Oktava vs music subscriptions for a Canadian venue
Three ways to fill a Canadian venue with music. A personal streaming account — forbidden by the apps' own terms for business use, and SOCAN and Re:Sound license the playback anyway. A classic B2B service — legal, but the Entandem invoice stays on top of the service fee. And Oktava — a catalog registered with neither society, so one subscription replaces both payments.
The three options, side by side
| Option | Legal for a business? | What you pay |
|---|---|---|
| Spotify or another personal streaming app | No. Consumer terms forbid business use — and the music is in the SOCAN and Re:Sound repertoires, so the tariffs are owed anyway. | Personal subscription price — plus the Entandem invoice for both societies. |
| Classic B2B service (Soundtrack Your Brand and similar) | Yes — licensed for business playback of repertoire music. | Service subscription and the Entandem invoice — two separate bills. |
| Oktava | Yes — the catalog is registered with neither SOCAN nor Re:Sound, so there's nothing for Entandem to bill for it. | CAD 250 a year. That's the whole music bill. |
The tariffs are set through the Copyright Board of Canada and billed through Entandem — a small venue pays about CAD 220–350 a year before any music service. The breakdown is on our costs page, linked below.
Why Spotify doesn't cover a Canadian venue
A consumer account covers private listening; playback in a venue is licensed by SOCAN (songwriters and publishers) and Re:Sound (recordings and performers), billed together through Entandem. The apps' own terms forbid commercial use of personal accounts — a venue on Spotify owes the tariffs in full.
What classic B2B services actually sell
Licensed services solve the terms-of-use problem: their subscriptions permit business playback. What they don't remove is the Entandem invoice — their catalogs are repertoire music, so both society tariffs still apply. Two payments, both legitimate.
What Oktava changes
The Oktava catalog is created for the service and registered with neither SOCAN nor Re:Sound — for our catalog there is nothing for Entandem to bill, and the subscription is the whole cost. The claim is catalogue-scoped: radio or Spotify at the same venue still falls under the tariffs. The named certificate and playback log document what actually plays.
Questions, answered
Is playing Spotify at my café really not allowed?
Not on a personal account. The apps' terms forbid commercial use, and the music is repertoire — SOCAN and Re:Sound tariffs are owed regardless of the app.
Are services like Soundtrack Your Brand a bad deal?
They're legitimate: licensed business playback of repertoire music. But the Entandem invoice stays — with repertoire music you pay the service and the societies. Oktava removes the second payment because the catalog is registered with neither.
What's the catch with Oktava?
The promise covers the catalog, not the venue as such. If radio or Spotify also plays, the tariffs apply to that. The playback log shows which case is yours.
This information is provided for general reference and is not legal advice.