Part 6 · Security, compliance and privacy
Music licensing
Track the royalties owed to SOCAN and Re:Sound for music played on your premises, with the proposed tariff, the certified tariff and the adjustment.
Playing music on your premises in Canada gives rise to royalties. The Licences musicales (music licensing) application keeps a file for each venue: the period paid, the proof of payment and, above all, what can still be revised. It is meant for the person who handles the obligations of a business or a firm, and for the consulting firm that follows this file for its clients. The result is an amount calculated year by year, with the share paid under tariffs the Copyright Board of Canada has not yet certified.
This module is published but absent from the Boréal demo: this chapter describes it from its documentation and its declared screens, without screenshots (module published, not illustrated).
Overview#
Four concepts are enough. The establishment is the place where music plays: its floor area, its uses and its operating days form the royalty basis. The licence period is a paid stretch of time, with its renewal due date, its settlement date and its payment reference. The royalty line applies a tariff to a period and shows, alongside it, what was actually paid. The tariff table is the reference table: one line per collective society, per tariff, per use and per period.
Two facts govern everything else. First, there is no longer a separate counter for each society. SOCAN collects for authors, composers and publishers; Re:Sound (Ré:Sonne on screen) collects for performers and producers. Since 2019, they issue both licences in a single transaction, so the module tracks one licensing relationship, not two. Second, background music tariffs are pending before the Copyright Board. A business pays today under a proposed tariff, which the Board may certify years later, with retroactive effect.
Hence the module's design rule: a period carries a single tariff line, which knows both the proposed rate and the certified rate. A register that kept only the rate in force could never say how much the bill has moved.
Four amounts follow from this rule, on each line, then added up for the period and the establishment.
| Amount | What it tells you |
|---|---|
| Au taux proposé (at the proposed rate) | What the proposed tariff calls for, minimum included |
| Référence (reference) | What was paid when the amount is known, otherwise the amount at the proposed rate |
| Sous tarif non homologué (under an uncertified tariff) | The reference amount, as long as the tariff is not certified |
| Rajustement (adjustment) | The actual gap between the certified rate and what was paid |
The third drops to zero the day the Board rules, and the fourth takes over. An amount is never in both at once.
Configuration#
Access and permissions#
| Group | What it opens |
|---|---|
| Utilisateur (user) | Establishments, periods and amounts, read-only |
| Gestionnaire (manager) | All of the above with write access, plus Configuration and the tariff table; this group receives the due-date reminders |
The Gestionnaire group implies the Utilisateur group. An internal user who belongs to neither sees neither the menu nor the files: access is granted, never assumed. The three main screens also respect separation by company.
Settings#
The module adds no setting to the general settings. Only one behaviour can be adjusted, the daily due-date reminder. It ships turned off, and you turn it on deliberately from the list of scheduled actions. Waking it up on a new database would create activities on files that no one has reviewed yet.
Base data#
The tariff table is seeded at installation, from the texts published by the Copyright Board. It covers SOCAN Tariff 15.A for background music, SOCAN Tariff 15.B for music on hold, and Re:Sound Tariff 3.B for both uses. Each line holds the address of the document its rate comes from. A checkbox says whether the rate was read from the text or only assumed.
Review this table before the first file, then create your establishments. One precaution: a rate retyped by hand on a seeded line is overwritten at the next module update, because these lines are reference data, not data entry.
Getting started#
This walkthrough opens the file for a venue and calculates its exposure since 2020. It assumes the Gestionnaire right.
- Open Licences musicales › Établissements (establishments), then select New.
- Enter the Nom (name) of the venue and choose the Client (customer).
- Enter the Superficie (floor area) and choose the Unité (unit), “m²” or “pi²” (square feet).
- Check the uses, Musique d'ambiance (background music) and Attente téléphonique (music on hold), and enter the number of Lignes téléphoniques (phone lines).
- Enter the Jours d'exploitation par année (operating days per year), and check Établissement saisonnier (seasonal establishment) if the venue opens less than six months a year.
- Choose the Provenance de la musique (source of the music) and enter the Compte Entandem (Entandem account) if there is one.
