For those that are interested, SOCAN has a database of copyrighted songs in their repetoire (the songs only, not the specific musical performances) easily available on their home page.
It's a valuable resource to determine whether or not a song is in the public domain in Canada.
Of course, it doesn't contain ALL songs copyrighted in Canada, just those represented by SOCAN (which includes virtually all foreign songs, as SOCAN has agreements with most licensing bodies outside the country).
What I do to determine if a particular song is in the public domain is:
1. Verify that the song recording I'm interested in was released > 50 years ago, 1964 or prior (the laws were changed in 2015 by the then Canadian government)
2. Verify that all credited songwriters (from the record itself) have been deceased for > 50 years, 1965 or prior (the laws were changed in 2016 with ratification of the TPP)
3. As a final check, run the song through the SOCAN copyright database (it's not unheard of that additional songwriting credits are added via court challenges, although it's rare for songs of the vintage I am going to be playing, i.e., mainly 20s & 30s, some 40s).
Seems if your fearful of legal issues to simply pay for the music licensing to avoid all that hassle. It takes the fun out of the hobby and makes it a FULL TIME JOB!!
Tim in Bovey has discussed this issue and for those who have a hard time sleeping at night can simply pay the fee's. I'd start asking for Donations on your website. Paypal allows for a Donation button. If you get a bar or local business to listen and you take their requests often you could get a nice $200 check as their customers may pitch in. Run ads that talk about saving Hobby Radio. It works and you'll get some money.
Keep in mind any revenue collected has to be reported to the royalty companies and will increase your rates after a certain limit. (If I'm not mistaken donations still count, but I could be wrong.)
You're missing the entire point of the exercise.
I've been doing the Canadian version of Part 15 broadcasting for over 10 years now. I ran Artisan Radio as a break-even business on Bowen Island. I'm perfectly aware of how to raise money if I wanted to.
Now it's primarily hobby, but it could morph into a business once again if I feel like it.
I WANT to run entirely public domain music. Most of the music is from a legendary era that is sadly, largely forgotten about today (the 20s and the 30s, although I have run into public domain stuff from the 60s). In researching the music in order to determine if it's in the public domain in Canada, I learn a lot about the specific performers and songwriters from that era (who could certainly teach modern musicians a thing or two, including those in the genre of Album Rock) that before this, I knew little about. Quite frankly, I could care less about most music post 1990, and I already have a fairly solid background in music from the 50s to the 80s.
The work isn't a job - it's an education.
Other benefits - no reporting. No rate increases. A lot more freedom.
Yes, the licensing fee increases with station income. If I remember right, from the basic beginning level fee, the next level (first increase) kicks in if your station generates over $10,000 (yes, ten thousand) dollars in a given year. At least in the USA. Can't say about any other countries.
When you're generating over $10,000 a year an extra hundred bucks or so for the rights to play any music you want isn't that big of a deal.
TIB
Licensing in Canada for commercial stations is based on revenue; for non-commercial, on gross operating expenses.
As a side note, SOCAN had asked me to provide them with a copy of my public domain playlist after I had told them what I was doing. They offered to check their own database, and I, of course, replied in the affirmative (let them do some of the work).
They got back to me today with the information that they had found 3 songs out of the roughly 1000 that I had submitted that they felt were still copyrighted. I'm going to be re-investigating those 3, but it shows, at least, that I'm doing things correctly in my research. I consider that number to be well within credit error limits (there are bound to be some on those old 78s - they didn't take the same care back then that they do today in attributing ownership).