Photo by courtesy of/par courtoisie de Canadian Musician. Left to right/De gauche à droite : Mike Raine, Jim Norris, Andrew King

Canadian Musician magazine celebrates 40th Anniversary

Story by Howard Druckman | Monday May 6th, 2019

Canadian Musician magazine, the print publication dedicated to Canada’s musicians and music industry professionals, celebrated its 40th Anniversary with a standing-room-only reception at Grace O’Malley’s in downtown Toronto on May 1, 2019.

Ferraro, Kris Barclay, and CJ Flemings performed at the event, and SOCAN members in attendance included The Trews, Kira Isabella, Ryland James, Marc Jordan, and Steve Strongman. Among the music business representatives at the birthday party were SOCAN CEO Eric Baptiste and SOCAN Chief Communications Officer Andrew Berthoff, John Harris, Cam Carpenter, Steve Kane, Steve Waxman, Tony Tobias, and Martin Melhuish.

Canadian Musician magazineCanadian Musician Founder, Publisher, and President Jim Norris, Consumer Director Maureen Jack, Editor-in-Chief Andrew King, and Senior Editor Mike Raine were all on hand to enjoy the festivities.

“We published our first issue of Canadian Musician 40 years ago with one goal: to be Canada’s premier publication, and a go-to resource, for professional and amateur musicians, and the industry that supports them,” said Norris in a statement. “It’s been as thrilling as it has been fulfilling to work towards that goal in the decades since, and like the industry we’re proud to represent, now feels like the most exciting time in our history. Celebrating this milestone with so many passionate friends and partners from over the years is a great reminder of why we do what we do, and our team is freshly inspired to continue our mission in the years to come.”

The inaugural issue of Canadian Musician was published in the spring of 1979. Since then, the publication has featured countless cover stories, interviews, and columns with some of the most notable names in Canadian music, from The Guess Who, Rush, Alanis Morissette, and The Tragically Hip, to Nickelback, Avril Lavigne, Shad, and Marianas Trench.

Each issue includes the latest updates from the Canadian and international music industries; career-building feature content; instructional columns for musicians, songwriters, and audio engineers; updates on the latest gear, tech, and trends; and coverage of major music industry events across Canada and beyond. The magazine has also expanded its reach with the a radio podcast, a series of music-business webinars, and CM Live sessions on Facebook.

For more information, visit www.cm40th.com.

Photo by SOCAN. SOCAN's Rodney Murphy de la SOCAN (left/gauche) with/avec The East Pointers.

East Pointers earn SOCAN song honour at 2019 East Coast Music Awards

Story by Howard Druckman | Tuesday May 7th, 2019

Rolicking live band The East Pointers earned the SOCAN Song of the Year honour at the 2019 East Coast Music Awards, for “Two Weeks.” SOCAN Senior Director, A&R, Rodney Murphy and JUNO-winning roots singer-songwriter Old Man Luedecke presented the band with their trophy at the East Coast Music Awards Show, on Thursday, May 2, 2019, at the Confederation Ballroom in the Delta Hotel by Marriott Prince Edward, in Charlottetown. (A second round of awards in this 31st annual edition were presented at a gala that closed the awards week, in the same venue, on Sunday, May 5, 2019.)

Classified led the award count with four, for Rap/Hip-Hop Recording, Solo Recording, and Album of the Year, all for Tomorrow Could Be the Day Things Change, as well as Video of the Year, for “Powerless.” Polaris Music Prize 2018 winner Jeremy Dutcher earned three honours, for Contemporary Roots Recording and Rising Star Recording of the Year, for his album Wolastoqiyik Lintuwakonawa, as well as Indigenous Artist of the Year.

Singer-songwriter Ben Caplan earned the Songwriter of the Year Award, the Charke-Cormier Duo won Classical Composition of the Year for Ex Tempore, and the Francophone Recording of the Year was Les Hôtesses d’Hilaire’s Viens avec moi. The Venue of the Year, for the fourth time, was The Carleton Music Bar & Grill in Halifax – proudly Licensed To Play by SOCAN – which has persisted against all odds, under the guidance of Mike Campbell.

SOCAN Song House, ECMAs 2019

SOCAN Song House ECMAs 2019. Back Row: James Piercey (of ChessClub), Ashley Condon, Drew Moores, Corey Hachey (of FM Berlin), Alicia Toner, Cameron Nickerson, Kristen Rodden-Clarke (of Quote the Raven). Front Row: Mike McKenna Jr., Jordan Coaker (of Quote the Raven), Mallory Johnson, Elsie Morden, Melissa Cameron-Passley (of SOCAN), Brian Howes.

As part of the week leading up to the awards ceremony, renowned, veteran producer Brian Howes led the SOCAN Song House at East Coast Music Week 2019, May 1-2. Eleven songwriter participants from Atlantic Canada were selected to participate, gaining valuable insight into the craft of writing a hit song. They were (in alphabetical order) Jordan Coaker (of Quote the Raven), Ashley Condon, Corey Hachey (of FM Berlin), Mallory Johnson, Mike McKenna Jr., Drew Moores, Elsie Morden, Cameron Nickerson, James Piercey (of ChessClub), Kristen Rodden-Clarke (of Quote the Raven), and Alicia Toner.

During the ECMAs week, we presented a SOCAN No. 1 Song Award to Newfoundland-based duo The Fortunate Ones – Catherine Allan and Andrew James O’Brien – for “Hold Fast” topping the CBC Music Top 20 chart twice, on Aug. 9, 2018, and Jan. 3, 2019.

Fortunate Ones, SOCAN No. 1 Song Award, ECMAs 2019

SOCAN No. 1 Song Award winners Fortunate Ones

 

SOCAN, Nielsen Music extend partnership, monitoring 200 more radio stations

Story by Howard Druckman | Friday May 3rd, 2019

SOCAN and global media measurement company Nielsen have extended their partnership –   maintaining Nielsen as the exclusive provider of radio airplay data from more than 500 Canadian radio stations – as the company increases coverage by adding 200 new stations in 137 new markets to its BDSradio product.

The increased monitoring will provide deeper insights into popular Christian music formats for the first time, and include additional Francophone music stations in Canada. The newly-added stations, monitored electronically 24 hours a day, include 14 Christian music ones, and 29 French-language ones.

With Nielsen BDSradio data, SOCAN members can access more detailed reporting across a wide range of platforms, for more accurate and timely data for the distribution of royalties.

“As Canada’s largest rights management organization representing songwriters, composers, and music publishers, it’s our responsibility to ensure that our nearly 160,000 members are compensated for their work,” says SOCAN CEO Eric Baptiste. “By extending our relationship with Nielsen Music, and the scope of coverage, we’re reinforcing our commitment to timely and accurate royalty payments in Canada.”

“With coverage of more than 500 stations in Canada, BDSradio now provides airplay for the long tail, including Christian and additional French language stations, to help artists get paid,” said Paul Shaver, Vice President of Entertainment for Nielsen Music. “We’re honoured to continue our 12-plus-year relationship with SOCAN, one of the leading and most respected music rights organizations in the world. Renewing our partnership with SOCAN demonstrates the power of Nielsen Music as the trusted and reliable data source for the music industry.”

In addition to monitoring radio airplay, online streaming, and music consumer behavior, Nielsen compiles data from nearly 40,000 retail outlets globally to determine what albums, singles, and music videos people are consuming, and where they’re consuming them. Nielsen’s data serves as a major source for the Billboard charts, and is widely cited as the standard for music industry measurement.