Mint drops royalty on folk musician’s penny album
Posted September 14, 2012 7:05 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
OTTAWA – A Nova Scotia folk singer is relieved now that the Royal Canadian Mint waived its royalties over his album’s tribute to the iconic Canadian one-cent coin.
The mint told Dave Gunning, he would face $1,200 in royalties if he produced more than 2,000 albums because the album artwork depicted the penny.
Initially, the mint said it would withdraw its demand for royalty payments for the first 2,000 records sold.
The album, “No More Pennies,” is in part a tribute to the penny.
The mint has since waived the fee for Gunning. In fact, it said it would “assess its current intellectual property policy to determine if changes need to be made to ensure that it is being applied fairly on a case-by-case basis.”
Gunning said he is grateful with the mint’s decision to forfeit the royalty payments.
“They were just trying to do their jobs and my case was an odd one that fell between the cracks,” he said.
“They reacted very quickly and I’m very thankful for that as well.”
At first, Gunning had asked his fans to spare their pennies as a payment to the mint.
“Many folks have been calling me to say they have pennies for me, and I know that when I start my tour, people are going to bring me their one-cent coins.”
Now, he said the pennies will be donated to a Halifax children’s hospital.
