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Music Canada CEO Patrick Rogers delivers CMW 2024 “State of the Industry” opening keynote

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Today, Music Canada CEO Patrick Rogers delivered remarks at Canadian Music Week’s opening keynote, “State of the Industry: A(nother) Year of Change.” Looking back on a year that changed everything (again!) Patrick shared his views on how the industry is working together to navigate seismic events like generative AI and the Online Streaming Act implementation.

Read his full remarks below.

Good morning,

It is my absolute pleasure to welcome you to the opening of Canadian Music Week and our morning of Music Canada programming.

What a year it’s been since last year’s CMW. We’ve seen government, regulators, industry, artists, and streaming platforms come to grips with what’s next in regulating the digital space. Simultaneously, we have seen many of those same players try to get their heads around the AI of today, the AI of tomorrow and the AI that we must guard against.

In just a couple of moments, I’m going to sit down with renowned economist and digital streaming expert Will Page to talk about the realities of streaming, glocalisation, Canada’s place in the global market and what we all need to understand as the CRTC ramps up its next phase of consultations.

After that, we are going to hear from Human Artistry Campaign’s Dr Moiya McTier, and Sony Music Entertainment’s Chris Frankenberg who are going to share their views on the industry’s efforts on AI and what we should be looking out for here in Canada.

I am very excited to hear from these two experts but while I’m up here let me tell you the two things about AI that I have become certain of since last year’s CMW.

The first is there is no doubt that the ingestion of songs to train AI is a use of copyright – everyone’s copyright in a song. We need to remember that AI is simply a technology – and copyright is the framework used to protect the VALUE of the art.

In so many ways, none of this is new. Every time a new technology comes around that harvests, mines or ingests that VALUE for free we have this debate. But I feel good about where we stand on this and am proud to join creators in the protection of the value of their creations.

Now, why do I feel this way – well, I could tell you that I can’t help but notice that those who spent the last 30 years as professors, lawyers and consultants for the anti-copyright movement have all suddenly become professors, lawyers and consultants for the AI-should-be-allowed-to-steal everything movement. It’s amazing really.

But the other reason that I know this is a copyright issue is because of the outputs. The undeniable voice of Johnny Cash singing Barbie World only proves that the AI was trained on Johnny Cash and Aqua. Or take the generated image that just happens to include someone else’s watermark – that proves the same thing. This past year has taught us that these systems aren’t actually creating anything truly new. Only humans can do that.

Our industry is an early adopter of AI and we’re excited about what AI can bring to Human Creative expression. But we need credit, compensation and consent. Creators must be able to decide IF and HOW their life’s work is used and they must be able to negotiate for that value in a fair market.

But I’m optimistic that if we respect creators and the copyright framework, we can go from the world’s most complicated paint-by-numbers to something truly magnificent.

The second thing I’ve become convinced of over this past year is the very real – and very urgent – danger of deepfakes. The pace at which the technology has accelerated from “I don’t think that’s real” to “I need to check if that is real” is terrifying. This isn’t just a music industry issue – it’s a society issue. Music Canada has spent a lot of time talking to politicians about this over the last year. What’s so striking is that, while we have laws to prevent impersonation or stealing a persona over the phone, in magazine advertisements and on billboards – and everyone agrees this is important – there’s still uncertainty about what to do about AI impersonations.

Our answer is simple – make what’s illegal in the analogue world – illegal in the digital world.

Deepfakes aren’t just a problem for our top artists, or world leaders, they are increasingly becoming a threat to hard working Canadians and distressingly – their kids. All Canadians deserve a clear publicity right that protects how their name, image and likeness is used. We are going to keep working on this and I look forward to reporting back to you next year.

Turning to Music Canada’s other priority in the digital space – CRTC’s work to implement the Online Streaming Act and their updated roadmap.

At Music Canada, we take this process really seriously, I believe it’s a once in a generation regulatory process and ALL involved, should treat it as such.

But I do think that it would be helpful to break down why I think it’s so important.

