Canadian collective SOCAN joins German society GEMA’s One Arena, improving transparency around international concert royalties.
One Arena has announced its newest member, the Canadian collective SOCAN, providing a commitment to the initiative that expands the One Arena network beyond Europe. The move promises to bring greater transparency for songwriters, artists, and rightsholders whose music is performed on stages around the world.
The One Arena network gives rightsholders a clearer view of what they can expect to earn from their international live performances, when they are likely to be paid for them, and how royalties have been calculated through individual concert reporting. Together, One Arena members are making the licensing and distribution process more transparent, helping to ensure that payments are made efficiently, accurately, and promptly.
Founded by the German society GEMA, One Arena includes seven European collective management societies that, through the sharing of information, make it possible for music creators, publishers, and their representatives to have greater visibility into the collection of licenses and the distribution of live performance royalties in other territories. Arena details upcoming concerts, produces royalty forecasts, submits setlists to the appropriate collective societies involved, and tracks the status of licensing and payments.
As with other members, the network’s collaboration with SOCAN covers two mutually beneficial areas: tracking all major concerts being organized in the markets of all its members, which now includes Canada; and providing access to international live performances’ royalty information through info sharing with One Arena members.
“One Arena’s strength lies in the expertise and commitment of all the collecting societies involved,” explains Dr. Tobias Holzmüller, CEO of GEMA. “Together, we’re building greater transparency and making it easier for songwriters and artists to understand how royalties are generated by their international live performances. We’re delighted to welcome SOCAN into our network; this will enable us to draw on SOCAN’s expertise in the Canadian market and support even more rightsholders in the future through One Arena.”
“For songwriters, a concert doesn’t end with the final note. When it comes to international performances in particular, the path to collecting and distributing royalties is often long and has information gaps. One Arena helps us to track our members’ performances abroad more efficiently, with a level of transparency that is welcomed in the live performance sector. We’re delighted to be part of this network that is putting the needs and royalties of members first,” adds Jennifer Brown, CEO of SOCAN.
One Arena is an international cooperation among collective management organizations. It provides structured information and operational coordination across the live performance value chain, helping rights holders and their representatives understand how live performance royalties are licensed, processed, and distributed across borders. Its members include SUISA, AKM, Buma-Stemra, KODA, TONO, OSA, SOCAN, and GEMA. Responsibility for licensing music rights and paying royalties remains with the individual collecting society in each territory, governed by their own rules and established practices.
