Artisan Radio is now licensed with SOCAN, the Society of Composers , Authors and Music Publishers of Canada, as a non commercial radio station. SOCAN is the regulatory body that licenses the use of underlying music and lyrics of copyrighted songs; they also interface with other regulatory organizations around the world re copyright fees.
We are also in the process of getting both a non commercial Re:Sound license (which covers musical performances) and a non commercial CMRRA license (which gives you the right to make copies of songs for broadcasting and streaming). Both of those licenses operate after-the-fact, i.e., you pay the 2023 licensing fees in early 2024.
The cost of all 3 licenses are rather minimal for what is effectively a hobby radio station, and consist of flat fees based on operating costs (which are almost non existent for most of these types of stations).
Artisan Radio is a micro powered radio station broadcasting license free under the Industry Canada BETS-1 regulations. BETS-1 stations are exempt from obtaining a CRTC license.
All of the three licensing bodies mentioned previously have indicated in the past that they do not care about BETS-1 over-the-air broadcasting, as the range is tiny (more than Part 15 FM in the U.S., but still tiny). The licenses are really just for our internet streaming and to make everything legal. There is more than just one type (i.e., overpowered transmitters) of pirate.
We expect to be broadcasting with our new schedule in test mode shortly, and launching officially in mid March. You can get more details at our website.
Wow, congrats on this. Hope it didn't break the bank. I'd like to do similar with ASCAP but it's probably not worth it. I get permission to rebroadcast things directly from creators and that's been fun.