I’ll start with the simplest. We’ve had home internet broadly available in this country for 30-plus years. And we all learned to make the most of it without a Canadian regulatory body overlooking it for that entire time. So much so that on April 26, 2023 digital platforms in Canada were not regulated – and on April 27, 2023 – with the passage of the Online Streaming Act, they were . That’s always felt to me like a big change.

It’s why I believe that the CRTC should be encouraged to build the very best regulatory system for the digital platforms and the Canadian creators that create the songs that have seen us all flock to the services.

What we cannot do is simply try to graft the old radio rules to the global digital economy in which Canadian artists are finding success and that consumers enjoy.

We also simply cannot ignore the presence, investment and contribution of the platforms to the Canadian industry during the unregulated time. It matters that the platforms have teams based in Canada – everyone in this room knows how important that is to help artists reach their fans around the world. The same is true of our members – Canada’s major labels – with brand new buildings full of Canadians focused on Canadian artists and their global success.

In one of the most powerful parts of the Phase 1 consultations at the CRTC in November, Patrick Aldous from Nettwerk warned that we must not forget the damage done to the music industry in the dark days of the digital piracy era – and that those dark days have been replaced by a licensed streaming era that has opened doors for Canadian and Indigenous artists to build global fanbases.

To me, this means that regulation must not interfere with the listening experience on streaming platforms or we risk driving users back to unlicensed services.

If this regulation is going to work, we need to build a system for today and tomorrow and not simply try to catch up on 30 years of lack of regulation.

That’s why I believe it’s time to turn over every stone. Really REALLY understand streaming. How Canadians listen, how artists benefit from it; dive deeply into how we can create more success.

It’s also why I’m so skeptical of those who encourage us to turn over NO stones.

Here’s what I think we will find when we really really dive in and look carefully at all aspects of the streaming market and our regulatory framework: at its heart, we will find artists. Canadian and Indigenous Artists in every corner of this country singing, writing, rapping and performing. Not just for audiences in Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal or EVEN New York but for fanbases made possible by the global digital industry in Nigeria, Senegal and India.

Canadian artists don’t need a “made-in-Canada ceiling” to “keep them here.” They need and importantly WANT a map of the world.

We need a system that encourages Canadian artists to work with the best in the world so that they can compete with the world.

We have a lot of work to do. Because streaming isn’t just different from radio it’s the opposite.

I’m going to explain how I know this to be true. Not because Will Page told me so but because my dad would blow my mind on road trips when I was a kid.

Whenever we were in the car for any great length of time, with my Dad at the wheel, my Mom would flip to Q107, CHUM FM or CHFI on the dial in our Ford Tempo. After only a second or two, she would turn the volume dial to 0. After a little bit of humming to himself, my dad would either name the tune – or if he was feeling especially showy – he would join the song in progress.

Now there’s a lot going on here – first let’s give my dad some credit – it’s a cool party trick. Developed by a misspent youth locked away in his bedroom listening to endless amounts of music – but – it’s also an explainable mathematical equation.

A generation ago, it was possible to know every second of every song in the most popular genres because making it to radio, being broadcast, was the beginning of truly making it.

Our regulatory system is built for my Dad’s party trick.

But, today, joining the 120,000 songs uploaded to platforms every DAY is barely the beginning of the beginning.

And yet – more artists around the world are being listened to more than ever by more people in more genres than ever – thanks to streaming. Canada is a success story in the global digital economy.

Our new regulatory system needs to reflect that. It needs to respect the new players in the space, understand the modern paths to success and truly WANT TO MAKE the decisions required to help make Canadian artists into global stars.

With that, let’s start that process with someone who truly understands what we’re talking about – an economist and expert on music streaming, Will Page.

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JUNO Awards 2019: How Music Canada is working to strengthen Canada’s music ecosystem

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JUNO Awards week is here and Music Canada is gearing up for another spectacular few days celebrating Canadian music with our friends and partners in the music community.

Last year at the JUNOS we showcased how our advocacy work benefits artists at every stage of their career with our #EveryStage campaign. This year, we aim to highlight the ways we’re working to improve the music ecosystem in Canada. With the support of our members, Sony, Universal and Warner, we’re committed to building a framework where music businesses can thrive, and artists can have sustainable and prosperous careers.

