Registering your musical works
There are various methods you can use to submit your catalogue(s):
- CMRRA Song Registration Form – this is our standard format Excel document that allows you to easily provide ownership information for multiple musical works. The completed form can be emailed to [email protected].
- To register a high priority title, the CMRRA Direct song registration tool is recommended. This supports single song registrations and is intended for individual works with activity (streaming, airplay or other types of usage). Additional information on registering a work through CMRRA Direct can be found here.
- If you have a large catalogue of works to register, or multiple catalogues that you administer, the Common Works Registration (CWR) format is the best option. To learn more, please review the details on our website.
Tax identification information
The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) requires CMRRA to provide tax identification information for each T5 or NR4 statement issued in relation to reported royalty income. Please submit your tax identification information through this secure page on our website at your earliest convenience. Further information on this requirement is available at Tax ID Update FAQ | CMRRA.
Online Client Portal – CMRRA Direct
Our CMRRA Direct client portal provides a single, secure access point for details of your registered musical works and associated mechanical licences, your royalty statements and summaries, as well as the dedicated page for accessing CMRRA’s Unclaimed Works Portal. You are required to create an account in order to access CMRRA Direct. Step-by-step instructions on how to register can be found here. Please note that it can take from 2 to 5 business days to process your request, and we will send a confirmation email once your CMRRA Direct account has been activated.
We encourage you to take a look at the Unclaimed Works Portal, which surfaces the details of any unidentified song ownership shares and recordings with activity reported by online music services operating in Canada. Here you will be able to link your musical works to recordings and register any missing ownership share information for works that you own or control. If you register a claim via the Unclaimed Works Portal, there is no need to provide the claim through the other methods noted above.
What happens after I submit my catalogue?
Registrations submitted using our standard Song Registration Form will be processed within 4 weeks. This could take longer if there are any conflicts or additional setup needed for your catalogue or any related agreements.
If you have registered your claims through CMRRA Direct via the single song registration tool or the Unclaimed Works Portal, that information will be added to our repertoire within two to four weeks, on average.
The automated ingestion of CWR files runs on a daily basis, and the majority of works from CWR submitters are posted to repertoire immediately. In cases where additional manual review is required for any works that can’t be automatically added to our repertoire database, these are addressed by staff, using identified activity and usage reporting to prioritize our review.
In cases where we can’t identify activity for a song and further work is required to add the title to our repertoire, registration information will be kept on file and we will add the claim details in the future, once activity for the song is confirmed. Note: these claims will not be visible when reviewing your catalogue in CMRRA Direct.
When do I get paid?
CMRRA distributes royalties on a quarterly schedule, in mid-March, mid-June, mid-September and mid-December. The sources of revenue that are included in each quarterly distribution can vary, and your royalty statements and summaries will provide the relevant details. The following types of royalties are processed and distributed every quarter:
- Physical Mechanical – Major, independent labels and small pressers
- Online/Digital – Streaming and download music services
- International Collections – MLC and European territories via IMPEL
- Audiovisual Post-Synchronization – YouTube, Meta, TikTok
Broadcast Mechanical royalties are distributed in most quarters, encompassing annual distribution amounts that have been collected from the following types of broadcast entities:
- Commercial Radio
- CBC Radio/Radio Canada
- Non-Commercial Radio
- Satellite Radio
- Pay Audio
- Background Music Services
Out-of-cycle royalties may also be distributed from time to time under special circumstances.
We recommend that you review our quarterly distribution letters on the Client Communications page of CMRRA Direct for the details of each distribution and revenue source.
Our payment threshold for distributions is $15 (gross CAD) for each payee account. If your earnings do not meet this threshold, the royalties will be held and released in a subsequent royalty quarter when your total accumulated earnings exceed $15. Depending on when you affiliate and register your works during the quarterly royalty cycle, it may be a quarter or two before you begin to receive royalties.
CMRRA can access royalties for certain older periods of DSP activity, by invoicing the services retroactively, or through their own regular processes to release unclaimed royalties. This is commonly referred to as back claims or back pay processing. If you would like to speak with someone to understand more about retroactive royalties and how these apply to you specifically, please contact us at [email protected].
Do I need to do anything else?
Keeping your catalogue up to date with us
Whenever new works are released, be sure to register them with us by any of the methods outlined above under “Registering your musical works”. You may opt to do this at the same time you are providing notification to your Performing Rights Organization (PRO) to ensure there are no delays in us being able to issue licences and collect any royalties due.
Notifying us of a change in contact information
Please use the following form, available on our website, to notify us of any changes in your contact information. Alternately, please email the updated information to [email protected] and be sure to include your CMRRA Account Name and Number provided with your confirmation of affiliation.
Who do I contact if I have questions?
If you have any questions, please email us at [email protected]. You can also reach us by phone, Monday to Friday, during the hours of 9 AM to 5 PM EST, at 416-926-1966. We will respond to all inquiries within 24 to 48 hours.
