FAQ For Composers
How is Sounds of Canada different from other music publishers?
Will Sounds of Canada promote my band or act?
I'm not a composer, I want to be rock star or a rapper. What can Sounds of Canada do for me?
Who is Sounds of Canada selling my music to?
Is Sounds of Canada accepting track submissions?
What kind of music is Sounds of Canada looking for?
What is a Sounds of Canada Standard Publishing Agreement?
What kind of files can I upload?
How do I know my tracks will be listed in the Sounds of Canada catalogue?
Will I make money by submitting my music to Sounds of Canada?
Can I submit other people's tracks?
Why do I have to share my licensing fees with Sounds of Canada? It's my music!
I'm not a Canadian. Can I submit my music to Sounds of Canada?
My track is listed in the Sounds of Canada Music Catalogue. What now?
Sounds of Canada is a 100% Canadian-owned organization engaged in the business of promoting and licensing Canadian music to music users in the various media production sectors. We have brought the production music business into the 21st century by making music immediately accessible to online users and by acting as a virtual broker between music creators and consumers. We are based in Victoria, British Columbia on Canada's west coast.
How is Sounds of Canada different from other music publishers?
We list only Canadian music in our catalogue. We do not hire composers and have no production studio. We simply go about the task of finding quality music and making it readily available to those who need it. In this digital age we think of ourselves as more of a broker than a publisher.
Will Sounds of Canada promote my band or act?
No. Sounds of Canada is not an artist promotion service as such. We deal with ready-to-use music tracks that are needed by producers in the Film, TV and similar sectors. These consumers of music are not necessarily interested in your music career, your CD release or how great an act you have. However, many artists have had a career boost from the exposure their music received by being broadcast in film or television, and film credits can look really good on your resumé.
I'm not a composer, I want to be rock star or a rapper. What can Sounds of Canada do for me?
If you create original music, then you are what we call a composer. So wherever we talk about composers on this Web site, we're talking about you. So if, while you're on your journey to stardom, you're creating truly great tracks that are worthy of use in movies or television shows, then perhaps we can license them for you and make you some walking around money. Sounds of Canada won't necessarily make you rich but hey, money is money, right? And who can put a price on the exposure your music might get?
Who is Sounds of Canada selling my music to?
Anyone who wants it. Sounds of Canada markets your music globally to anyone with a need for production music and to those who might simply like your track and want to purchase it for home use. All licenses are non-exclusive. Purchasers are simply buying the right to use your music, not the music itself. The license fees are based on the intended use of the music. Film producers obviously must pay more than home users and Sounds of Canada licensing rates are structured accordingly.
Is Sounds of Canada accepting track submissions?
Yes, we are constantly building and improving our catalogue and if you are a Canadian composer, we encourage you to submit your music. But we're very particular about what we list in our catalogue and many submissions are not accepted. However, if you believe your tracks are of sufficient quality and originality, we'd love to hear from you!
What kind of music is Sounds of Canada looking for?
The only tracks we won't consider are spoken word tracks. We're looking for original Canadian music in all genres. This includes full-orchestra symphonies and 6-second commercial stings. And we're not limited to just Canadian-sounding music, e.g. whether you sound like Bob Marley, Mannheim Steamroller, Lady Gaga or the Watoto Choir, send us your stuff. And whenever you hear background music in a movie or on TV and think, “Hey, I can do stuff like that!”, then you know what we're looking for. Your music must be original and must not contain any samples that aren't cleared. If you're a rocker, listen to the background stuff on a sports channel leading into segments or during goal of the week type play montages etc. If you play violin, a simple solo with some feeling is perfect. If you work the lobster traps and call your violin a fiddle then we want to hear your music too! If you're not sure, send it in anyway. If its Canadian music we'll listen to it.
Except for the production costs you've already put into your music, it doesn't cost you anything to upload your track to Sounds of Canada for consideration. You do have the option of paying an annual $24.99 fee for Priority Composer status to place your submissions at the front of the review queue, but that's completely optional and doesn't increase your chances of getting your tracks listed in the catalogue.
If we accept your track as eligible for listing in the Sounds of Canada Music catalogue we will invite you to sign a Sounds of Canada Standard Publishing Agreement which will entitle Sounds of Canada to a portion of any license fees or performance royalties earned by your track. If your music doesn't sell, Sounds of Canada collects nothing.
What is a Sounds of Canada Standard Publishing Agreement?
