If you’re in the music field, copyright applies to you

As an amateur or professional musician or music teacher, you have to respect the Copyright Act when you copy and share sheet music, excerpts from music books or song lyrics.

Examples of how content is used

Whether you’re a teacher, ensemble leader or choir director, there are various ways you use copyright-protected content.

Give excerpts from a sheet music collection to music students

Share nursery rhymes with kids at a music camp workshop

Distribute sheet music excerpts to musicians in an ensemble

Hand out a few music theory exercises to students in a small music school

Put a chapter on music history into a conservatory’s learning management system

Photocopy song lyrics for singers in an amateur choir

Do any of these examples sound familiar? Did you know you need permission for all these types of use on paper or in digital format?

Two solutions are available

Many private and public schools, colleges, CEGEPs, conservatories and music faculties already have agreements with Copibec. Refer to our list to see whether your institution or organization is already covered. If you’re not listed, we offer the following solutions.

One-time use

Your needs are limited. For example, you’re organizing a holiday season concert and you distribute excerpts from a sheet music collection to your ensemble’s musicians. Get permission to use the content you want, exactly when you need it. The cost is calculated according to the type of use and is billed immediately.

Don’t wait. Get permission!

Annual licence

Depending on your organization’s or school’s activities and the type of content you use, Copibec can offer you a customized licence to meet your needs. The licence can include a subscription to SAMUEL, our digital content platform. SAMUEL contains a wide range of sheet music published in Quebec and the lyrics to many Quebec songs.

Don’t wait. Request a licence!

With an annual licence, you’re good to go

Our repertoire

The Copibec repertoire (or catalogue) includes content (books, newspapers, legislative texts and other publications) and categories of works published in Quebec, the rest of Canada and in about 30 other countries (United States, United Kingdom, France, etc.) as long as they’re not specifically mentioned in the Exclusions List.

Reproduction limits

  • 25 pages or 10% of the total number of pages, whichever is less, if the content was developed specifically for preschool, elementary or high school use (workbooks, textbooks, etc.)
  • Up to 15% of any other document

But also:

  • Entire article
  • Entire score taken from a sheet music collection
  • Entire lyrics to a song

If you want to exceed the reproduction limits, you need to get permission.

Do you have any questions? Contact us!