Some of the broadcast properties that I've been involved with over my career include CBC's The Hour, with George Stroumboulopoulos. I wrote the music for that show, and for CBC News Now and CBC's The National. Seventeen years ago, when the 9/11 attacks occurred, it was my music that underscored CBC's reporting of that horrific incident.
I'd like to tell you about how screen composers uniquely locate themselves in the production ecosystem.
First, screen composers are the first owners of their copyrights. Like screenwriters, screen composers are recognized as key creative individuals, and this is a big separation for us. Our copyright policy currently splits ownership into two types of royalties for us. We get public performance royalties, and we get reproduction royalties. These music composer rights live alongside a separate bundle of the motion picture copyrights that are all embedded together into the one media property.
Once our music is married to picture, it is distributed, and it generates copy remuneration, which is derived from broadcast advertising sales that are reported by the broadcasters. Our remuneration rate is set by copyright policy, not by us. SOCAN is our agent that collects our performing and our reproduction rights internationally. That is the 20th century model of copyright for screen composers.
Further, you may ask, how is our money derived from advertising? Public performance and reproduction rights are calculated on a percentage of quarterly reported advertising sales from the broadcaster. Let's see how this is working in the 21st century.
Ari, can you tell us your story with regard to Anne with an E?