Skip to content
Sign In Join Newsletter
Music Business

SOCAN Reports Record Royalty Distribution, Digital Up 44%

SOCAN collected a record $352-million in total royalties in fiscal year 2017, continuing a seven-year trend. The Canadian PRO said the jump was driven by a 44%  increase in revenue. Continue reading [https://www.hypebot.com/hypebot/2018/06/socan-reports-record-royalty-distribution-digital-up-44.html

,   and  Bruce Houghton
Socan-logoSOCAN collected a record $352-million in total royalties in fiscal year 2017, continuing a seven-year trend. The Canadian PRO said the jump was driven by a 44%  increase in revenue from Internet sources and a 13%t surge in royalties from countries outside of  the county.SOCAN 2017 Financial Highlights:
  • Record total revenue – approximately $352-million in overall revenue in 2017, an 8% year-over-year increase.
  • $49-million from Internet collections  – "while growing with the popularity of music from digital sources, the reality is that because of the dynamics of digital services and the relatively poor discoverability of Canadian content, the average SOCAN creator-member who earned royalties from digital sources collected only a few pennies more than $37 in 2017."
  • Nearly $300 million sent to members.
  • A 48% increase in foreign royalties[2] since 2013 – royalties identified, collected and distributed to SOCAN members from international radio, television, online, on-stage and other public performance uses came to $76-million, an all-time high and SOCAN members' #1 royalty source.
At the meeting, SOCAN also announced that it surpassed the 150,000-members milestone.  The company also introduced its board of directors for the 2018-'21 term."We are delighted to deliver to our members a record overall amount of royalties in 2017, but there is still much work to be done to ensure that Canada's music creators and publishers receive what they rightfully have earned and deserve a larger piece of the pie for their extraordinary work," said SOCAN CEO Eric Baptiste. 

Related