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Join a society

Not a member? Then they can't pay you.

Tell us what you do and where you live. We show which society to join, what it asks for, what it costs and where to apply.

Step 3 · your societies

Songwriter — living in Canada

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As a songwriter

Join this society in Canada

Writers generally join one authors' society for a given territory and right. That society collects your writer share from other countries through its agreements with sister societies, so you don't join a second one for the same rights.

SOCAN

Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada · Canada

Your home society
Who can join
Songwriters, Publishers
Joining fee
None. 'There is no fee to become a member.'
Yearly fee
None stated as a fee; FAQ: 'There is no cost to become a SOCAN member.' Membership renews automatically every two years.
Processing time
Not published
Apply online
Yes — apply online through SOCAN's New Member Portal (create a login first).
Members from abroad
Current sign-up page states no residency rule. An older SOCAN brochure PDF on socan.com says writer members must be Canadian or permanent residents of Canada.
Who is eligible
  • Creators: be a composer, songwriter, producer or lyricist who created or contributed to a musical work.
  • The work must be published by a music publisher, OR recorded, OR performed (or will be) in public (radio, TV, film, live, satellite radio, ringtone or internet) subject to SOCAN licensing.
  • Publishers: signed contracts showing ownership of, or entitlement to the publisher's share of, at least five works written/co-written by a SOCAN writer member or a Canadian.
What to have ready

Document list not published.

Apply at SOCAN ↗
Sources and notes

The New Member Portal page asks you to 'Create New Login'; the sign-in itself runs on memp.socan.com (account creation/login page).

Membership renews automatically every two years unless you terminate in writing.

Reproduction (mechanical) rights are a separate sign-up via the same portal; if you assigned them to a publisher, SOCAN follows your publisher's direction.

A co-writer who is not a member will not collect until they join SOCAN or an affiliated foreign society.

Sources — SOCAN's own pages, read on 2026-10-06. Fees and rules change: the society's site is the reference.

How we chose these

Your home society comes first: it is the one you join for the rights listed. The joining details come from each society's own website, read on the date shown on its card. Countries we haven't checked yet show the society from our worldwide directory, with a link to its site.

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Why join?

Songwriters

Societies pay the writers registered with them. If you write songs and aren't a member of an authors' society, your writer share of radio, TV, live and streaming plays can't reach you. It sits unidentified until it is claimed, or is shared out to others.

Performers

When a recording you are on is broadcast or played in public, performers are owed a share (neighbouring rights). It is paid through performers' societies, and registering is how it finds you.

Producers and publishers

Master owners collect their share of the same plays through producers' societies. Publishers collect the publisher share of the songs through the authors' society. Both collect through a society membership.

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