Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Good afternoon, committee members.
First of all, I would just like to thank you for inviting us to give our opinion on the effects of technological change on the creation, distribution and consumption of Canadian music.
The UDA, represented today by Richard Petit, one of its directors, is a professional association representing around 12,000 performers, including singers.
Artisti is the copyright collective created by the UDA in 1997. We have over 3,100 members, singers and musicians of all languages. To date, we have distributed to them over $25 million in royalties under the system of equitable copyright remuneration.
Let's come back to the effects of technological change. The effects are many, and we have recommendations to make on steps to take to offset the negative ones.
Don't forget, it is easier than ever before to copy and listen to music. Accessing it is child's play. Just think of iTunes, the various streaming sites or even YouTube, which provide access to a huge catalogue of music. However, there is not always a fee for that access, and the income that should in principle make its way back to the musical performers does not always materialize.
Take YouTube, for example. Almost everyone listens to music online on YouTube. To listen to music accompanying videos or still images on this site, the audience pays nothing. As for the performers whose musical performances are accessible in this manner, they often do not receive anything either.
We believe that if anyone receives any income in connection with such use, a portion of that income should go back to the performers, as is the case with the equitable remuneration system under sections 19 and following of the Copyright Act. That system provides for a 50/50 sharing of royalties between the makers of sound recordings and the performers.
To do this, changes would have to be made to the Copyright Act such that the equitable remuneration system would capture the free dissemination of videos involving music.
As for other Internet broadcasts, there are two types. On the one hand, there is radio show simulcasting, and on the other, there is non-interactive and semi-interactive streaming, such as Songza. This is similar to conventional radio.
For these broadcasts, the performers and makers of sound recordings are waiting for the Copyright Board of Canada to set an equitable remuneration tariff soon. These broadcasts will ultimately be subject to equitable remuneration, with a 50/50 split between makers and performers, which is a good thing, in our view.