The Sounds of Canada Standard Publishing Agreement is an industry standard agreement that establishes Sounds of Canada as a co-publisher of the music contained in your track. This means that Sounds of Canada will take on responsibility for licensing that music to music users and will collect all licensing and performance royalties on your behalf. Sounds of Canada retains 40% of license fees and 20% of all royalties collected and pays the remainder to you as a quarterly payment.
Because in today's digital world music users will likely use your track as is, the Sounds of Canada Standard Publishing Agreement contains a provision regarding the "Master Use" of your track. This allows the purchasers of your music the convenience of one-stop shopping where they can pick up both the synchronization and master use licenses they need to use your music in their production. This is an enormous benefit to them and a great enticement to consider your music.
To submit your tracks you must first register as a Composer. Use the Register link at the top of this page to do that. Once you're registered you can log in to Sounds of Canada and then you'll see a menu on the left front page panel with a "Submit Tracks" link. Click on that link and the rest is easy. You just fill out a form describing your track, then upload your mp3 and you're done.
What kind of files can I upload?
Your track must be uploaded as an mp3 file with a bitrate of 192kbs or better. 320kbs is ideal but because we're limited to a maximum 8 megabyte files size you may need to go with something smaller. If your music is selected, you will be asked to supply a .WAV version of your track and we'll tell you how to upload it at that time.
How do I know my tracks will be listed in the Sounds of Canada catalogue?
You don't. In fact, there's a better than even chance that your track will not be listed. But if you're serious about getting your tracks in the hands of music users and you believe in the originality and quality of your music, then send us your stuff. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
Will I make money by submitting my music to Sounds of Canada?
Better yet, will you make money by NOT submitting your music to Sounds of Canada? The plain truth is that even if you're listed in the catalogue, you're not going to see any money until a music user licenses your track. So it all depends on how your track stands up against other tracks in it's particular category in our catalogue, and of course the more tracks you have listed the better your chances of getting a track licensed. If you're making money with your music just fine without Sounds of Canada, maybe we're not for you, but one thing you can be sure of is that while your music is listed with Sounds of Canada, we're doing everything in our power to promote the catalogue, giving you time to focus on what's important; creating music!.
How much money can I make?
That depends on how many tracks you have listed with Sounds of Canada, how many times each track is licensed by music users, and to what extent your music earns performance royalties from TV broadcasts etc. There are many musicians who are virtually unknown making a very nice living by supplying music for film and TV productions. And of course if your track is the next "Seinfeld Theme" then you'll do very well indeed.
Can I submit other people's tracks?
No. We only accept tracks from a composer of the music on the track. There's no problem if you have co-writers but we'll only deal with one of you for any particular track and it's up to you to make sure all your co-writers are OK with you submitting tracks to Sounds of Canada. If your track gets selected you and all your co-writers must sign our publishing agreement before we'll list it in the catalogue.
Why do I have to share my licensing fees with Sounds of Canada? It's my music!
You don't. It's a straightforward proposition. We pitch your music for you and if your music sells, you make money. If you think you can sell your music all by yourself then go for it. But if Sounds of Canada gets your music licensed where you could not, then perhaps that service is worth paying for.
Tracks are not accepted for any number of reasons. The most obvious reason would be that the music simply isn't good enough for Sounds of Canada. We want to make sure our music users don't have to plow through reams of amateur garbage to find the tracks they need. They're usually short on time and budget so we make sure that when they come to Sounds of Canada they know they'll be presented with quality material they can actually use.
Sometimes your music might be ideal but the recording is substandard in which case we'll tell you so you can fix it up and send it in again. Other times your track might be just fine but we can't see anyone using it as production music.
I'm not a Canadian. Can I submit my music to Sounds of Canada?
To maintain our claim to 100% Canadian content we only accept tracks that are composed by Canadian residents who are Canadian citizens or Canadian landed immigrants.
My track is listed in the Sounds of Canada Music Catalogue. What now?
Don't get too excited. You're not there yet, and now we wait. Sounds of Canada actively markets the music in the Sounds of Canada Music Catalogue, and we hope that everything listed will eventually result in a licensing sale, including your tracks. But there aren't any guarantees in life so don't expect overnight results or any results at all for that matter. Some tracks sell immediately and others languish for years. And if a track lingers too long we'll cancel the listing. But if your music is truly great, you have nothing to worry about.
We want to get it right so send us an email. But having said that, we reserve the right to list your track in our catalogue in the manner we think is most likely to result in a licensing sale, at our sole discretion.