Co-owned and overseen by RE:SOUND and SOCAN, Entandem brings the music licensing now managed separately by each organization into a single, jointly-operated business. With Entandem, retailers, restaurants, nightclubs, fitness clubs and myriad other organizations that use music will be able to complete their legally-required licenses in a single transaction.
The new joint venture, which builds upon a successful 2017 pilot project that combined music licensing for both parent organizations via an online portal, will be launched in July 2019. Until launch, licensing will continue to be administered separately by RE:SOUND and SOCAN, without change.
“Entandem is all about simplicity,” said Ian MacKay, president of RE:SOUND. “For most businesses that use music, a single licensing organization means a simplified experience, by interacting with one organization instead of two, with one payment for both RE:SOUND and SOCAN music licenses, and one point of contact to answer questions and resolve issues.”
“It’s about time – literally,” said Jeff Stinco, member of Simple Plan and owner of Mangiafocco, one of the many great restaurants of Montréal. “Mangiafocco welcomes Entandem’s one-stop service because it will save us time. We strongly believe that the music we play at the restaurant brings value, otherwise we wouldn’t use it, and it’s only fair that the owners of the music that we license gain fair royalties for their work.”
A songwriter and performer who receives royalties from both RE:SOUND and SOCAN, Stinco added, “By making music licensing easier and more efficient, it will help put more of the value our music provides into the hands of rights-holders like me. It’s a big step forward for anyone seeking to build a sustainable career in music.”
Whether recorded or live music, it is the law in Canada that businesses must pay for the music they use so that those who made the music can be fairly compensated, just as restaurants pay food suppliers and nightclubs pay for the liquor they serve.
Entandem will administer the licensing process as RE:SOUND and SOCAN do today, bringing royalties to Canadian songwriters, composers, publishers, labels and performers. Music licenses will continue to be based on agreements with users or tariffs approved by the Copyright Board of Canada.
While Entandem will collect licenses for live performances and the general use of recorded music in public venues, RE:SOUND and SOCAN will continue to administer royalties separately for recorded music, for example on YouTube, social media, radio, television, movies and online streaming services in single-use or as copies. Background music suppliers will also continue to obtain licenses directly from RE:SOUND and SOCAN.
SOCAN CEO Eric Baptiste added: “RE:SOUND and SOCAN getting together for Entandem means a strengthened ability to reach more businesses that should be paying both music licenses that provide vital support to music creators, especially the emerging and middle-class ones. By making the process easier, we expect stronger engagement across the country and, with that, increased realization of earned royalties for Canada’s songwriters, composers, publishers, labels and performers.”
Entandem will be a partner with businesses that use music, helping them to use music more effectively, increased use of live music, improved audio systems and more, with the essential truth that, the better the music experience, the better the customer experience. An improved customer experience results in extended shopping, increased spending, loyalty and, importantly, recommending the business to others.
Entandem will be jointly owned and overseen by RE:SOUND and SOCAN. However, in its day-to-day activities, it will operate separately from the parent organizations, under separate management.
The new organization will operate nationwide and will have premises in both downtown Toronto and Montréal. Existing licensing teams from each company will come together in shared locations.
Further information about Entandem is available at the organization’s website here.
