Public music should feature Canadian content, Stingray says

Music in public establishments such as malls, bars and restaurants should be required to include Canadian content, resulting in additional revenue for homegrown artists, Stingray Group Inc. is suggesting. The recommendation asks the government to amend current broadcasting laws to include “public places,” effectively forcing services selling music to those establishments to allocate some portion of their background music to Cancon. Under section 2(1) of the Broadcasting Act, the definition of broadcasting “does not include any such transmission of programs that is made solely for performance or display in a public place.” It’s being pushed by Stingray in a submission to the government’s review of communications laws as a change that will meet broadcast policy objectives, extend the reach of Canadian artists to more people, and deepen the pockets of struggling Canadian creative groups in the form of more royalty revenues. “The fact that a Canadian consumer would only have guaranteed access to Canadian music in his or her own private space through radio or television but may not hear any Canadian music when out in public does not align with our broadcast policy objectives and should be adjusted in the legislative reform,” the company said. Stingray says commercial audio services, which offer music programming for businesses, do not need to meet any Canadian content requirements under the current iteration of the legislation. It notes the reason is “likely” related to the legislation not wanting to “capture truly public displays of programming content, such as in theatres, sports venues,” among others. The company is a member of the Independent Broadcast Group. In a more detailed submission, the IBG said a new approach would include public establishments within the framework and let the regulator exercise a ‘light’ or ‘heavier’ touch with respect to enforcement. Montreal-based Stingray said many businesses in mainly French-speaking municipalities in Quebec choose to “never” play French music in their establishments serving that demographic. The company said it makes “little sense” to distinguish between a service that serves Canadians in a public setting, which has no Cancon requirement, and one that serves them in private that has a Cancon obligation under the law. “It is not clear why an entity offering programming to the general public in Canada for home viewing, for example, should not meet the same public policy objectives when it makes that content available for viewing by the public through commercial establishments,” the IBG said in its submission. Stingray, for its part, has a commercial music service known as Stingray Business, which supplies background music to establishments. It said it doesn’t matter if a business uses a domestic service like Stingray’s or a foreign music service like Spotify AB’s when it comes to royalties because they need to be paid when played in a commercial place. “Why would it be any different for the respect of Canadian content requirements under the Act (as an example)?” Background music suppliers are required to pay royalties as determined by the Copyright Board. Under tariff 3, Re:Sound, an organization that collects licensing fees on recorded music and distributes them, can collect an annual minimum of $25 per establishment, which scales up with venue capacity and how many days music is played, according to its website. Michelle Baily, Re:Sound vice-president of people, planning and strategy, said in a phone interview last month that Re:Sound reaches out to businesses to pitch licenses to them. In some cases, however, the establishments will ignore the rights aggregator and play music without a licence, despite “reasonable” efforts to get them to pay. In the event that happens, Re:Sound sues, as it has recently when it filed claims against clubs in Toronto. Baily said in a follow-up email this week that even after filing a suit, the organization will still try to work with establishments without going to court, as she said it has done in the past. “It’s not a very common thing for us to have to pursue like this, because usually once a person does a little bit of investigation on how the law works, they recognize that they have to pay,” she said. There are some exceptions, however: those establishments that broadcast traditional radio channels do not have to pay royalties, she said. Baily said she could not comment on the recommendation to force public places to play Canadian music because it is outside the mandate of the organization. Stingray said if over-the-top (OTT) platforms like Spotify are brought under new Canadian legislation -- with businesses obliged to come to agreements with the regulated entities -- it would “ensure increased visibility for Canadian content in public commercial spaces and increased dollars available for Canadian creatives due to the additional revenue stemming from these commercial music services.” — With reporting by Ahmad Hathout at ahathout@thewirereport.ca and editing by Kyle Duggan at kduggan@thewirereport.ca

Public music should feature Canadian content, Stingray says

Broadcast | February 1, 2019

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Public music should feature Canadian content, Stingray says

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