Music Canada facts for kids
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Musique Canada
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| Abbreviation | MC |
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| Formation | 9 April 1963 |
| Type | Licensing and royalties, technical standards |
| Headquarters | Toronto, Ontario |
Music Canada is a group that helps music companies in Canada. It started on April 9, 1963, in Toronto. Its main job is to look after the interests of companies that record, make, and share music. Music Canada also helps some of Canada's smaller, independent music labels and distributors.
This organization used to have different names. Until 1972, it was called the Canadian Record Manufacturer's Association. Then, it became the Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA) until 2011. After that, it changed its name to Music Canada.
Contents
Music Canada's Story
Music Canada began as the Canadian Record Manufacturer's Association with only 10 members. In 1972, it changed its name to the Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA). This change allowed more types of music companies to join.
In 2006, some smaller music labels left the group. They felt that the organization was not looking out for their interests. On July 7, 2011, the CRIA changed its name again to Music Canada. It then started offering special help to some of the main independent music labels and distributors.
How Music Canada Works
Music Canada is run by a group of people called a board of directors. These directors are chosen every year by the members of the organization. To be a director, a person must be a leader in one of the member companies.
As of January 11, 2021, Patrick Rogers is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Music Canada. Before him, Graham Henderson was the president from 2004 to 2020.
Music Canada has different types of members:
- Class A members are Canadian people or companies whose main business is making or selling sound recordings. These members can vote on important decisions. The biggest record labels are usually Class A members.
- Class B members are Canadian people or companies who mainly produce sound recordings. They pay a yearly fee but do not have voting rights.
- Manufacturing Division members are Canadian people or companies whose main business is making sound recordings.
Other Things Music Canada Does
Music Canada helps give out special codes called ISRC codes for music in Canada. These codes help track songs. It also works with other international music groups like the IFPI and RIAA. They all try to stop people from illegally copying artists' music. This helps protect the rights of musicians and creators.
Who Music Canada Represents
Music Canada has always aimed to represent all music labels in Canada. However, some labels and other groups have disagreed with Music Canada. They have said that Music Canada no longer represents them.
For example, in 2006, six well-known independent labels, including Nettwerk, left Music Canada. They had a disagreement about rules for Canadian music content. They believed Music Canada was only protecting the interests of the four largest international music labels. These big labels were EMI, Universal, Sony BMG, and Warner.
Other disagreements included Music Canada's views on certain taxes and their support for digital locks on music. They also had different ideas about how copyright laws should be updated. In 2007, a group of musicians formed the Canadian Music Creators Coalition. They said that new laws that might lead to lawsuits against fans were not in their name. They felt these laws were for the big labels' parent companies in other countries.
Legal Actions and Copyright
Music Canada has been involved in some legal cases to protect music copyright.
In 2004, Music Canada asked the Federal Court of Canada to make five big Canadian internet companies share the names of 29 people. These people were accused of sharing music illegally using peer-to-peer file sharing. In 2005, one of the internet companies, Vidéotron, agreed to give the customer information to Music Canada.
In a different case in 2004, a judge ruled that just making music available for download online was not the same as distributing it. So, it was not seen as copyright infringement at that time. The judge compared it to having a photocopier in a library. The court said there was no proof of illegal distribution.
Later, the Copyright Board of Canada said that downloading music for personal use was considered "private copying." This means copying music for yourself from a legal source is allowed and does not break copyright rules.
In 2008, the people who ran the isoHunt website tried to get a court ruling that their website was legal. The court said a full trial was needed. IsoHunt appealed this decision, but the appeal was also denied. In 2009, isoHunt sued Music Canada and the four major record labels. They wanted the court to clarify their legal rights.
In October 2008, the four main members of Music Canada were sued by the family of artist Chet Baker and other artists. The lawsuit claimed that about 300,000 songs were illegally shared by Music Canada's members. It also said they did not get the right licenses or agreements from the artists. Instead, they put the songs on a "pending list," meaning payments were held until an agreement was made.
The lawsuit could have led to very large fines. However, in November 2011, the case was settled out of court for over $45 million.
Music Awards and Certifications
Music Canada gives out awards to artists when their albums or singles sell a certain number of copies. These are called certification awards.
Album Awards
Music Canada has different sales numbers needed for awards depending on when the album was released.
| Certification | Albums before May 1, 2008 | Albums after May 1, 2008 |
|---|---|---|
| Gold | 50,000 | 40,000 |
| Platinum | 100,000 | 80,000 |
| Diamond | 1,000,000 | 800,000 |
Single Awards
Before September 12, 2016, Music Canada had separate awards for physical singles and digital downloads. After that date, the awards for digital downloads were stopped. Now, the singles award counts both digital downloads and physical singles. It also includes music streams. For example, 150 on-demand audio streams from a music service count as one unit towards an award.
| Certification | Singles after Sep 12, 2016 |
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| Gold | 40,000 |
| Platinum | 80,000 |
| Diamond | 800,000 |
Older Single Awards (Before September 2016)
| Physical singles | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Certification | Before Feb 1, 1982 | Before Sep 2002 | After Sep 2002 |
| Gold | 75,000 | 50,000 | 5,000 |
| Platinum | 150,000 | 100,000 | 10,000 |
| Diamond | 1,500,000 | 1,000,000 | 100,000 |
| Digital downloads | |||
| Certification | Before Jan 1, 2007 | Until Apr 2010 | After May 1, 2010 |
| Gold | 10,000 | 20,000 | 40,000 |
| Platinum | 20,000 | 40,000 | 80,000 |
| Diamond | 200,000 | 400,000 | 800,000 |
Music Canada applies the newest certification levels to digital download singles, even for older songs. For example, the song "Right Round" by Flo Rida feat. Kesha was released in January 2009. At that time, Gold was 10,000 units and Platinum was 20,000 units. But in October 2010, Music Canada certified it three times Platinum using the newer levels, meaning it had sold 240,000 units.
Ringtone and Music DVD Awards
Awards for RingTones and Music DVDs were stopped on April 1, 2021.
| Certification | For all RingTone releases | For all Video releases |
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| Gold | 20,000 | 5,000 |
| Platinum | 40,000 | 10,000 |
| Diamond | 400,000 | 100,000 |
See also
In Spanish: Music Canada para niños
- Canadian Private Copying Collective
- RIAA