Five major areas in which we are working to create a better Canadian music ecosystem are:

  • Improving Policy Frameworks,
  • Addressing the Value Gap,
  • Diversity and Inclusion,
  • Music Cities, and
  • Celebrating Success.

 

IMPROVING POLICY FRAMEWORKS

Music Canada President and CEO Graham Henderson testifies before the Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology

A major pillar of Music Canada’s mandate is advocating for a functioning marketplace where music creators are paid fairly every time their work is used.

Copyright is the bedrock of remuneration for the creators of recorded music. It enables them to receive payment when their recordings are copied or played in public, including on the Internet. In the age of streaming, it’s vital that copyright legislation and institutions be adaptive and responsive so musicians and labels are paid whenever their work is commercialized by others. 

Some of the ways that we’re working to strengthen copyright and boost investment in music are: successfully championing reforms to the Copyright Board of Canada that will make the Board’s processes faster, more efficient, and more predictable; calling for the elimination of copyright exemptions that syphon value away from music, and; encouraging provincial government investment in regional music economies, such as the BC Music Fund and Ontario Music Fund.

 

ADDRESSING THE VALUE GAP

Music Canada has been a global leader in researching the Value Gap – its origins, the economic toll, and practical solutions the Government of Canada can implement to help fix the problem. Throughout the government’s current review of the Copyright Act, numerous music community representatives testifying before government committees referenced our report, The Value Gap: Its Origins, Impacts and a Made-in-Canada Approach, and presented the same four recommendations to government. It was abundantly clear that the Value Gap is a real phenomenon that is hurting creators and that it needs to be addressed. Its harm is felt across the music community – everyone from publishers and composers, to labels, and especially artists, are at a disadvantage because of outdated copyright legislation.

Because artists are the motor that drives the music industry, and the storytellers that music fans fall in love with, they are best equipped to communicate the serious and erosive effects the Value Gap is having on their careers, their economic livelihoods, and the wider music community.

Music Canada is committed to supporting artist advocacy, because their stories truly resonate with the public and political decision-makers. We do this through support for discussions at music conferences, economic forums, and spreading the voices of artist advocates at our events and in our reports.

 

DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION

Dr Stacy L. Smith at the 2018 Global Forum

In 2017, Music Canada embarked on an exhaustive organizational review to provide recommendations on ways we could demonstrate leadership in inclusion and good governance. At our annual Playback event in October 2018, we announced preliminary results of this review, including the addition of two new independent member positions on our Board of Directors to bring representation of women on our Board to 40%. We look forward to announcing further details on ways we’re working to reflect the exquisite mosaic that is our Canadian music community in the coming days.

Bringing measurable inclusivity and accountability for the music industry was the topic of one of our major annual events in 2018 called the Global Forum at Canadian Music Week. We were proud to host Dr. Stacy L. Smith of the Annenberg Inclusion Initiative, the leading think tank in the world studying issues of diversity and inequality in entertainment. Dr. Smith pioneered the now popular “Inclusion Rider,” and at the Global Forum, spoke to her organization’s research into inclusion in the music industry.

During JUNOS Weekend 2019, we’re pleased to be supporting CARAS’ Allies in Action event, focusing on action undertaken or underway in the Canadian music community to create safer and more inclusive workplaces and environments for industry members, artists and music fans.

 

MUSIC CITIES

The 2018 Music Cities Summit at CMW

Since the publication of our 2012 report Accelerating Toronto’s Music Industry Growth, Leveraging Best Practices from Austin, Texas, Music Canada has become an internationally renowned source for research into policies municipalities can implement, and actions they can take to activate the full potential of their music economies. Our leadership in Music Cities was further cemented with the publication of our groundbreaking The Mastering of a Music City report in 2015.

Since the release of these reports, we’ve seen phenomenal traction in Canadian cities like Smithers, Vancouver, Toronto, Ottawa and 2019 JUNO Awards host city London. These cities have all formulated an official music strategy, and some have established a music office, or officer position, within their municipality.

