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A copyright is made up of a variety of different
rights, and the performing rights that SOCAN administers is one part
of that copyright.
The Canadian
Copyright Act recognizes three main rights:
- The right to produce or copy the musical work (such as sheet
music).
- The right to reproduce the musical work, including mechanical
rights (such as cassette and digital audio reproductions) and
synchronization rights (such as music in films, videos, and multimedia
productions).
- Performing rights, which are the rights to perform a work in
public (such as a live concert, a recording or any other type
of public performance) and the right to communicate to the public
by telecommunication (e.g., a broadcast).
SOCAN deals with only performing rights. All other rights are handled by the copyright
owners or by other organizations.
The performing right gives copyright owners of musical works (lyricists,
composers, songwriters) the sole right to perform, or authorize
the performance in public (in concert or in a club, etc.) of their works or communicate their works
by telecommunication to the public (broadcast on television or radio). In return for paying their royalties, SOCAN administers these performing
rights in musical works on behalf of its members.
SOCAN provides an easy link between the music
and the music
user.
Buying a CD or other recording only gives you the right to listen
to it in private. The public performance of these musical works
is subject to copyright law and therefore requires a SOCAN licence.
Find out more about copyright
law.
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