SOCAN’s Canadian Music Streaming Revenues Hit $62 Million

According to the latest data from SOCAN, Canada’s largest music copyright collective, its internet streaming revenues have now hit $62 million, surpassing both radio and television royalties as its second largest source of domestic revenues (via Michael Geist).

SOCAN reported its preliminary numbers for 2018 last week noting that internet streaming now accounts for 22% of its domestic revenues and will almost certainly become its largest domestic revenue source this year.

SOCAN’s internet streaming revenues began to appear in 2013 at $3.4 million, a figure that has been seeing a significant growth every year since i.e. $12.4 million in 2014, $15.5 million in 2015, $33.8 million in 2016, $48.6 million in 2017, and now $62 million in 2018.



As Dr. Michael Geist writes:

Internet streaming revenues may make for a convenient target when it comes to lobbying for copyright reform, but the reality tells a far different story. SOCAN points to 8 percent growth in domestic revenues last year, but  Internet streaming grew by 27 percent and accounted for 64 percent of increased domestic revenues. In fact, since the 2012 copyright reforms, Internet streaming revenues have gone from nothing to account for nearly 1 of every 4 dollars collected by SOCAN from domestic sources.

In the past 6 years, SOCAN’s internet streaming revenues have overtaken cinema, pay audio, private copying, satellite radio, general, concert, television, and radio.