A royalty cheque -- yes, we are amused Final Edition

• Published in: Standard (St. Catherines)
• Main Author: Cox, Terrance
• Format: Newspaper Article
• Language: English
• Published: St. Catharines, Ont Torstar Syndication Services, a Division of Toronto Star Newspapers Limited 07.03.2003
• ISSN: 0837-3434

Amazed and delighted, I recently received in the mail my very first "radio royalty" money. As a fee, reflecting airplay of Local Scores, my spoken word-with-music CD, on what the accompanying statement describes as "non-commercial" radio, I got a cheque for the second quarter of 2002 from SOCAN (the acronym identifies the Society of Composers, Authors & Music Publishers in Canada) for the princely sum of $8.51. Exactly how "royalty" came to be the term for this sort of unexpected largesse for use of creative works is not explicitly clear in the word's history. Originally, of course, "royalty" refers to the personages of king, queen, heirs apparent and other offspring. Early on, royalty came to mean the privileges of the sovereign, eventually including those transferable to others, for a fee, particularly mineral rights. Early in the 19th century, the term extends to usage payments for patented inventions and finally, in 1880, to artists for sales of their works.