I make music
Makers and Rights Owners
By entrusting the administration of your rights to Soproq, you add your repertoire to that of some 5,600 members and you make sure you collect all the royalties to which you are entitled. You also benefit from services that guarantee the efficient payment of your royalties.
Becoming a Soproq member is free. An administration fee is applied only when royalties are paid. The current rates are 7% for Canada, 4% for the United States and 7% for the rest of the world. Theses rates are among the lowest in the collective management organizations.
Join Soproq
Who can become a member?
If you are a maker of sound recordings or music videos, or if you acquired the rights to one or more master recordings, i.e. the medium on which the first fixation of sounds occurred, the Canadian Copyright Act grants you rights on such products.
What's a maker?
A maker is a person by whom the arrangements necessary for the first fixation of the sounds are undertaken, i.e. signing contracts with performers, financing and technical services. The maker assumes all financial risks.
Any maker or rights owner of a sound recording or a music video can become a Soproq member, regardless of status or legal form, citizenship or place of residence.
To entrust your rights to Soproq and receive all royalties to which you are entitled, you will need to sign the Agreement regarding the assignment and licensing of sound recordings and videograms by following the steps as shown in the How to become a member? section.
Copyright of sound recordings made easy
Each sound recording contains 3 layers, each subject to copyright: the work, the performance and their fixation on a recorded medium. Each of these layers includes various types of law covering public performance, reproduction, making available ...
Thus, a singer-songwriter who self-finances his own sound recordings will receive the royalties associated with each layer: for the work, for the performance and for the fixation of the work and performance on a recorded medium, i.e. the sound recording (Soproq administers this last layer).
In this example, the independent singer-songwriter may join more than one collective organization to receive all royalties to which he is entitled, depending on his role(s) in creating the sound recording.
How to become a member?
You can become a Soproq member in 4 easy steps. Insofar as documents are complete and quickly returned to Soproq, registration can be completed within 24 to 48 business hours following the request.
Once these steps are completed, you will be able to to securely consult your repertoire, make new declarations, view titles in conflict, receive your payment reports, access and manage account information (such as updating contact details and bank information), etc.
Create your profile and password to activate your Octave account
Complete your membership form online
Once your membership is validated, download, print, sign and upload your contract
Once your contract is validated, Soproq will activate the features of your account Octave
Your services
When you entrust the administration of your repertoire to Soproq, in addition to the distribution of royalties, you can take advantage of several other services and benefits
Administration of repertoire and royalties
The Octave portal is a tool intended for Soproq members, those who want to become one or their authorized representative. Octave allows you to securely consult your repertoire, make new declarations, view titles in conflict, receive your payment reports, access and manage account information (such as updating contact details and bank information), etc.
Frequency of distributions depends on the payment method you have opted to receive your royalties. It also varies according to the type of rights, the source of royalties and the amount of royalties payable.
Monthly
Royalties arising from the right to equitable remuneration from the United States for members paid by electronic fund transfer only.
Quarterly (January – April – July – October)
Royalties arising from the right to equitable remuneration, the reproduction right and the private copying regime from Canada for members paid by cheque and electronic fund transfer.
Royalties arising from the right to equitable remuneration from the United States for members paid by cheque.
Biannually
Royalties arising from the right to equitable remuneration from countries other than Canada and the United States for members paid by cheque and electronic fund transfer (January – October).
All royalties for all rights from any country for members paid by international wire transfer (January – July).
Soproq monitors for you the usage of your music in order to claim all the royalties to which you are entitled. In this regard, Soproq buys broadcast logs and analyzes these lists by comparing them to the broadcasts for which sums have been collected.
A conflict occurs when the total of the rights declared by at least two rights owners exceeds 100% on the same sound recording or music video, for the same type of right and the same territory. When a conflict occurs on a sound recording or a music video, all royalties payable on that title are put on hold. Soproq acts as a facilitator between the various rights owners involved in the conflict, but the ultimate responsibility lies with the parties involved in the dispute. Do you have a question regarding a conflict in your account? Don’t hesitate to contact our Member Services.
Soproq negotiates agreements with music users and services to allow them to reproduce your sound recordings and music videos for broadcast purposes. These licenses cover the entire repertoire represented by Soproq and allow you to collect royalties from these services for the use of your music.
Member Services now offer to performers who are Soproq members, the possibility of managing their account for their performance royalties in the United States at a 3% administration fee. This mandate includes all the same advantages, in particular the monitoring of unpaid broadcasts, repertoire management and conflict resolution.
Others services
Soproq holds workshops for its members regularly, usually 4 times a year. These sessions take place in Soproq’s offices and provide an overview of collective rights management, the basics of your rights and the necessary information for using the web portal OCTAVE.
Soproq also attends various musical events to hold workshops or training sessions, as needed. Soproq makes a point of making itself available for any such request.
If you want to attend the next workshop or for Soproq to give a workshop at your next event, do not hesitate to contact us at info@soproq.org.
As a maker, you are required, under the Act respecting the Bibliothèque et Archives Nationales du Québec and the Regulation respecting the Deposit of Published Documents, to submit copies of all your sound recordings that have been physically published (cd, vinyl, boxes). Through a special agreement with BAnQ, Soproq can do it on your behalf. You only have to send us 2 copies of each product (cd, vinyl, etc.) to the following address and we will take care of the deposit:
305, rue de Bellechasse, unité 204
Montréal (Québec)
H2S 1W9
As an active member of the industry, Soproq collaborates, works and gets involved with other similar organizations in defending the rights of makers. As a member of Re:sound and of the Canadian Private Copying Collective (CPCC), Soproq collaborates and takes a stand on tariff issues, the revision of the legislative and regulatory framework, or any issues that affect the interests of makers.
Frequently asked questions
A musical work is a melody, a harmony, or either combination of those two elements, with or without lyrics. A sound recording is the carrier on which the musical work is fixed. As a comparison, the sound recording may be seen as being a container, whereas the musical work is the content.
A maker is the person or company who makes all necessary arrangements for the first fixation of the sounds. Sometimes the term “executive producer” is used. On the other hand, a producer is responsible for supervising all artistic decisions about the recording. Please note that in French, a producer is a “réalisateur”, while a maker is a “producteur”.
No. Becoming a Soproq member is not exclusive to ADISQ members.
You can update your bank information via your secure Octave account. Once logged in, please click on the name of the account you wish to update, then on the account name on the left of the dashboard, and finally on "Bank Info" from the drop-down menu. Once you have validated your bank details and saved them, your bank information will be updated on your account.
When declaring your sound recordings via your Octave account, you will be asked to indicate the percentage of rights that belong to you and with whom you share the remaining of the rights. The other rights owner(s) will receive an email inviting them to do the same and declare their own percentage. Please note that all rights owners must be members of the same Collective Management Organization to receive royalties from the reproduction right.
The more rights are divided between different parties, the more complex the collection and distribution of royalties. Although it is possible for each member of a group to register individually, a best practice is to create an entity, partnership or corporation, which will hold the full rights to the sound recording or music video. There is also a certain limit in Soproq’s general rules as to the number of rights owners on a same title.