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Performing Rights Organisation · Canada

How to register with SOCAN.

Register with SOCAN, Canada's performing and mechanical rights organization representing over 80,000 members, to collect royalties when your music is performed, broadcast, or streamed in Canada.

⏱ 15–20 minutesPerformance royaltiesMechanical royalties
1

Join SOCAN as a Writer/Publisher

Apply at socan.com/sign-up-for-performing-rights. SOCAN represents both songwriters and music publishers.


Writer membership: Free for online applications; $25 fee for paper applications.


Publisher membership: Free, but publishers must demonstrate:

  • An office established in Canada
  • Ownership of at least 5 qualifying musical works written by a SOCAN member

    • As an independent artist, register as both writer and publisher to collect both royalty shares. Once joined, works must be individually registered — no payment is made for unregistered titles.

    Join SOCAN →
    Why this matters

    SOCAN collects from every radio station, TV broadcaster, streaming service, and venue that plays music in Canada. A single registration covers both performance and emerging mechanical rights.

    Common mistake

    Only joining as a writer and not registering a publishing entity. Independent artists can collect both shares — the publisher share is real money that goes uncollected otherwise.

    2

    Register Your Works

    Log into SOCAN's member portal and register each composition with:

  • Song title
  • Duration
  • Co-writer IPI numbers
  • Split percentages
  • ISRC codes
    • SOCAN Member Portal
    Why this matters

    Unregistered works in SOCAN's system cannot be matched to usage reports from Canadian broadcasters and streaming services — the royalties go to a general distribution pool.

    Common mistake

    Not providing ISRCs. SOCAN uses ISRCs to match streaming reports — title matching alone is insufficient for streaming royalties.

    3

    Register with Re:Sound (Critical for Performers)

    SOCAN covers composition royalties. Re:Sound collects neighbouring rights for master recordings played on Canadian radio and in public spaces.


    Re:Sound distributes royalties to its member organizations:

  • Performers: Artisti, MROC, ACTRA RACS
  • Record Labels: CONNECT, SOPROQ

    • If you are a recording artist, register with Re:Sound — free registration.

    Register at Re:Sound →
    Why this matters

    SOCAN and Re:Sound are two completely separate royalties from the same radio play. A song played on CBC Radio generates a SOCAN royalty (for the songwriter) AND a Re:Sound royalty (for the recording artist).

    Common mistake

    Assuming SOCAN covers the recording too. It covers the composition only — recording artists need Re:Sound.

    Rekon tracks whether you're actually registered with SOCAN — and 36 others.

    Connect your platforms once and Rekon flags every registration gap automatically, with the exact fix for each.

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