U.S., France giving Canadian artists most airplay internationally

TORONTO – Canadian songwriters cashed in on a big year of international airplay, according to a new study by the Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada.

New data released by SOCAN on Thursday showed that total international royalty earnings from its membership grew to $47 million in 2012, a 21 per cent increase over the previous year.

SOCAN tracks the amount of royalties generated by Canadian music being played on TV, radio, online or performed live around the world and distributes the subsequent bounty to its membership base — with 20,425 Canadian songwriters and composers receiving royalties last year.

Unsurprisingly, the United States was the biggest single-country royalty source, with our neighbour to the south accounting for 31 per cent of airplay revenue for Canadian artists.

France followed at 15 per cent — helped along no doubt by French-language artists such as Celine Dion, whose most recent record “Sans attendre” has been certified diamond there — after generating $7.3 million in royalties for Canadian artists.

The U.K. was next with 11 per cent (with $5.1 million in royalties), followed by Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and Brazil.

Generally speaking, South America has been a region of quick growth for Canuck music, providing three per cent of foreign revenues compared with 0.5 per cent in 2007. Argentina specifically grew by 25 per cent last year, says SOCAN.