- Save, then select Évaluer l'exposition (assess exposure).
Result: one licence period is created for each missing year since 2020, filled with the tariffs that apply to it. The totals appear on the form: the reference royalties, what remains revisable and the adjustment already recorded. The Périodes de licence (licence periods) tab gives the details, year by year.
Common tasks#
Create a licence period by hand#
Use this for a year the assessment did not cover, or for a period that does not follow the calendar year.
- Open Licences musicales › Périodes de licence, then select New.
- Choose the Établissement (establishment).
- Enter the Début (start) and Fin (end) of the period.
- Enter the Échéance de renouvellement (renewal due date).
- Select Reprendre les tarifs applicables (load the applicable tariffs).
- Save.
Result: one line is added for each tariff that touches the period, according to the uses checked on the establishment, and the four amounts are calculated.
Record a payment and close a period#
The proof matters as much as the amount: it is filed next to it, not in an email inbox.
- Open the period in Licences musicales › Périodes de licence.
- Enter the Payé (paid) amount on each tariff line.
- Enter the Référence de paiement (payment reference), that is, the receipt or invoice number.
- Select Marquer réglée (mark as settled).
Result: the settlement date is filled in, the status changes to “Réglée” (settled) and the period leaves the list of upcoming due dates. Rouvrir (reopen) brings it back if the file needs to be reworked.
Track what remains revisable#
This is the question a spreadsheet cannot ask: how much was paid under a tariff that nothing makes final.
- Open Licences musicales › Sous tarif non homologué.
- Group by establishment to see the breakdown.
- Open a period to read, line by line, the amount at the proposed rate and what was paid.
Result: the list of periods whose tariff is still awaiting certification, with the amount that remains revisable for each. An empty list here is a good sign, not an error.
Mark a tariff as certified#
This action belongs to the manager of the tariff table, and is taken only after reading the certified text.
- Open Licences musicales › Configuration › Référentiel de tarifs (tariff table).
- Select the line concerned.
- Enter the Taux homologué (certified rate), the Montant de base homologué (certified base amount) and the Minimum homologué (certified minimum), then the Date d'homologation (certification date).
- Select Marquer homologué (mark as certified).
Result: every period that carries this tariff is recalculated. The amount under an uncertified tariff drops to zero and the adjustment takes its place, up or down depending on the gap.
Add a line to the tariff table#
Add a line when a new block of tariffs is published and the module update has not brought it in yet.
- Open Licences musicales › Configuration › Référentiel de tarifs, then select New.
- Choose the Société de gestion (collective society) and enter the Tarif (tariff), for example “15.A”, then its Intitulé (title).
- Choose the Usage visé (use covered) and enter the Début and the Fin de la période (end of the period).
- Choose the Assiette (basis), then enter the Taux proposé (proposed rate), the Montant de base proposé (proposed base amount) and the Minimum proposé (proposed minimum).
- Enter the Source and check Taux relevé à la source (rate read from the source) if the rate comes from the text itself.
- Save.
Result: the line joins the tariff table and will be picked up by the next periods it covers. The table refuses two versions of the same tariff for the same year.
Turn on due-date reminders#
Reminders arrive as activities, as elsewhere in Symbifox. They stay off until you turn them on.
- First review the open periods and their due dates.
- Open the list of scheduled actions in the technical settings.
- Turn on the music licensing due-date reminder.
Result: every day, an activity is created for the managers for periods approaching their due date. All three tariff texts set payment no later than January 31 of the year covered.
Document the source of the music#
The source is not a detail: it changes the applicable tariff, and sometimes the compliance of the service used.
- Open the establishment form.
- Choose the Provenance de la musique from the list.
- Enter the Constat sur la provenance (finding on the source) in one sentence.
- Save.
Result: a consumer streaming service used in a business flags itself, since its terms of use do not cover playback in an establishment.
The menus, one by one#
This module is absent from the demo: the menus described here are the ones the module declares.
Licences musicales › Établissements: the list of venues tracked, with their customer, floor area and totals. This is the working screen: you open a file here and run the exposure assessment. On an empty screen, the help text explains that an establishment is a place where music plays, and that its floor area and uses form the royalty basis.
