just important to us, but to all of the people who appear in front of the Copyright Board – the cab and others that utilize the services.’

socan has also suggested that the government should invest some of its own money in the under-funded board.

A year ago, socan president Gilles Valiquette told Playback that he felt Canadian film and television composers are essentially undervalued. According to Spurgeon, little has been done in the industry over the past year to disprove or repair that way of thinking, an opinion shared widely by socan members.

‘The value of the use of the composer’s music when it is exploited by various means is undervalued in our view,’ says Spurgeon. ‘The use of music to users is undervalued. Music is a very important part of most businesses and we feel that they don’t pay what music is worth. We’ve tried over the years to improve that situation, though it is a struggle.’

He goes on to say that ‘intellectual property and the intangible performance of music is not often recognized to have any value. When you start with that assumption from a lot of users – an incorrect assumption – it is an uphill battle. That applies to whether it is a restaurant that uses music to create ambiance or all the way to a television or radio station that in effect is using music on a daily basis as part of its programming and is really fundamental to its programming.’

Some good news for socan came with its 1998 annual report, released last month, which showed that $22.9 million was collected from international users, the bulk of which was on account of film and television programs that include Canadian composers. Nearly $9 million of that came from the u.s. and $2.1 million from the u.k. Last year, socan collected a total of $92 million from all sources for performances of members’ music.

Among its priorities for the coming year, Spurgeon says socan will step up efforts to increase Canadian content and strengthen Cancon regulations.