Guides
Photobooth event music licensing in Canada
Photobooth event music licensing in Canada involves composition and recording rights, SOCAN and Re:Sound, venue coverage, and booking paperwork.
What to take away
- For a photobooth event in Canada, a booth playing recorded music where strangers can hear it gives a public performance, and the Copyright Act applies from the first track.
- SOCAN licenses the composition. Re:Sound licenses the recording. Buying one leaves the other right exposed.
- Fees follow Copyright Board tariffs and scale with audience size and whether admission was charged.
- Typical event licences for a small non-ticketed reception run about C$50 to C$250 per society. Confirm the figure in writing for your date.
- The named licensee is the only party covered. Keep the licence number, tariff name and receipt in the booking folder.
When booth audio becomes a public performance
The trigger is performance in public, not the booth itself. Play a track through booth speakers where anyone can hear it and you have performed a work under the Copyright Act.
A backyard wedding for forty guests is normally private. The same wedding in a rented hall with 180 guests is not. Charge admission or run the room as a business and the performance turns public.
Is the performance public?
Can anyone hear the booth audio?
public performance, licence needed
private event, normally no licence
Three bookings catch operators most often. A client playlist routed through booth speakers. A trade show activation where the organizer's licence may not reach exhibitor audio. A community festival with no music licence behind it.
Municipal paperwork does not cover this. Our guide to photo booth rental license requirements separates music rights from permits and registration.
SOCAN and Re:Sound cover different rights
SOCAN licenses public performance of musical works for songwriters and publishers. Re:Sound licenses the sound recording, a separate right held by performers and labels.
Neither society sets its price at the counter. Both licence under tariffs approved by the Copyright Board of Canada, and your licence names the tariff that fixes the amount.
Coverage follows the tariff description. A wedding reception licence does not follow you to a retail store playing the same music on a Saturday.
Royalty-free library music with written terms can replace both licences if you keep those terms on file.
SOCAN vs Re:Sound
SOCAN
- What it covers
- Musical works
- Who gets paid
- Writers, composers
- Price set by
- Copyright Board tariff
- Buying one only
- Still exposed
Re:Sound
- What it covers
- Sound recording
- Who gets paid
- Performers, labels
- Price set by
- Copyright Board tariff
- Buying one only
- Still exposed
Booking details that affect music licensing
| Situation | Licence needed | Who usually pays |
|---|---|---|
| Wedding in a rented hall, no admission | SOCAN and Re:Sound event tariffs | Couple or planner |
| Corporate party with DJ and booth | SOCAN and Re:Sound event tariffs | Host company |
| Trade show exhibitor audio | Event tariff plus organizer coverage | Exhibitor |
| Fundraiser with paid tickets | SOCAN and Re:Sound event tariffs | Organizer |
| Library music only | Library licence | Booth operator |
A 60 guest dinner and a 900 guest gala sit at different points on the same tariff, so quote the actual event.
An annual licence covering a set number of events suits a business running dozens of bookings in one province, not three weddings a season.
The tariff is one line in the pre-opening file. Our pre-opening compliance checklist covers the registration, insurance and staffing items beside it.
Example: costing two licences into one quote
A 120 guest wedding reception in a rented hall. No admission, four hours of booth audio, client playlist. The planner holds both licences.
Typical event licence fees for a single small, non-ticketed reception commonly fall in the C$50 to C$250 range per society, so allow roughly C$100 to C$500 for the pair. Treat that as a planning range, not a quote.
The same room with 900 guests and paid tickets moves up the tariff. Add the fee as a line item so a client who refuses does not leave you carrying the exposure.
Licence fees are an ordinary business cost. The GST/HST rules apply to what you charge and remit.
How to apply for both licences
- Classify the bookingpublic or private, admission charged or free, expected attendance.
- Ask the client and the venue who already holds a licence for that date.
- Contact SOCAN licensing and Re:Sound licensing through the contact published on each society's site.
- Give the date, venue, audience figure and tariff category, then ask for written confirmation of the fee.
- Pay, save the receipt, and file the licence with the booking documents.
Both societies issue licences for a named event or an annual term. Get the answer before the deposit clears, not at load-in.
A licence fee may already be spent when a client cancels. Our guide to cancellation policy clauses shows how to say that plainly.
Venue blanket licences are not automatic cover
Hotels, legions, galleries and conference centres often hold blanket licences for music on their premises. That does not automatically cover your booth.
A venue licence generally covers performances the venue controls. A vendor arriving with its own speakers and playlist may sit outside that scope.
Ask the events or operations manager three questions. Does the licence cover vendor-supplied audio? Does it cover this date and room? Will the manager confirm both by email you can attach to the contract?
The one page a venue asks for
File these together so the music question is answered before anyone asks.
- Public or private, recorded at inquiry.
- Named licenseeyou, the client or the venue.
- Licence number, tariff name and coverage dates.
- Written venue confirmation, if the venue claims coverage.
- Library music terms, if you use royalty-free tracks.
- Sent copy, logged with the date.
Treat licensing like any other service standards item you audit each season. Diarize renewal dates and re-check tariffs when the Copyright Board publishes new rates.
Put the boundary in writing with any DJ or booth subcontractor, and name the licensee in the contract.
Common questions
Do we need both SOCAN and Re:Sound?
For most events playing commercial recordings, yes. SOCAN covers the composition and Re:Sound covers the recording.
Does the venue's licence cover my booth?
Not reliably. A venue licence usually covers performances the venue controls. Ask for email confirmation naming your date and room.
Who pays the fee?
Whoever is named on the licence, which is a contract decision. Write it into the quote or the client agreement before the event.
What happens if we skip it?
The performance is unauthorized under the Copyright Act, and statutory damages can apply even at a small event.