In addition to presenting our research at Music Cities events across the globe , Music Canada will host its third annual Music Cities Summit at Canadian Music Week in May of 2019. Look out for details on the 2019 Music Cities Summit, including featured speakers and other program elements in the coming weeks.

 

CELEBRATING SUCCESS

Jessie Reyez receives a Double Platinum plaque with the Universal Music Canada team

Music Canada is proud to return as a sponsor of the Album of the Year category, as well as the Presenting Sponsor of the Chair’s and Welcome Reception on Friday, March 15. With our sponsorship of the category and continued partnership with the JUNO Awards, we join music fans across the country in celebrating the works from this year’s nominees – Hubert Lenoir, Jann Arden, Shawn Mendes, The Weeknd, and Three Days Grace – and congratulate the dedicated label and production teams involved with each release.

Throughout the year, we also join fans in celebrating their favourite artists’ first certification milestones to a lifetime’s worth of achievements with our historic Gold/Platinum program, which was launched in 1975 to celebrate milestone sales of music in Canada. Today, artists can receive new certifications for the combined sales and stream equivalents of their singles and albums, and are often surprised with a tangible recognition of national success by their labels’ devoted teams. Certifications are shared on our Gold/Platinum Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook accounts, and the latest Gold certifications are added to our #GoldinCanada playlist every Thursday.

Music Canada also presents two awards, our President’s Award and Artist Advocate Award, during Playback, our annual industry dialogue and celebration. So far, artists Miranda Mulholland (2017) and Loreena McKennitt (2018) have been honoured with the Artist Advocate Award in recognition of their outstanding advocacy efforts to improve the livelihoods of music creators. Meanwhile, the President’s Award, which is presented to an individual working outside the music community who displays a deep passion for music and the people who make it, has been received by Music Cities champions including former Toronto City Councillor Josh Colle (2018), and co-recipients Cory Crossman, London Music Industry Development Officer, and Chris Campbell, Director of Culture and Entertainment Tourism at Tourism London, who were instrumental in bringing the JUNOS to London this weekend for the very first time.

 

A full rundown of JUNOS Week events is available on the JUNO Awards website. Tickets to The 2019 JUNO Awards Broadcast are available online at budweisergardens.com, by phone at 1-866-455-2849 and in-person at the Courtesy Ford Box Office at Budweiser Gardens (Located at Gate 1).

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Debora Spar Op-Ed ‘Return to the Era of Rule-Making’ featured in The Hill Times

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In an op-ed published today in The Hill Times, distinguished Harvard professor and author Debora Spar examined how rapid technological advancements have affected the evolution of the recorded music industry – highlighting how governments worldwide are reforming their copyright legislation to contend with the rising impact of these digital-based streaming services and user-upload platforms.

The article was adapted from a keynote speech Spar delivered at Music Canada’s 2018 Playback event in October. In her remarks, she discussed her groundbreaking 2001 book Ruling the Waves: From the Compass to the Internet, a History of Business and Politics along the Technological Frontier.

In the piece, Spar outlined the book’s thesis that the Internet – like of a long chain of communications technologies that began with the printing press, telegraph, and then the radio – was destined to go through four major phases of political and commercial evolution.

These four phases include:

  1. Innovation
  2. Commercialization
  3. Creative Anarchy
  4. Rule-Making

From here, the piece highlights how the progression of these four stages parallels  major developments within the music industry, with the ‘innovation’ stage occurring in the 1980’s and early 1990’s.

Spar goes on to discuss how the industry is now in the hypothesized ‘rule-making’ stage – pointing to government initiatives like Canada’s ongoing Copyright Act Review as evidence we are in this final phase of regulation and enforcement.

Read the full Hill-Time piece here.

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Miranda Mulholland highlights copyright and artist remuneration issues at the 2018 World Trade Organization Public Forum

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In October 2018, Canadian musician and artist advocate Miranda Mulholland participated in the the World Trade Organization Public Forum 2018 in Geneva as part of a panel discussion on the future of innovation and creativity.

