A SOCAN license gives our business or organization, the freedom and flexibility to use virtually any music you want – legally, ethically, and easily. Without SOCAN, we would have to get permission and negotiate a royalty with every songwriter, lyricist, and music publisher whose work you intend to play, or to have publicly performed. Instead, SOCAN simplifies the process by allowing businesses to pay a relatively small fee, often once a year to play all the music their customers enjoy hearing. These fees are then distributed as royalties to music creators in Canada and around the world, through reciprocal agreements with similar music rights organizations in other countries. To learn more about our Licensed To Play program, visit our Music Users page.

The license grants us permission to use music in a specific way, and it’s quite straightforward to work with SOCAN to obtain the right license to play or reproduce music. When an we use music, it’s adding value by using the work of music creators and publishers. Those who composed, wrote, and published the song are entitled to be compensated for the time, effort, and money they put into the creation and promotion of that work when that music is reproduced and communicated or played in public. In accordance with Canada’s Copyright Act, any public performance or reproduction of copyright-protected musical works requires a license. When a song is used, music creators (not just the performers) are entitled to be compensated – it supports their livelihood. Without SOCAN, we would have to get permission from every composer, songwriter, and publisher of every musical work you intend to use in your organization or platforms–a feat that most of us have neither the time nor the means to achieve. This permission isn’t granted when we buy a recording, whether through a CD, downloading, etc., which only allows us to privately use the purchased music. SOCAN simplifies this complex process for businesses through licenses. A SOCAN license grants our business permission to use music in a specific way, and it’s easy to work with SOCAN to obtain the right license to play music.

To read more about our license, please visit socan’s website.

If you have any questions, please contact us.