# SOCAN

> SOCAN is Canada's member-owned music rights organization: it licenses public performances and reproductions, matches usage data to ownership records, and distributes the resulting royalties to songwriters, composers and publishers. In 2025 it collected C$587.1 million and distributed C$511.9 million, while investing in a new member portal and rights platform and pushing for consent, credit and compensation as generative AI changes how music is made and tracked.

- **Founded:** 1990
- **Headquarters:** Toronto, Canada
- **Team size:** Approximately 430 employees; SOCAN's careers page states 320+ employees across North America.
- **Products:** Performing Rights Administration, Reproduction Rights Administration, SOCAN Member Portal, Creative and Career Services, Music Licensing for Businesses
- **Notable:** Collected a record C$587.1 million in royalty revenue in 2025, up 5.0% year over year., Distributed C$511.9 million to rightsholders in 2025, essentially matching the record C$512.4 million paid in 2024., Grew 2025 digital revenue 11.5% to C$232.8 million and international revenue to C$141.7 million.

## Products & services

- **Performing Rights Administration** — Licenses public performance and communication of musical works across radio, television, streaming, concerts, venues and other public uses, then distributes matched royalties.
- **Reproduction Rights Administration** — Administers mechanical, digital, physical, post-synchronization, lyrics and selected synchronization rights for participating rightsholders, with territory and repertoire options.
- **SOCAN Member Portal** — Lets members register works, manage catalogues and cue sheets, submit live performances and set lists, view statements, update payment details and open support cases.
- **Creative and Career Services** — Provides education, craft development, networking, accelerator opportunities and support for songwriters, screen composers and publishers.
- **Music Licensing for Businesses** — Offers licences for internet, broadcast, audiovisual and reproduction uses; general venue and event licensing is handled through Entandem.

## Achievements

- Collected a record C$587.1 million in royalty revenue in 2025, up 5.0% year over year.
- Distributed C$511.9 million to rightsholders in 2025, essentially matching the record C$512.4 million paid in 2024.
- Grew 2025 digital revenue 11.5% to C$232.8 million and international revenue to C$141.7 million.
- Reached more than 200,000 direct songwriter, composer and music-publisher members and clients.
- Marked the centennial of its Canadian collective-licensing lineage in 2025, tracing back to CAPAC's predecessor founded in 1925.
- Built reciprocal representation through more than 100 rights organizations across nearly 220 countries and dependent territories.
- Generated 8,700 letters to the Canadian government in 2025 opposing an exception for unlicensed music use in AI training.

## Latest updates

- **2026-07** — SOCAN agreed to acquire CMRRA from SoundExchange, subject to regulatory approval and customary closing conditions; transaction terms remain confidential.
- **2026-07** — SOCAN and Musical AI announced work on consent, attribution and reporting infrastructure for generative-AI music outputs.
- **2026-05** — Members elected an 18-person board for the 2026-2029 term, split evenly between creators and publishers.
- **2026-04** — SOCAN reported record 2025 revenue of C$587.1 million, distributions of C$511.9 million and an expense-to-revenue ratio of 13.4%.
- **2026-01** — SOCAN rolled out a new member portal with work registration, catalogue, cue-sheet, live-performance, reproduction-right and case-management tools.
- **2025-10** — SOCAN, ASCAP and BMI aligned policies to accept registrations of musical compositions partially generated with AI tools where human authorship remains.

## Links

- Website: https://www.socan.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/socan
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/SOCANmusic
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/SOCANmusic
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/socanmusic/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SOCANmusic

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/socan
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-08-23