Licences musicales › Périodes de licence: all periods, across all establishments, with their renewal due date, status and amounts. Group by establishment or filter by status to prepare a renewal.
Licences musicales › Sous tarif non homologué: the same periods, limited to those whose tariff is awaiting certification. Its help text says so directly: what the client paid for these periods remains revisable until the Board rules.
Licences musicales › Configuration: a grouping menu, visible only to managers.
Licences musicales › Configuration › Référentiel de tarifs: the reference table, one line per society, per tariff and per period, with the proposed rate and the certified rate side by side. Its help text notes that the gap between the two makes the retroactive adjustment.
Reference#
Fields of the Établissement form#
| Field | Description | Required or default |
|---|---|---|
| Nom | The venue, as named in the file | Required |
| Client | The contact billed and tracked | Required |
| Superficie, Unité | The area open to the public, in square metres or square feet | Unit required |
| Superficie (m²), Superficie (pi²) | The two conversions, calculated | Computed |
| Musique d'ambiance, Attente téléphonique | The uses that determine which tariffs apply | Cleared |
| Lignes téléphoniques | Number of lines with music on hold | 0 |
| Jours d'exploitation par année | Number of days music plays; the Re:Sound tariff multiplies the floor area by this number | To enter |
| Établissement saisonnier | Operated less than six months a year; some tariffs then allow half the rate | Cleared |
| Provenance de la musique | Commercial radio, consumer or commercial streaming service, background music supplier, the venue's own recordings, live music, or unknown | Required |
| Constat sur la provenance | One sentence explaining the previous choice | Optional |
| Compte Entandem | The number of the single licence | Optional |
| Redevances de référence, Payé sous tarif non homologué, Rajustement constaté, Périodes non homologuées | The file's totals | Computed |
Fields of the Période de licence form#
| Field | Description | Required or default |
|---|---|---|
| Établissement | The venue covered by the period | Required |
| Début, Fin | The bounds of the period covered | Required |
| Échéance de renouvellement | Date by which payment is due | Required |
| Réglée le | Payment date; filled in by Marquer réglée | Empty |
| Statut | À venir, Échéance proche, En retard or Réglée (upcoming, due soon, overdue, settled) | Computed |
| Référence de paiement | The receipt or invoice number that proves payment | Optional |
| Compte Entandem | Copied from the establishment, editable | Copied |
| Tarifs applicables | The royalty lines of the period | Added by Reprendre les tarifs applicables |
| Payé, Redevance de référence, Sous tarif non homologué, Rajustement | The four amounts, added up from the lines | Computed |
Fields of the Ligne de redevance form#
| Field | Description | Required or default |
|---|---|---|
| Tarif | The tariff table line applied here | Required |
| Assiette du tarif | What the tariff counts: area, area per day, phone line or flat amount | Copied from the tariff |
| Homologué | Status of the tariff at the time of calculation | Copied from the tariff |
| Assiette | The value copied from the establishment; editable when the tariff counts differently | Copied |
| Payé | What was actually paid for this line | Optional |
| Au taux proposé, Au taux homologué | What each rate calls for | Computed |
| Référence, Sous tarif non homologué, Rajustement | The three resulting amounts | Computed |
Fields of the Tarif form#
| Field | Description | Required or default |
|---|---|---|
| Société de gestion | SOCAN or Ré:Sonne | Required |
| Tarif, Intitulé | The number as the Board designates it, and its title | Required |
| Usage visé | Background music or music on hold | Required |
| Début, Fin de la période | The years covered by this block | Required |
| Assiette | Per square metre or square foot, per operating day, per phone line, or flat amount | Required |
| État | Proposé or Homologué (proposed or certified) | “Proposé” |
| Taux proposé, Montant de base proposé, Minimum proposé | The rate per unit, the amount due for the first unit, and the minimum annual royalty | Per the text |
| Taux homologué, Montant de base homologué, Minimum homologué, Date d'homologation | The same values, once the Board has ruled | Empty |
| Source, Taux relevé à la source | The document's address, and the statement that the rate was indeed taken from it | Source recommended |
| Demi-tarif saisonnier | The tariff allows half the rate for a venue open less than six months | Per the text |
| Taux en vigueur, Montant de base en vigueur, Minimum en vigueur | What applies today: the certified value if it exists, otherwise the proposed one | Computed |
Reports and exports#
The application produces no printable report. Amounts are read on screen, and lists are exported as everywhere else in Symbifox, as described in Common actions in every application. For a client file, the establishment form is enough: it holds the totals and the year-by-year details.
