Given that collectively the major record labels are earning USD$1M per hour from music streaming we, the musicians of Canada and our supporters, call on the Government of Canada to update Canadian copyright law to enable music creators to earn 3 cents per stream on every music streaming site.

Spotify pays whoever holds the rights to a song anywhere from $0.006 to $0.0084 per play. The rights “holder” can then split these earnings between the record label, producers, artists, and songwriters, which means splitting pennies between many parties.  If an artist is signed with a major label such as Sony, Warner or Universal they may receive up to 20% of those micro-penny streaming funds. 

This is tyranny.

Even huge Canadian pop icons are receiving next to nothing for their songs, not to mention average musicians in Canada who, before the Coronavirus Pandemic, were doing well if they achieved a middle-class income.  Now many of us are depending on government money or other work until the live entertainment industry can hopefully rise from the ashes. 

Streaming accounted for 60% of recorded music revenues in Canada in 2018 and increased in trade value by 31.9% from USD $200.7 million in 2017 to USD $264.8 million in 2018. Of that streaming revenue, USD $211.8 million came from subscription audio streams, USD $26.78 million came from ad-supported audio streams, and USD $26.21 million came from video streams.  Artists receive around 16% of the total income from streams, while record companies get around 41% and streaming services around 29%.

As famed jazz orchestra leader and 5-time Grammy Award Winner Maria Schneider has pointed out in her class action lawsuit against Alphabet Inc. (the Google parent company), the rights of large corporations such as Sony, Warner and Universal are protected but not the rights of common musicians who must navigate the digital world as lone warriors against all odds. 

It is time for the Canadian Government to step up and update copyright laws in Canada in support of our Canadian content creators.