Music rights are one of those costs that can be easy to miss when people think about the price of going to the movies. The Copyright Board’s August 21, 2026 decision approved two SOCAN cinema tariffs, keeping a $1.50 per seat royalty and a $150 minimum per theatre for 2017 to 2024, then moving to a share of admission revenue for 2025 to 2027. That newer share is 0.094%, 0.096% and 0.098% in successive years, with a $200 annual minimum per theatre. The Board had to look beyond a deal negotiated with major cinema representatives because a minimum that seems manageable for a chain can land differently on a small independent theatre.
The new tariff is about music performed as part of showing films. It doesn’t decide other copyright payments or the merits of disputes involving individual cinemas. The 2017 to 2024 tariff, 2025 to 2027 tariff and Copyright Board reasons provide the official sources.