Automations#
A daily reminder creates an activity for managers for periods coming due; it ships turned off. A period's status is calculated automatically and stored, from four values: À venir, Échéance proche, En retard and Réglée. The four amounts are recalculated whenever a rate, basis or payment changes. A certification updates them on every period concerned, with no re-entry. Finally, module updates refresh the tariff table: this is the normal path when the Board publishes.
Public pages and portal#
The module exposes no public page and does not appear in the client portal.
Modules that extend this application#
No satellite module extends Licences musicales. The module relies on the messaging and activity features shared across Symbifox. Each change of rate, status and due date remains visible in the file's chatter, the message thread at the bottom of the form. Reminders arrive like any other activity.
Understanding#
Why a single line carries both rates. Two successive records, one proposed and one certified, would force you to find the earlier one to know how much the bill has moved. A single line carries both values, and the gap between them is exactly the adjustment owed.
Why a single licensing relationship. SOCAN and Re:Sound collect for two separate rights, but have issued their licences together since 2019. Tracking two files would duplicate due dates that come only once.
Why Re:Sound does not count like SOCAN. Its basis is the area open to the public multiplied by the number of operating days. That is why the establishment form asks for operating days, a figure no other tariff uses.
Why a base amount next to the rate. The music on hold tariff is worded “so much for the first line, so much for each additional line”. Multiplying the rate by the total number of lines would overcharge the first one. The base amount exists for this precise reason.
What the seasonal half rate changes. A venue operated less than six months a year gets half the rate, and the minimum applies after this reduction, never before.
How long nothing has been certified. The last certified amount for background music dates from the 2008-2011 block. The following blocks have all remained proposals, so an establishment has been paying under proposed tariffs for about fifteen years. The amount under an uncertified tariff makes this visible.
What is still missing. The Re:Sound 2027-2031 block is the only line in the tariff table without a rate, because no year before 2027 is affected. Re:Sound's two fallback methods, per seat and per admission, appear in the tariff text but are not calculated: only the floor-area basis is.
What the module is not. It does not give legal advice. Rates are dated data, each stating whether it was read from the tariff text or only assumed; a rate that was not read is not a promise.
Troubleshooting#
| Symptom | Probable cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| The menu does not appear | The person is neither Utilisateur nor Gestionnaire of music licensing | Grant the right group in Settings › Users & Companies › Users |
| Évaluer l'exposition calculates nothing | The floor area is empty, or no use is checked on the establishment | Fill in the floor area, check the uses, then run the assessment again |
| The music on hold amount seems too high | The per-line rate was applied to every line, because the tariff has no base amount | Review the Montant de base proposé on the tariff table line |
| The amount stays “sous tarif non homologué” after a decision | The tariff in the table is still in the proposed state | Enter the certified values, then select Marquer homologué |
| No reminder activity arrives | The daily reminder ships turned off | Review the open periods, then turn on the scheduled action |
| A tariff table line refuses to save | Another version of the same tariff already covers this period | Correct the bounds, or edit the existing line instead of creating a second one |
| A rate corrected by hand reverts to its old value | The line is seeded with the module and refreshed at every update | Note the gap in the line's Notes and wait for the tariff table update |
| A period picks up no tariff | The establishment's uses match no tariff covering these dates | Check the use on the establishment, or add the missing line to the tariff table |
See also#
- Contacts: the customer an establishment is linked to.
- Purchase: the supplier invoice that proves payment.
- Invoicing: rebilling a file tracked for a client.
- Common actions in every application: filters, grouping, activities and exports.