SOCAN Reports A Record Breaking Year
Canadian rights organization SOCAN published their preliminary results for 2018, revealing that the year was a record-breaker for the Canadian music industry. The PRO recorded record total revenues of $374 Million for 2018, an 11% increase over 2017. Of that, $315 was distributed to SOCAN members, up from $295 million in 2017.
The lion’s share of that revenue — $282-million — was generated in Canada, an increase of 8% from 2017, which also set a record and up by 25% since 2013.
Royalties from non-Canadian sources are the #1 revenue stream for SOCAN members and are up by an impressive 70% over the last 5 years.
SOCAN also reported that their revenue was following broader industry trends towards digital consumption. Per SOCAN, revenue from Internet-based licensed music in 2018 totaled $62-million, an increase of 27% from approximately $49-million collected in 2017.
“The consistently increasing number of Canadian music creators aspiring to make a living from their creative work is similar to the halo effect we see in other industries,” said SOCAN CEO Eric Baptiste. “SOCAN member songwriters and composers like Alessia Cara, Alexandra Stréliski, Drake, Elisapie, Frank Dukes, Hubert Lenoir, Keith Power, Loud, Murda Beatz, Shawn Mendes, Tebey, The Weeknd, and WondaGurl are excelling globally, and they inevitably inspire others to pursue their passion for creating music as a livelihood. A first step toward a serious career in music creation is to join SOCAN so that you can get paid for what you’ve created.”
