Thank you, Mr. Chair.
My question is twofold. I would like to ask Mr. Boyer what he thinks about defending artists' rights, especially when it comes to copyright protection on the Internet.
It is difficult. There is a lot of uncertainty and costs if one wishes to have one's rights upheld as a copyright holder for the use of works on the Internet, and there are two reasons for this. The first, is that it is tricky for an artist to get paid. Two months ago, the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage heard David Bussières, who composes, writes lyrics and sings for the group called Alfa Rococo. He explained that if a song is played 6,000 times on the radio, he will receive over $17,000 in royalties but if the same song is played 30,000 times on Spotify, he is paid a paltry $10 or so. What can we do to solve this problem?
Sometimes, artists' works find a way onto various platforms or are used elsewhere. How can we help our artists?