Eric Baptiste, CEO of SOCAN, has announced that the next quarterly payment of royalties to SOCAN members, which will occur in August 2011, will reach a record high at $75 million, including $47 million based on established tariffs plus a special distribution of $28 million in arrears for radio performances between 2003 and 2010. The special distribution is due to additional revenues resulting from the resolution of litigation related to Tariff 1A (Commercial Radio).

“The boost in royalties that SOCAN members will receive in August represents an increase to the income which Canadian music creators and publishers depend on to make a living,” says Baptiste. “SOCAN continues to work diligently towards ensuring that our members are paid adequately through the licensing of music use in Canada.”

The November 2011 royalty payment will include a special distribution of $24 million, as a result of the recent decision by the Copyright Board of Canada to allow payment of royalties based on revenues received by SOCAN under Tariff 25 (Satellite Radio).

Once a final decision has been made by the courts regarding legal issues related to SOCAN’s Tariffs 22A-G (Internet), SOCAN will work towards distributing to members as soon as possible the monies collected under these tariffs to date.

The distributions represent estimated amounts and are subject to change. Click here to view a chart that presents actual distributions for the past eight quarters as well as forecasted distributions for the next four.