BC Business
Supreme Court of Canada | BCBusinessA new Supreme Court of Canada ruling removes royalties from music downloads.
Music distributors no longer have to pay a fee to offer customers the ability to download music from the web. A new ruling from the Supreme Court of Canada scrapping a music download tariff is a big win for the country’s telecommunications companies. Telecom companies such as Rogers and bell formerly had to pay a fee for offering their customers the ability to download music from the Internet. The Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers (SOCAN) collected the tariffs, which it distributed to its members.
A new ruling from the Supreme Court of Canada scrapping a music download tariff is a big win for the country’s telecommunications companies.
Telecom companies such as Rogers and bell formerly had to pay a fee for offering their customers the ability to download music from the Internet. The Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers (SOCAN) collected the tariffs, which it distributed to its members.
On Thursday, the court sided with Rogers, saying SOCAN can no longer charge companies royalties for music downloads but they still must pay a fee for customers to stream music live.
So what does that mean for consumers? While customers who buy music online might not necessarily see a price drop, we will likely see the size of the market increase with more options and a wider variety of choices. The ruling also makes it simpler (and much less expensive) for companies or individuals to obtain the rights to buy and sell music via the Internet.