Canadian Music Publishers Association/Association canadienne des éditeurs de musique

Canadian Music Publishers Association/Association canadienne des éditeurs de musique

The Canadian Music Publishers Association/Association canadienne des éditeurs de musique(CMPA). Organization formed in 1949 to safeguard and advance the interests of the composer and publisher in accordance with the Canadian Copyright Act (1921), to encourage fair trade practices, and to maintain high standards of workmanship and services. In the beginning the association, with an all-Ontario membership of 10, was affiliated with the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Toronto. It opened its own offices in 1975, and by 1990 had a membership of 40, including firms from British Columbia, Alberta, and Quebec, comprising most of the companies which publish music by Canadian composers and which, as agents, represent some 650 foreign firms. There are two types of membership, full and associate. The association has remained active in lobbying for improvement in Canada's copyright laws, and has instituted a songwriter of the Year Award, first given in 1988.

The CMPA has been active as a lobby at both provincial and federal levels. In 1975 the Canadian Musical Reproduction Rights Agency (CMRRA) was formed as a subsidiary organization to administer, in Canada, mechanical rights, synchronization rights, and other reproduction rights. The association has submitted briefs to government concerning the new Canadian copyright act, and has published a Directory (Toronto 1975) of its members and exclusive agencies.