History

In March 2000, a study published by the Department of Canadian Heritage[1] presented for the first time an accurate picture of the music publishing industry in Canada. This study highlighted the added value brought by professional publishers to the vitality of the entire Canadian music industry : “It can be argued that the dynamism of the Canadian music industry as a whole, the income levels of Canadian writers and composers, the level of consumption of Canadian musical works domestically and internationally, and the capacity of our music revenues to be reinvested in the financing of new Canadian musical works depend to a large extent on the strength of the music publishing sector and on the capacity of the Canadian companies it includes to carry out effectively all of the above-mentioned functions.”

However, this study also highlighted the fragility of the economic structure of music publishing as well as the need for professionals in this industry to come together: “One difficulty facing (…) music publishers is the absence of an active association capable both of representing their industry’s separate interests which are in important ways different from those of the record labels, and providing service to member companies.”

It is in response to this report, among other things, that a group of independent publishers composed of Daniel LAFRANCE, Guillaume LOMBART, Sébastien NASRA, Christopher J. REED, Carol V. RYAN and Jehan VALIQUET decided in 2002 to found the Professional Music Publishers’ Association (PMPA), the first of it’s kind in Quebec and in French Canada.

Since its inception the PMPA has gradually taken its place in the industry and is now one of the key players in the majority of cases related to copyright and music publishing.

In terms of representation, the pool of members of the PMPA has grown and the association currently consists of close to 60 members, including the most prominent active publishers in the country.