Copyright Board approves lower negotiated streaming rates for non-commercial radio

The Copyright Board has approved a negotiated tariff keeping annual over-the-air royalties for non-commercial radio at $100 while setting much lower online charges than Re:Sound originally proposed.

In Re:Sound Tariff 1.B – Non-Commercial Radio, Simulcasting, Non-Interactive and Semi-Interactive Streaming (2020-2029), 2026 CB 10, member Drew Olsen found the agreement fair for the wider sector, not just the associations that negotiated it. The reasons were issued October 30, 2026; the approved tariff was published October 31.

Separate charges for broadcasting and streaming

The approved tariff, 2026 CB 10-T, sets the broadcasting charge at $100 per year for 2022 through 2029. Its online provisions cover 2020 through 2029.

For 2020 through 2025, a non-commercial streaming service pays $25 annually for simulcasts and a separate $25 for non-interactive or semi-interactive streams other than simulcasts. Each annual charge rises to $36.50 for 2026 through 2029. A service carrying out both categories therefore faces $73 in annual online royalties during those later years, before applicable taxes, rather than a single $36.50 charge covering everything.

A simulcast is an unchanged, simultaneous online transmission of an over-the-air broadcast, without listener control over its content or timing. Non-interactive and semi-interactive streams are separate categories; the latter permit some listener control, such as skipping or pausing. The tariff does not cover on-demand streams, downloads or podcasts.

The tariff concerns published sound recordings and performers’ performances. It excludes commercial radio, CBC and other national public broadcasters, satellite radio and pay-audio transmissions. Its non-commercial definitions turn on not-for-profit ownership and operation, not simply the absence of advertising revenue.

A substantial proposed increase gives way to agreement

Re:Sound had proposed increasing the online charge from $25 to $500 for each activity for 2020 through 2024, and a blended $1,000 annual charge for online activity for 2025 through 2029. The three radio associations objected that the increases were too high and unjustified.

The Alliance des radios communautaires du Canada, the Association des radiodiffuseurs communautaires du Québec and the National Campus and Community Radio Association reached an agreement with Re:Sound on March 24, 2026. They submitted a jointly proposed tariff text in July. Apple Canada, which had also objected, withdrew from the proceeding in January.

The original proposals also included a broadcasting royalty of two per cent of annual gross operating costs. Re:Sound explained that this was a precaution in case Parliament amended or repealed the $100 statutory rate for community systems. It said the $100 rate would continue if that statutory provision did not change.

Olsen explained that the earlier $100 broadcasting tariff rested on the statutory rate, not on a finding that $100 represented the economic value of the music. The new tariff maintains that broadcasting charge. Online services are expressly outside that special statutory rate.

Why the agreement could cover non-members

The Board did not treat agreement among the negotiating parties as the end of its task. While agreed terms are normally presumed fair to their signatories absent contrary indications, Olsen also considered whether they were fair to users who had not signed.

That required examining whether the associations could represent other affected users, whether objections remained and whether public-interest issues called for a different result. An association can represent non-members’ interests where its members share sufficiently relevant characteristics with them.

The parties said the associations represented about 190 stations, approximately 80 per cent of Canada’s non-commercial radio sector. Their membership included urban, rural, remote, northern, Indigenous, campus and minority-language communities, with operations ranging from very small volunteer stations to considerably larger broadcasters. Almost all members also operated online services.

Olsen accepted that description and found the associations sufficiently representative. He concluded that the agreed rates answered their objections: the broadcasting charge reflected the statute, while the online amounts used the earlier tariff as a starting point, with an increase for 2026 through 2029 that the parties attributed to inflation. He identified no outstanding public-policy issue requiring intervention.

Reporting and payment rules remain

The Board approved the jointly submitted text without changes. It did not add interest factors for historical payments, noting the agreement’s recent date and the parties’ decision not to include them. That is not a blanket exemption from interest: the approved tariff separately imposes non-compounding interest on late payments at one percentage point above the applicable Bank Rate.

The tariff calls for annual payment by January 1 and a description of the streaming or simulcast service with online payments. It also requires identifying information and evidence of non-commercial status within 45 days after the end of the first month of covered streaming activity.

The result establishes rates and conditions for the defined non-commercial activities; it is not a general licence for every form of online music use. The reasons do not determine any particular station’s account balance, whether a user has paid, or the treatment of an individual overdue account.