The panel also featured Richard Bagger, Executive Vice President, Corporate Affairs and Market Access at Celgene, and Nicholas Hodac, Government and Regulatory Affairs Executive, IBM, and was moderated by Ellen Szymanski, Executive Director, Global Innovation Policy Center, U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

In her remarks, Mulholland provided a stark picture of the current realities of artist remuneration in this increasingly digitized musical landscape. She outlined the differences in opportunities for artists in the 1980’s and 1990’s, whose earnings sustained their livelihood and enabled them to enter the middle class –  in a way that artists today are simply not able to.

Photos: © WTO/Jay Louvion

“Royalty checks that once paid for a down-payment on a home for those lucky enough to be working before the digital disruption, only amount to enough to buy a cup of coffee today.”

Indeed, rapid technological and digital advancements has meant that music has become instantly accessible, in a variety of mediums and services. Yet, the remuneration of creators and musicians for the use and commercialization of this work has not matched the pace of these developments.

Mulholland connected this reality to the phenomenon of the Value Gap: the significant disparity between the value of creative content that is accessed by consumers, and the revenues that are returned to its creators.

She ended her remarks by reflecting on the positive regulatory and legislative steps that have been occurring at the federal level worldwide. Canada’s ongoing statutory review of the Copyright Act, as well the EU’s review of the Copyright Directive have both created opportunities for meaningful reforms that better protect creators.

Watch Miranda Mulholland’s full remarks below.

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At Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage, Miranda Mulholland illustrates why urgent action to address the Value Gap is needed

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Last Thursday, musician, label owner and music festival founder Miranda Mulholland appeared before the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage’s study of remuneration models for artists and creative industries, where she shared her personal experience as an artist living in the Value Gap.

She began by making Committee members aware that although they may not recognize her, they had most certainly heard her play. “Over the last 19 years, I have played or sung on hundreds of recorded songs on over 50 records including many JUNO Award nominated or winning albums,” she said. “I have done film and television work – you can hear my fiddle playing on every episode of Republic of Doyle and in the film Maudie and on the Good Things Grow in Ontario jingle.”

Mulholland then stated that creators are storytellers and that the story she would tell them today had a beginning, a middle and that she hoped that she and the Committee members would write the end together.

After outlining how she got her start in music, becoming a fiddle player as the digital revolution took off, Mulholland spoke about the Value Gap, and what it has meant to her career.

Mulholland then referenced previous testimonies that the Committee has heard, from artists like Andrew Morrison of the JUNO-nominated group The Jerry Cans, and Music Canada President and CEO Graham Henderson, who both spoke of the disappearance of middle class artists.
Mulholland underscored this point, stating: “The musician middle class is gone – and even the ladder to get there is gone.”

In the middle of her dynamic and authentic presentation, Mulholland proposed four immediately actionable solutions that Committee members could recommend to help improve the framework, which are captured in the video embedded below.


Approaching the end of her story, Mulholland expressed hope that the Committee would help write the ending. Referencing the recent actions that lawmakers in Europe and the United States have taken to help close the Value Gap, Mulholland expressed hope that the Heritage and Industry Committees can work with artists like herself to fix the broken framework and update the laws to reflect artists’ day to day lives.

Her testimony was encapsulated by one of her closing remarks: “Artists have adapted and we need our laws to do the same.”

Mulholland’s dynamic and authentic presentation seemed to truly engage members of the Committee. Following her testimony, Pierre Breton, Member of Parliament for Shefford, Quebec, commented:

“Wow, thank you for your excellent presentations. It’s really from the heart, and I would say that you are excellent at explaining the issues – so if there is anyone who had a hard time understanding the scope of the challenge that you’ve been living through, well, now they understand it. Thank you for your testimony – it was exceptional. These are very sensible recommendations in my opinion, and they could be implemented very quickly.”

Martin Shields, Member of Parliament for Bow River, Alberta, said:

“I think you’re passionate, I think you’re great – but I understand fairness, and what we have is an industry that needs fairness, and we need legislation changed.”

