Photo by Brad Ardley. Left to right/De gauche à droite :Previous SOCAN Foundation TD Indigenous Songwriter Award winners / Les lauréates précédentes du Prix de l’auteur-compositeur autochtone TD de la Fondation SOCAN, Anachnid (2019) and/et Jasmine Netsena (2018).

Apply now for SOCAN Foundation TD Indigenous Songwriter Award

Story by SOCAN Foundation / Fondation SOCAN | Wednesday September 9th, 2020

Indigenous songwriters in Canada are invited to apply now for the SOCAN Foundation TD Indigenous Songwriter Award, which recognizes the musical talent and creativity of the best music created, in any genre, by songwriters and composers of Indigenous descent.

To apply now, visit www.socanfoundation.ca/awards/. The deadline is Sept. 16, 2020 at 11:59 p.m. ET, and the winner will receive a $10,000 CAD prize, made possible by the support of TD. The third annual award will be presented at the Indigenous Music Awards in 2020, after a jury of prominent Indigenous songwriters, selected by the SOCAN Foundation, select the winner.

Candidates must be Canadians and SOCAN members, or Canadians who are not members of any performing rights organization. Works submitted must be original, composed within three years of the application deadline. Arrangements are not eligible, and entries that were award winners in previous SOCAN Foundation Awards are not eligible. SOCAN and SOCAN Foundation board members and employees are not eligible.

“The Indigenous Songwriter Award builds on the SOCAN Foundation and the efforts of TD to foster, promote, and diversify opportunities for music creators of Indigenous descent,” said Charlie Wall-Andrews, Executive Director of the SOCAN Foundation. “Our ongoing aim is to build inclusive grant and awards programming that is as diverse as the communities in which we live.”

 

Photo by courtesy/courtoisie. Left to right/De gauche à droite : Ivan Doroschuck of/de Men Without Hats; Jimmy Rankin; Carole Pope of/de Rough Trade.

Songs by Men Without Hats, Rankin Family, Rough Trade inducted into Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame

Story by Howard Druckman | Thursday September 10th, 2020

The Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame celebrated the induction of four songs with a spate of televised presentations with that aired nationally on various television programs from September 4-17, 2020.

Two global electro-pop hits by Montréal’s Men Without Hats – “Safety Dance” and “Pop Goes the World,” both written by the band’s frontman and lead singer Ivan Doroschuck – were inducted on Sept. 2, and celebrated on City-TV’s Breakfast Television on Sept. 17. Similarly, Jimmy Rankin’s “Fare Thee Well Love,” which launched the career of The Rankin Family,  was inducted on Sept. 4 on Global Television’s The Morning Show. And Rough Trade’s gender-bending single “High School Confidential” – co-written by the band’s Carole Pope and Kevan Staples – was inducted on Sept. 10, on CTV’s Your Morning.

“Safety Dance” skyrocketed to No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1983, propelling the album Rhythm of Youth to sell more than two million copies worldwide. It helped the band win three ADISQ Awards for Best-Selling Single, Group of the Year, and Rock Album of the Year; a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist; JUNO nominations; and a 2008 SOCAN Award. “Pop Goes the World” was a gold-selling single and earned a JUNO nomination for Single of the Year; reached the No. 2 spot on RPM’s Top 100 singles chart in 1988; and was Billboard’s No. 20.  The album on which it appeared went platinum in Canada, won an ADISQ Award, and a PROCAN (one of the precursors of SOCAN) Award for the most-played English-language Canadian single on Canadian radio in 1988.

“Fare Thee Well Love” was the career-launching hit for The Rankin Family, the multi-platinum-selling Celtic-folk-pop band from Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, who led Canadian music’s “Celtic wave” of the 1990s. The song was voted CBC listeners’ No. 1 East Coast Song of All Time, went gold before the end of 1992, crossed over to No. 1 on both RPM Canadian country and adult contemporary album charts; and by 1996, reached quintuple-platinum sales.

“High School Confidential,” written as an anthem to teenage hormones, found its openly gay and sexually explicit lyrics, paired with Rough Trade’s  captivating live shows and a controversial television moment, propelling the band from the underground Toronto club scene to the national spotlight.  The single had some words bleeped out on radio, and subsequently rose to the Top 10 on RPM’s Top 100. Then Rough Trade infamously performed the song at the 1980 JUNO Awards where Pope, on live national television, made a gesture to touch herself that was then considered “obscene.”

Following the televised presentations of these song inductions, fans will be able to view the permanent exhibitions honouring CSHF inductees and song inductions at the National Music Centre, located at Studio Bell, in Calgary. The National Music Centre is the physical home of the Songwriters Hall of Fame and will continue to honour and preserve the legacy of new inductees through exhibitions which feature stories, exclusive artifacts, and one-of-a-kind memorabilia.

Apply now for Inaugural Program of the Black Canadian Music Awards

Story by SOCAN Foundation / Fondation SOCAN | Thursday September 3rd, 2020

The SOCAN Foundation, part of the SOCAN Group of organizations, today announced the launch of the Black Canadian Music Awards, in partnership with SiriusXM Canada.

The Black Canadian Music Awards will recognize and celebrate the artistic merit demonstrated by Black music creators (songwriters, composers, producers, etc.) in all genres. The inaugural awards will be presented virtually in 2020, and winners will be selected by a jury and advisory council of prominent Black artists and industry leaders, including DJ Agile as the inaugural Chair of the jury.

“The Black Canadian Music Awards are part of the SOCAN Foundation’s efforts toward advancing equity in the Canadian music industry, by collaboratively creating opportunities to celebrate Black music creators. Our ongoing aim is to build inclusive programming as diverse as the communities in which we live, and this new award pushes us even further ahead,” said Charlie Wall-Andrews, Executive Director of the SOCAN Foundation. “Furthermore, we cannot lose momentum to elevate communities impacted by ongoing and historical injustices. We acknowledge that there is still much more work to do, and we hope this award will celebrate and empower Black music creators in Canada.”

Five winners will be selected to each receive a $5,000 award, which is made possible with the generous support of SiriusXM Canada.

“We’re very proud to partner with the SOCAN Foundation to launch the Black Canadian Music Awards and help to provide more recognition to Black artists in Canada,” said Kayla J. Schwartz, Senior Manager, Communications & Canadian Content Development, SiriusXM Canada. “There need to be more opportunities for Black music creators, and we’re committed to supporting this vital community.”

“The Black Community in Canada has a rich, long, and deep history of creation and contribution to music in Canada, and well beyond our borders,” said DJ Agile. “From Salome Bey to Portia White to Oscar Peterson, Canadian Black music creators are a part of the musical tapestry of Canadian culture. History too often doesn’t acknowledge and celebrate their contributions in their time, and this is why it’s important for the SOCAN Foundation to honour our diverse Black music creators with the Black Canadian Music Awards, now.”

To apply for the Black Music Awards, visit www.socanfoundation.ca/awards/. The deadline to apply is October 15, 2020 at 11:59 p.m. ET.