The digital market for music has never been so competitive. Online music services such as Pandora and Slacker are quickly gaining users and – less quickly – expanding into new markets worldwide. Part of the reason for the gradual expansion of such services is the need to clear copyright jurisdiction by jurisdiction.

In Canada, the Copyright Board of Canada sets certain licences, known as tariffs, for online music services. Various Canadian copyright collective societies have filed tariff proposals with the Board to revise these licences for 2012 and 2013. They seek significant royalty increases: in some cases, more than doubling the current rates.

This article is an overview of key proposed changes to the existing tariffs.