During the question and answer portion of the hearing, Breton asked Mulholland which of the recommendations she offered could have a quick impact if enacted by government. Mulholland replied:

“Each one would have an immediate effect. The first one, the radio royalty exemption, getting rid of that subsidy – and again, subsidizing – artists are subsidizing the big media conglomerates – that needs to stop. And if that ended, that money would be filtered through into artists pockets immediately.

Same with sound recording … I just played with Alan Doyle on a new kids show that he’s writing the music for… if this was enacted and the sound recording wording was changed, as soon as that is played, I will get paid for my work – so that would help me immediately.

The private copying – that would help immediately as well.

And having a term extension would help me value my work for longer, so I would be able to leverage that if I was talking to a publisher or a label about my catalog. So all four would help me right now.”

Anju Dhillon, Member of Parliament for Dorval — Lachine — LaSalle, asked Mulholland:

“In many interviews you’ve done, I noticed that you’re talking about how the Copyright Act is not protecting creators and artists – what concrete changes would you like to see to the Copyright Act so that we can have more fairness and money can be distributed from the distributors to the creators?”

Mulholland replied that right now, she and her creator colleagues are subsidizing billionaires. She told Dhilllon, “the subsidies need to stop – so that would be the radio royalty exemption… it was supposed to be temporary, and it needs to be removed… We just want to have a functioning marketplace.”

Following the hearing, Committee members enthusiastically thanked and congratulated Mulholland for her concise and moving testimony.

(l-r) Members of Parliament Randy Boissonnault, Julie Dabrusin, Anju Dhillon and Pierre Breton with Miranda Mulholland

 


Full video of the September 20, 2018, Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage hearing is available on the House of Commons website.

 

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Unanimous U.S. Senate support for Music Modernization Act is further evidence Canada must act to close the Value Gap

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Music Canada joins our American counterparts in applauding the United States Senate following its unanimous passage of the Music Modernization Act (MMA) yesterday evening. The MMA, which was broadly supported by music organizations across the United States, is a comprehensive bill that includes the CLASSICS Act, legislation that guarantees artists and labels who recorded music before 1972 a federal right to be paid for those recordings when played by digital radio outlets.

The U.S. music community was united in its support of the MMA, with organizations such as the Recording Industry Association of America, the National Music Publishers Association, ASCAP, SoundExchange, musicFIRST, and the Recording Academy advocating strongly for the bipartisan bill. Thousands of artists spoke up in support of the legislation, including Roseanne Cash and Dionne Warwick, who advocated for the bill in the House of Representatives; Smokey Robinson, who testified at the U.S. Senate; and Maren Morris and Adam Levine, who were vocal supporters of the bill on social media.

“We congratulate all of the artists and advocates who spoke up so passionately in support of the Music Modernization Act. As we saw with the European Parliament vote, governments are listening to creators and recognizing the need to update the legislation that affects their careers,” says Graham Henderson, President and CEO of Music Canada.

“In the past week, we have seen overwhelming support for this type of legislation from Canada’s two largest trading partners, further underlining the need for Canada to follow through with meaningful reforms,” adds Henderson. “Our government has heard from creators – the Value Gap is an urgent issue that must be addressed. It’s now time for our government to seize the opportunity and close the Value Gap in Canada.”

Music Canada has been the leading advocate for addressing the Value Gap in Canada. Our recent report, The Value Gap: Its Origins, Impacts and a Made-in-Canada Approach, examines the Value Gap and its causes, and demonstrates how it impacts artists, businesses and our nation’s cultural foundations, with a particular focus on music. The report includes recommended steps that Canada’s federal government can take today to address the inequities that artists face due to the Value Gap.

Music Canada is encouraged by the progress made in the U.S. and EU, and remains committed to continuing to work with the government of Canada to close the Value Gap here at home.

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Landslide European Copyright Directive vote is a call to action for legislators globally to fix the Value Gap

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Music Canada joins our European counterparts in applauding the European Parliament for today’s historic vote on the European Copyright Directive. The vote is a vital step towards ensuring Europe’s creators are paid fairly when their work is consumed online, and provides a strong example for other governments to follow to support their own creators.

