Canadian Music industry drills dentists for royalties

[g-smooth2k]

Source: CBC News Canada

VANCOUVER - The tranquil music that wafts through many dental offices to soothe patients and mask the sounds of the drill may soon be silenced. The music industry is putting the bite on dentists – demanding that they pay for the right to play it.

The Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada, which collects royalties for musicians, has targeted dental offices in its latest campaign. The group is asking them to cough up a yearly fee if they use copyrighted music to entertain patients.

The fee, a minimum charge of $100, has enraged some dentists.

"I just feel it's a money grab," said Vancouver dentist Kerstin Conn, who recently received a letter from SOCAN at her office. "We paid for our CD and we're using it to listen to, and half the time my patients ... don't even hear the music."

Bruce Wilde, licensing manager for SOCAN, said people can listen to CDs for personal enjoyment but infringe copyright if they play them for other purposes.

"The distinction is that the music is not their property," he said. "And if it's being used in a public fashion or any kind of commercial fashion, then [musicians] deserve to be compensated for its use."

SOCAN has battled for years to get commercial and retail outlets to pay for the use of copyrighted music. Under legislation, the music played in coffee shops, clothing stores, lounges, elevators – even radio tunes that people hear on the telephone while on hold – is fair game.

The copyright laws do offer some wiggle room, one legal expert said. "The gray area, I think, is where it's overheard inadvertently," said Robert Howell, a professor at the University of Victoria Law School, "when it is really intended to be private but it is overheard inadvertently by a customer."

SOCAN said it has successfully collected the fees so far, but if someone refuses to pay, it could sue for copyright infringement. Things rarely go that far, the group said.

Conn said she intends to keep playing CDs in her Vancouver office – at least for now. "Well, no, I'm not going to turn off the music. It's wrong."

[davina1234]

Hello, ... I am new to this site and I noticed the SOCAN intent of collecting fees from dentists across Canada. For the record, I am a dentist. I have not and never will pay SOCAN one nickel just because I play CDs , radio, and cassettes in my office.I have already paid for my CDs, and radio is free .... this is reality.
WHAT A JOKE ! How about SOCAN start with somebody else like Walmart, or the tire shop that plays music while one gets a rotation, or the doctor's office, or pharmacy or the place that YOU and YOUR COWORKERS are employed. Think about this .....every business should be in the EXACT same boat. DO NOT single out dental clinics, ....SOCAN ...., for this is just one big CASH GRAB. Oh, and if people in general have the mentality that dentists can afford this fee just remember ... the "savings" will be just passed on to the patients. This means your filling, or cleaning, or root canal will cost you more. Not a lot more , .... but more nonetheless.
I graduated on the top of my class with distinction . This means I have a reasonable level of intelligence. Show me one Canadian dentist that has actually paid this fee and I can probably prove to everybody one Canadian dentist that graduated at the bottom of his class (for reasons of sheer stupidity).