Canadian radio royalties can go missing even after a track is properly distributed. Re:Sound, the collecting body for the recording side of public performance, requires the master owner and the performers to submit separate repertoire claims. Its published schedule gives makers until September 1 of the fourth year after a royalty year, but performers until September 1 of the sixth. A self-releasing artist who controls the master and performs on it has two claims, with two clocks.
One recording, two royalty accounts
Re:Sound calls the master owner the “maker.” It collects neighbouring rights, meaning the payment due to performers and makers when an eligible recording is broadcast or played publicly. The distribution rules divide that pool equally: 50% to performers and 50% to makers. This is a division of Re:Sound’s distributable recording royalties, not a promised share of a radio station’s revenue.
Within the performer half, Re:Sound’s default allocation for popular music gives featured artists 80% and session or backup players 20%; participants can agree to a different allocation. A solo artist who owns the master may therefore be entitled on both sides, while a session musician has a performer claim even without master ownership. Eligibility still depends on the recording and applicable rights, so neither registration guarantees a payment. Re:Sound’s rules explain the allocation and conditions.
Songwriters have a different claim. Re:Sound’s FAQ identifies SOCAN as the collector for the composition’s public-performance rights. Delivering a master to a distributor, joining SOCAN and claiming with Re:Sound address different rights; none is a substitute for the others. This distinction is familiar from our Dutch performer royalty guide, but the Canadian deadlines require their own calendar.
Calculate the deadline from the use year
The deadline follows the year the royalty was collected for, not the record’s release date. For 2023 royalties, the maker’s scheduled sign-up and repertoire deadline is September 1, 2027; the performer’s is September 1, 2029. Both dates follow directly from Re:Sound’s current schedule for 2020 and later royalty years. Put both on a catalogue calendar rather than filing one generic “Canada” task.
Signing up is only half the job. Re:Sound says the maker or performer must also submit complete repertoire information by the applicable deadline. An existing account satisfies the sign-up requirement, but the relevant recording must still be declared. Performers can use ACTRA RACS, Artisti or Re:Sound directly; makers can use Panorama or Re:Sound directly, according to the same schedule.
The 2023 example is a filing window, not an estimate of what a specific track will earn. Re:Sound says distributions use reported track plays, with public-performance tariffs currently allocated using commercial-radio logs. Its searchable database shows recordings appearing in broadcaster or user logs, but a missing result does not rule out entitlement. Search the database to investigate, then submit the repertoire regardless of whether the track appears.
Build the claim into release operations
For each master, keep the recording title, artist names, first maker, country of recording, release details and International Standard Recording Code (ISRC) together. Panorama’s repertoire declaration guide asks master owners for these kinds of identifiers and rights details. Preserve the same ISRC across distributor and collecting-society records; a code is a recording identifier, not proof by itself that a party owns the master.
Document featured and session performers before release, and record who will file each claim. If a label changes distributors, its Re:Sound representation and repertoire should be checked separately from the delivery migration. A royalty dashboard can show DSP receipts, but it cannot resolve an undeclared Canadian radio claim. The same separation matters in the Philippine recording-rights system, where performer classification also changes the payout.
Finally, do not apply these four- and six-year dates to every Spotify play. Re:Sound’s FAQ distinguishes on-demand services licensed directly by record labels from its neighbouring-rights tariffs. Ask a distributor for transparent master reporting and a clean split ledger, then run a separate Re:Sound checklist for eligible Canadian broadcasts and public uses. That is how a catalogue gets both the delivery income and the claims it has actually earned.
