Copyright Board of Canada Approved New Fees to Play Music at Large Gatherings

• BobYoMeowMeow wrote on 2012-06-03 22:45

  Some couples looking to tie the knot this summer are balking at a new fee they'll have to pay to play recorded music at their wedding reception.
  
  Couples expecting to wed should budget a little more for their big day, as the Copyright Board of Canada recently approved new fees to play recorded music at large gatherings, including weddings.
  
  The fees -- which also apply to events and venues such as parades, festivals, and karaoke bars -- are being charged in an effort to protect and compensate performers and record labels for their work.
  
  The fees range in price depending on the size of the event and how the music will be used. At events with fewer than one hundred people, the fees start at $9.25 per day.
  
  For couples planning a wedding, a reception of 400 guests will cost them $27.76. If dancing is involved, that fee doubles to $55.52.
  
  The announcement of the new fees didn't come as a surprise to Canadian businesses, as talks of implementing these tariffs began in 2007.
  
  Similar tariffs are already in place for music composers and publishers.
  
  Copyright lawyer Howard Knopf told CTV Winnipeg that the Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada (SOCAN) already collects about $275 million each year on behalf of composers and authors of music.
  
  Re:Sound – the newer collective that represents record companies and performers benefiting from this latest "live events" tariff -- is attempting to match its tariff revenues with those of SOCAN wherever it can.
  
  "This is just the record companies and performers catching up with the composers who've been doing this for years," said Knopf.
  
  While news of the fees has pleased many in the music industry, it has left some event organizers and small businesses puzzled.
  
  Paul Jordan is the chief operating officer at the Forks Renewal Corporation in Winnipeg. Jordan is in charge of organizing many of the events at the large waterfront park and marketplace.
  
  He said the new fees may cause confusion for event organizers.
  
  "The devil's going to be in the details," said Jordan. "If we've got 20,000 people here watching the fireworks show, and 20 people start to dance, are we suddenly in a new category?"
  
  The new fees are retro-active to 2008, meaning people may receive a bill for an event they've thrown in the past. There will also be inspectors who will work to ensure the new rules are being followed.

  
  
  http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/Canada/20120602/couple-to-wed-balk-at-extra-music-fees-120602/#ixzz1wkLDLgEi
  
  really?
  really?
  
  and the bill increases if there's people dancing
• Cynic wrote on 2012-06-03 23:41
  And their greed reaches whole new levels.
• Osayidan wrote on 2012-06-04 00:09
  It's like they're asking for people to pirate more.
• Sinsie wrote on 2012-06-04 00:09
  Hah, I can not get over the dancing bit. "What, people want to ENJOY the music too?! That costs DOUBLE!!"
  
  What the actual...
• paladin wrote on 2012-06-04 03:38
  Oh god
  American greed has infected Canada
  sorry to our Canadian nationers
  The American incompetence and greed has infected the Canadian gov
• Sumpfkraut wrote on 2012-06-04 03:49

  If dancing is involved, that fee doubles to $55.52.

  
  I'm sure that's actually illegal. It just has to be.
  
  
  I wonder though how they think they can enforce this law. It's probably just to scare people into paying fees.
• Yoorah wrote on 2012-06-04 04:15
  There is nothing strange about having to pay fees for playing music at organized events. It's been done for a while, and it makes sense. The dancing clause is probably there for dance type events, which often charge an admission fee and music is a main focus, as opposed to a background thing that you'd have in most other types of events. It's not a "lol people started dancing, now you pay double" type of deal. Use logic plz. D:
  
  What I find to be questionable is why this fee is retroactive.
• BobYoMeowMeow wrote on 2012-06-04 04:16
  yes
  the Canadian government has a time machine where they go back to all the old weddings and see if there's dancing
  
  also this includes weddings
• Spartaaaaa wrote on 2012-06-04 12:25
  lol these intellectual property trolls just don't know when to stop. What next? Will there be a law against playing music beyond a certain volume because someone who didn't pay for it might hear it? Will supermarkets be charged for playing music?
• whocares8128 wrote on 2012-06-04 15:42

  Quote from from article:

  
  The fees range in price depending on the size of the event and how the music will be used. At events with fewer than one hundred people, the fees start at $9.25 per day.

  
  
  So if I host a party at my house, with some dancing, I'm expected to pay $18.50 to this group for the "event?" How do they define what these tariffs apply to?