“Congratulations to the European Parliament on today’s historic vote to create a framework for creativity to flourish in the digital marketplace. We also need to acknowledge the incredible impact of creator voices to this campaign – thank you to all of the artists who spoke up with such passion and honesty,” says Graham Henderson, President and CEO of Music Canada.

“Today’s landslide vote is a call to action for governments around the world – We must all act with urgency. The Value Gap is a global issue of critical importance to the current and future health of creators and the creative industries. Here in Canada, our Heritage and Industry’s committees have heard loud and clear from creators that the Value Gap threatens Canadian culture and needs to be fixed. These committees have done excellent work so far and they must seize this opportunity. Let’s close the Value Gap NOW!”

In 2017 Music Canada released The Value Gap: Its Origins, Impacts and a Made-in-Canada Approach. The first-of-its-kind report describes the Value Gap as “the significant disparity between the value of creative content that is accessed and enjoyed by consumers, and the revenues that are returned to the people and businesses who create it.” To protect the livelihoods of creators, businesses and cultures, creators and creative groups around the globe have been urging governments to enact legislative changes to ensure creators receive fair compensation for the use of their works.

The European vote comes as the Canadian government is conducting its own review of the Copyright Act. Numerous stakeholders have raised the Value Gap as a key issue at the Standing Committee for Industry, Science and Technology, as well as the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage’s study on Remuneration Models for Artists and Creative Industries. Additionally, through Focus On Creators, more than 3,700 creators have signed a letter urging the government to place creators at the heart of our country’s cultural policy.

A release from Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada states that a “well-functioning copyright framework should enable Canada’s creators to take full advantage of the opportunities presented by digital technology, provide a supportive environment for business and investment, and position creators for success in a competitive marketplace.”

Music Canada is committed to continuing to work with the government of Canada throughout the review process to close the Value Gap here at home.

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#EveryStage: Why copyright is so crucial for Canada’s music sector and an important part of Music Canada’s advocacy efforts

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Leading up to the 47th annual JUNO Awards, Music Canada is highlighting the ways in which our advocacy supports Canadian artists at every stage of their careers. So far, we have profiled our work regarding music education and Music Cities. In this week’s edition, we highlight our advocacy efforts regarding copyright, which is crucial for all artists.

Copyright effectively underpins the entire music ecosystem – it is copyright that allows creators to sell and license their music in today’s wide array of platforms, and it is copyright that protects the investment that artists and labels make in their career.  As the Canadian Intellectual Property Office outlines in the video below, copyright allows creators to control how their work is used and allows them to monetize their work when it is used.

Music Canada represents Canada’s recording industry to government and public agencies on many different fronts, including how laws, regulations and policies affect music creators. Federally, copyright advocacy is a big part of that role. In addition, Music Canada plays an important role as a collaborator with artists and other industry organizations in the Canadian music and cultural industries to advocate for the creation of a functioning marketplace where creators are paid fairly every time their work is used. Music Canada is a thought-leader on the importance of strong support for creators in the Copyright Act, particularly in highlighting the real-world effects it has on artists and their livelihoods. Reforming Canada’s Copyright Act to ensure that creators are paid when their work is commercialized by others is our top priority.

Currently, the biggest challenge for the music industry in Canada and around the world is known as the Value Gap. The Value Gap is defined as the significant disparity between the value of creative content that is accessed and enjoyed by consumers, and the revenues that are returned to the people and businesses who create it.

At the heart of the Value Gap for music is misapplied and outdated “safe harbour” provisions in copyright law, which result in creators having to forego copyright royalty payments to which they should be entitled, and amount to a system of subsidies to other industries.

Music Canada’s recent report, The Value Gap: Its Origins, Impacts and a Made-in-Canada Approach, examines the Value Gap and its causes, and demonstrates how it impacts artists, businesses and our nation’s cultural foundations, with a particular focus on music. The report includes recommended steps that Canada’s federal government can take today to address the inequities that artists face due to the Value Gap.

In addition to our Value Gap research, Music Canada has been a lead advocate for reforming the Copyright Board. This is another priority for the music sector, as the rates set by the Board directly impact the value of music and the amount that artists and labels receive for their music and investments. Music Canada is calling on the federal government to reform the Board so that tariff rates are set faster, more efficiently and more predictably – all in the name of royalties that better reflect the true value of music in a functioning music marketplace.

