On March 9, the Songwriters Association of Canada (S.A.C.) joined a coalition of music industry associations, unions, and collective management organizations in Ottawa to meet with Members of Parliament and officials from the Department of Canadian Heritage and Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada.

The coalition urged the government to modernize Canada’s private copying regime to make it technologically neutral and reflect how Canadians actually listen to music today. While the current system applies a small levy to blank CDs, it does not cover the devices people actually use — such as smartphones and tablets.

With more than 2 billion unlicensed copies of music currently stored on Canadians’ devices, music creators are missing out on significant compensation. More than 40 countries have already modernized their private copying systems to reflect the digital environment.

The coalition emphasized that Canadian culture begins with creators — and that songwriters, composers, and artists must be fairly compensated for their work in order for Canada’s cultural ecosystem to thrive.

Coalition participants included:

ACTRA/RACS
Canadian Federation of Musicians (CFM)
Artisti
Association des professionnels de l’édition musicale (APEM)
Association québécoise de l’industrie du disque, du spectacle et de la vidéo (ADISQ)
Canadian Independent Music Association (CIMA)
Canadian Musical Reproduction Rights Agency (CMRRA)
Canadian Private Copying Collective (CPCC)
Guilde des musiciens et musiciennes du Québec (GMMQ)
Music Managers Forum Canada (MMF Canada)
Music Publishers Canada
Panorama
Screen Composers Guild of Canada (SCGC)
SOCAN
Songwriters Association of Canada (S.A.C.)
Société professionnelle des auteurs et des compositeurs du Québec (SPACQ-AE)
Union des artistes (UDA)