The Hotel Association of Canada (HAC) has filed a statement of Objection to the Neighbouring Rights Collective of Canada’s (NRCC) proposed Tariff 3…
The Hotel Association of Canada (HAC) has filed a statement of Objection to the Neighbouring Rights Collective of Canada’s (NRCC) proposed Tariff 3, a proposed fee on background music being played in the public spaces of hotel and restaurant establishments.
There is already a tariff that governs the royalties to be paid to SOCAN for the same use. In 1997 the Board set the royalties payable to SOCAN for the use of music supplied by background music suppliers at 7.5% of the amount paid by subscribers for background music performed in non-industrial premises. SOCAN and background music suppliers have agreed that this rate should continue to apply until December 31, 2005.
The HAC conducted and has retrieved the results of a national HAC survey of hotels across Canada regarding background music and related fees.
The results of the HAC survey identify several key points to the issue of background music in general and the NRCC proposed fee in particular:
- American music is not affected by the proposed fee
- Customers place no value on the origin of the music or nationality of performer
- There is very low or no cost associated with switching to royalty free music only, as the service provider would simply be requested to make the changes
“It is a sad day when our hotels and restaurants will be forced to play non-Canadian music” said HAC President Tony Pollard
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