Thank you for the opportunity to take part in these consultations. More than that, on behalf of Canada's music publishers, I would like to commend the government on the new creative Canada framework.
We are a membership-based organization committed to providing opportunities for our music publishers and to promoting their interests and those of their songwriting partners. These companies all represent and invest in thousands of Canadian songs and songwriters who are heard daily on the radio, on streaming services, in video games, and in film and television productions around the world. By combining this country’s talent, entrepreneurial expertise, and global reach, we strive to advance the music publishing industry and our songwriting partners by providing a competitive edge, both at home and abroad.
Indeed, Canadian music publishing companies have recently grown their revenue to $280 million; that's a growth of $120 million in 12 years. The industry is transforming itself into an increasingly export-driven endeavour, with two-thirds of our revenues coming from foreign sources.
We are asking the government to contribute to the ongoing growth of the music publishing sector. Minister Joly recently announced an investment of $125 million in Canada's creative export strategy. CMPA welcomes this funding. It will go a long way toward growing the businesses of medium and small-sized music publishers in Canada.
We recommend that a portion of this future trade money be directed to a fund that benefits all music companies, including the music publishers who are driving this growth. In our ongoing discussions with Canadian Heritage, we continue to stress that our needs are different from those of the rest of the music sector.
The news that the Canada Music Fund will be modernized is definitely something we welcome. This increase is helpful, because the music publishing industry is a focus of increased global competition, and the Canadian sector is very much in need of better access to capital to compete internationally, particularly for the acquisition of catalogues of musical works, which are a key to revenue generation.
Specifically, we would like to see the music entrepreneur components of the music fund enhanced. Despite our strong track record, the maximum annual contribution that a publisher can receive is currently out of step with the rest of this sector. We would recommend that the Canada music fund increase its support to Canadian entrepreneurs to finance the development of their companies and the creators they invest in. We would like to see an increase from approximately $24 million to $30 million a year, and we would like to see music publishers have the ability to access other federal programs that provide access to capital, which would allow them to grow and compete internationally.
We also welcome the support for the protection of creators' intellectual property and fair compensation for those who help contribute to Canadians' creative content. Changes to the Copyright Act are needed to ensure Canadian works are competitive with international standards, and reform of the Copyright Board is essential so that we can have a thriving music publishing industry. The government needs to act quickly to allow us to remain globally competitive. We seek a wide-ranging review of the Copyright Act and hope to see a detailed commitment to reform the act from innovation Minister Bains and Minister Joly. Initial signals have been positive, and we appreciate that our voices are being heard.
Thanks to our partnership with the federal government, in the past year we were able to sponsor trade missions to L.A. and Germany. I just returned from Berlin. The Canadian Music Café showcases our country's talent to screen-based industries worldwide, and our music tech summit is becoming a very important part of our calendar. These projects have been a success, and we are greatly enhancing global opportunities as an innovative sector.
Our goals are closely aligned with the government's cultural and economic strategies. We are convinced that Canadian creative industries represent a key and growing innovation sector. We hope to be able to continue working to expand and improve Canada's music publishing industry and take full advantage of the progress that Canadian publishers and songwriters are already achieving internationally.
In closing, we hope to see you all at meetings in Ottawa, November 6-8, as our global partners meet to discuss copyright, sector growth, and much more.
I would like to thank you for this invitation. I'm happy to answer your questions.