Canadian songwriters pulled in record royalties in 2014

SOCAN logo canvasThe Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada announced its financial results for 2014, and revealed $299 million in revenue from domestic, international and private copying proceeds. The figure broke last year’s record high of $276 million. Within that total, the organization received $20 million in revenue from Internet streaming companies, up from $3.2 million in the previous year. Part of the reason for the big spike was that 2014 was the first full year that SOCAN included revenue from streaming in its calculations. During the year, the group inked licensing deals with services including Spotify and Google Play Music.

“While 2014 was another record year, the economic challenges faced by the large majority of our members and professional musicians in general are real, and it’s imperative that we find every penny that our members have rightfully earned for their work,” SOCAN CEO Eric Baptiste said.

Anna Washenko