the problem in the USA is (as usual with US Beaurocracy) is the system is too complex for hobbyists to comply and afford. they should have a hobbyist license. one small fee each year to cover streaming and thats it. just like canada does.
Heh.
I'm glad people think that Canada is nirvana for Part 15 broadcasters and streaming, but it is not. It might be *better* in some ways than the U.S., but we have our own complications.
First and foremost, Canada does have what has been called here a 'performance tax' - that is, not only do you have to pay licensing fees for the song itself, but also the actual performance. SOCAN is the licensing body for songs; ReSound for performances. Each look at licensing in a different way, and view hobbyists in a different light (generally not at all).
The only saving grace, at least for me, is that ALL musical performances in Canada fall into the public domain 50 years after the end of the calendar year in which they were published. So, right now, if you play (as I do entirely) copyrighted performances earlier than 1965, you don't have to worry about RESound. After December 31 of this year, I am able to play performances from 1965 legally, and it goes up one year each year.
Secondly, the licensing from SOCAN is not cut and dry. We do NOT have a hobbyist category. If you just play over-the-air and do not stream, you will likely be classified as a non commercial station and you're supposed to pay 1.9% of your operating costs (I don't think there's a minimum, but they reserve the right to audit you - yikes!). If you stream, they'll classify you as a streaming station (ignoring the over-the-air component) and you pay a percentage of revenue (based on complicated formulae involving the amount of Canadian content, etc.) with a minimum of $100.
At least Canada does not have multiple licensing bodies for songs (as the U.S. does), each with their own complicated licensing structure.
And if you play more modern music so that the actual performances are not in the public domain, be prepared to wade through ReSound's complicated licensing rules (I took one look at them and that determined my station's loose format - stuff greater than 50 years old).
I kind of wish we just had a simple, hobbyist, licensing structure as well.
The difference with streaming of course is a multimillion dollar broadcast operation in a major city and a guy in his basement both have the same potential audience when streaming. Hence the similar pain in the butt and rate structure.
TIB
And if you have no operating cost? Remember my phone conversation that I had with Socan....they didn't know about this and seemingly didn't care!
I do no streaming.
Mark
If SOCAN doesn't care, I'd get that in writing. They cared about my streaming, but not the over-the-air stuff.
And don't forget about ReSound. I believe that they do care (unless, of course, you're playing all stuff in the public domain).