As part of Music Canada’s advocacy on Board reform, we have participated in the Senate hearings on the Copyright Board, the government consultation on reforming the Board, and the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage’s Review of the Canadian Music Industry, each time appearing as a key stakeholder in favour of full and meaningful reforms. Music Canada’s Graham Henderson also raised the issue in a recent Policy Options op-ed, and in a speech before the Economic Club of Canada citing the need for reform of the Copyright Board as a key priority for government.

Next week, as JUNO Week kicks off in Vancouver, we’ll conclude our #EveryStage series by profiling Music Canada’s efforts to celebrate success in Canada’s music sector, including our Gold/Platinum program and partnerships with the JUNOS and other awards that celebrate Canadian music.

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Leading Canadian copyright lawyer says “support for Canada’s content creators is imperative” in Globe and Mail op-ed

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Barry Sookman, one of Canada’s leading copyright lawyers, wrote an op-ed published in The Globe and Mail on January 18, addressing two of the major challenges facing the cultural industries in Canada: pirate streaming and the Value Gap. The piece was later posted in its full, unedited length on Sookman’s personal website.

Sookman says that “our outdated legal frameworks” are a significant contributing cause of these challenges. He references Music Canada’s 2017 report The Value Gap: Its Origins, Impacts and a Made-In-Canada Approach, which shows that “the market value of music in Canada is still a fraction of what it once was, and equitable remuneration for access to music remains elusive.”

The report defines the Value Gap as the “significant disparity between the value of creative content that is accessed and enjoyed by consumers, and the revenues that are returned to the people and businesses who create it.”

As Sookman points out, the Value Gap is not only a problem for music creators. He says that most of Canada’s leading cultural industries are also affected, including journalism, television and film.

A coalition of author and publisher groups have documented the harm caused by the Value Gap to their sector, and in 2017 launched the I Value Canadian Stories campaign to urge Canadian lawmakers to “restore balance between the need to compensate our creators for educational copying and the need to promote access to quality content.” The campaign website notes that royalties to creators and publishers for copying of their works have declined by 80% since 2013.

Sookman concludes that, given the magnitude of this problem and the threat to Canada’s cultural industries, the issue, as well as practical solutions, “deserve the attention and support of Canadians.”

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Miranda Mulholland and 100 fellow creators call for real and meaningful reform to the Copyright Board of Canada

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In August of 2017, Canada’s Innovation, Science and Economic Development Minister, Navdeep Bains, in conjunction with Mélanie Joly, Minister of Canadian Heritage, announced the launch of consultations on reforming the Copyright Board of Canada. According to the government’s release, the goal of Copyright Board reform is to “enable creators to get paid properly and on time.”

Miranda Mulholland is a violinist, singer, label owner, and the recipient of Music Canada’s inaugural Artist Advocate Award for her outstanding achievements in advocating for the rights and livelihoods of music creators. One of those achievements is becoming the first creator to deliver a keynote address to the Economic Club of Canada. Another is rallying her fellow musicians on the importance of reforming the Copyright Board and her submission of two letters to the Canadian government.

The first letter was submitted on behalf of “Canadian musicians, independent label owners and creative entrepreneurs – at all stages of their careers” 100 of whom added their names. The letter states “While only part of our income comes from royalties collected by collective societies, the rates set by the Board directly impact the value of our music, and our ability to earn a living from it.” The letter specifically supports three options outlined in the consultation’s Discussion Paper and points out that while the role of the Board has evolved, “at the end of the day, the Board is valuing our work, and setting rates that affect our livelihoods.”

The second letter was submitted to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and in addition to the list of supporting names, is signed directly by Mulholland, Jim Cuddy, Alan Doyle and Joel Plaskett. It stresses the need for real and meaningful change at the Board, calling for tariffs to be set faster and more in line with market values, and also thanks the government for embarking on the long overdue reform process.

You can read Miranda’s letters below, which are also available on the advocacy section of her website.

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