MetaMusic has selected a few cultural metadata that are important for Canadian, Québécois and francophone industries for purposes of discoverability, regulations and statistics.
4. Cultural Metadata
Origin
Canada
The symbol * indicates a mandatory field.
The MAPL system was established by the CRTC to determine if a content is of Canadian origin:
- Music: the music is composed entirely by a Canadian
- Artist: the music is, or the lyrics are, performed principally by a Canadian
- Performance: the musical selection consists of a performance that is recorded wholly in Canada or performed wholly in Canada and broadcast live in Canada.
- Lyrics: the lyrics are written entirely by a Canadian
The Canadian nationality is determined by the place of birth or residence of an individual.
The location of the recording is determined by the physical location of the recording studio.
Fifty percent of the above criteria must be met for the recording to be considered Canadian.
Québec
The following criteria used to determine the Québec origin of a track were elaborated by professional music associations, namely ADISQ, APEM, GMMQ, SPACQ and UDA.
A track must meet any combination of two out of three criteria:
Two out of three elements must be from Québec - artistic criteria:
- Author (lyrics)
- Composer (music)
- Main performer
Two out of three elements must be from Québec - industry criteria:
- First maker
- Publisher
- Record label
** Two exceptions to the rules established by the associations are accepted: if the work is public domain or a jazz standard, the work will be considered from Québec for the author and composer (artistic) and publisher (industry) elements.
The symbol * indicates a mandatory field.
- Work – Author – Identification of Québécois Author and Composer (Yes/No)
- Track – Main Artist – Identification as an Artist from Québec
- Track – First Maker – Head Office at the Time of the Recording (UN/LOCODE) *
- Track – First Maker – Identification as a Maker from Québec
- Track – Initial Record Label - Head office at the Time of the Recording (UN/LOCODE)
- Work – Publisher – Head Office at the Time of the Recording (UN/LOCODE)
- Work – Publisher – Identification of a Québécois Publisher (see Origin and Industry elements)
- Product – Initial Record Label - Head Office at the Time of the Recording (UN/LOCODE)
- Track – Initial Record Label - Identification as a Record Label from Québec
How to determine if a track originates from Québec?
For individuals in an artistic role:
When more than one individual is part of the same element (for example, if there are several composers), the Québec status is granted if at least one individual among them is considered Québécois.
The attribution of a Québec origin status to individuals who are considered creators (artist or artistic collective) is qualitative and is based on basic criteria:
- Place of birth;
- Place where they grew up;
- Place where their career started;
- Place of residence;
- If they have an artistic talent that was developed specifically and/or mainly on the territory of Québec;
- If, generally, the creator identifies as Québécois when addressing the media, or carrying out promotional activities, etc.;
- If the creator is considered Québécois by the media and other explicit and credible source.
For example: Céline Dion, Leonard Cohen, Diane Tell, Arcade Fire, Barr Brothers are considered Québécois despite their place of birth or residence. Daniel Lanois and Mylène Farmer are not, despite being born in Québec. Daran, who has lived in Québec for several years and has integrated the local artistic scene, could now be considered Québécois.
For companies in an industrial role:
If an element has more than one company (for example, if there is more than one maker), the Québec origin status is granted to that element if at least one company among them is considered Québécois.
A Corporation must have, at the time of the fixation of the sound recording:
- capital stock and be incorporated under federal or provincial laws;
- Quebecers holding the beneficial ownership or the direct or indirect control;
- At least 50% plus one of the issued and outstanding voting shares, except for shares held only as security;
- Its head office (place of establishment) must be in Québec.
The city of the company's head office (place of establishment) will be used as a descriptive field for the attribution of this status.
** A sole proprietorship must have its head office in Québec and its owner must be born or reside in Québec.
*** If the author or composer is not represented by a publisher, they are considered to be their own publisher.
Language
The main language is established differently whether it is the musical work or the track.
If a track has multiple languages, they must all be identified, as well as their share on the track.
Work
Calculating the percentage of each language using the number of words.
Main language: 50%+1 of the lyrics in the original work.
Track
Calculating the percentage of each language using the number of seconds of singing heard on the track, excluding instrumental moments and onomatopoeias.
Main language: 50%+1 of sung content in seconds.
Genre
Genres are used as reference only. The proposed classification is pursuant to consultations with MetaMusic’s partners.
It is strongly recommended to assign a subgenre in order to define a track more accurately.
The symbol * indicates a mandatory field.
- Popular
- Folk
- Chanson (Song)
- Rock
- Metal
- Punk
- Country
- Suggested subgenre: Western
- Jazz ***
- Blues
- Hip Hop, Rap
- R&B, Soul
- Reggae
- Latino
- EDM, Dance
- Avant-garde
- Experimental
- Classique ***
- Opera, Vocal Art
- Traditional World Music
- Suggested subgenre: indicate the territory of origin
- Christmas
- Jeunesse
- Screen music (films and videogames)
- Religious
- Orality, humour, tales
- Audiobook (non-musical)
- Electroacoustic
- Contemporary
- Operetta
*** The qualification of musical content in these genres has an impact on the distribution of royalties to performers (singers and musicians).