Photo by Laura Goodwin

Canadian producer and songwriter Colin Linden earns 2020 Grammy Award

Story by Amal Yassir | Monday January 27th, 2020

Among the list of talented SOCAN-member Grammy contenders in 2020, Canadian producer and blues & roots songwriter Colin Linden took home the Best Americana Album award, for his co-producing work on Oklahoma by Keb’ Mo’.

Linden accepted his award at the Grammy pre-show earlier in the day on Sunday, Jan. 26, before the live evening broadcast from the Staples Centre in Los Angeles.

“Just to be nominated for a Grammy is a massive achievement, and to win one can be a defining moment,” said SOCAN CEO Eric Baptiste, who attended the awards, along with Chief Membership & Business Development Officer Michael McCarty, and SOCAN’s Senior Director, A&R Rodney Murphy. “The SOCAN family and all of Canada are proud of our members’ success.”

Linden’s work spans decades and includes touring as a guitarist with the legendary Bob Dylan, a performance at The White House, while producing records for many other musicians. Linden also did a six-year stint as the music director on the TV series Nashville, and is one-third of Blackie and the Rodeo Kings, along with Tom Wilson and Stephen Fearing.

Many talented Canadian musicians were among the hundreds of 2020 Grammy Award nominees whose work was being recognized through a direct nomination or was affiliated with a nomination, including Grammy nominee Drake, powwow and Round Dance singing group Northern Cree, Shawn Mendes, Eric Corne, Michael Bublé, Daniel Caesar, Ajay Bhattacharya (aka STINT), T-Minus, Carly Rae Jepsen, Boi-1da, Dan Brodbeck, Malika Tirolien, and rising star Jessie Reyez, who earned her very first Grammy nomination this year.

With increasing numbers of SOCAN members either nominated or affiliated with a nomination, the Grammy Awards continue to recognize and award deserving top Canadian talent at music’s biggest night of the year.

SOCAN extends its congratulations to Colin Linden, and all of our members who were nominated for a 2020 Grammy.

 

Photo by Brad Ardley

First-time JUNO Awards host Alessia Cara leads 2020 nominations with six

Story by Howard Druckman | Tuesday January 28th, 2020

A first-time host of the JUNO Awards Broadcast, Alessia Cara, also leads the 2020 JUNO nominations with a total of six: Single (for “Out of Love”), Album, Pop Album (both for The Pains of Growing), Artist, and the SOCAN-sponsored Songwriter of the Year, and JUNO Fan Choice.

Tory Lanez received five nominations: Artist and Rap Recording of the Year (the latter for Freaky), two nominations in the R&B/Soul Recording of the Year (for Chixtape 5, and “Feel It Too” with Jessie Reyez and Tainy), and JUNO Fan Choice.

Close behind with three nominations each are Alexandra Stréliski, Bryan Adams, bülow, Loud Luxury, NAV, Shawn Mendes.

The nominees for the SOCAN Songwriter of the Year Award are:

  • Alessia Cara
  • bülow
  • Patrick Watson
  • Tenille Townes
  • Tim Baker

So far, Cara, Lennon Stella, Daniel Caesar, Glorious Sons, and Tory Lanez have been confirmed to perform at the 2020 Gala JUNO Awards ceremony on Sunday, March 15, broadcast live from the SaskTel Centre in Saskatoon, on CBC, CBC Radio One, CBC Music, the free CBC Gem streaming service in Canada, and globally at www.cbcmusic.ca/junos.

The nominations for Classical Composition of the Year are:

  • Ana Sokolović for Evta
  • Bekah Simms for Everything Is… Distorted
  • Jared Miller for Under Sea, Above Sky
  • Rose Bolton for The Coming of Sobs
  • Vincent Ho – Kickin’ It 2.0

Francophone Album of the Year nominees are:

  • Fred Pellerin for Après
  • Jean Leloup for L’étrage pays
  • Koriass for La nuit des longs couteaux
  • Les Louanges for La nuit est une panthère
  • Loud for Tout ça pour ça

In addition to presenting the Songwriter of the Year Award, and for the fourth year in a row, SOCAN is the presenting sponsor of the JUNO Gala Dinner & Awards, at which most of the awards are handed out. As well, during the week of events leading up to the awards, SOCAN will once again serve as a co-presenting sponsor of the JUNO Songwriters’ Circle – widely known as “The Jewel of the JUNO Week” – with performers TBD. Past participants include Paul Brandt, Alex Cuba, Ria Mae, Randy Bachman, Shad, July Talk, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Jann Arden, Joel Plaskett, Johnny Reid, Ron Sexsmith and Dan Mangan.

For more information and a complete list of award nominees, visit the JUNO Awards website.

And stay tuned to www.socanmagazine.ca for video interviews from the JUNO nominee press conference, held in Toronto on Jan. 28, 2020.

Photo by Brad Ardley

SOCAN Foundation launches groundbreaking mentorship program

Story by Howard Druckman, with files from/avec SOCAN Foundation/Fondation SOCAN | Wednesday January 15th, 2020

The SOCAN Foundation held the inaugural edition of the groundbreaking Equity X Production mentorship program, designed to empower women and gender minority music producers, on Jan. 9-11, 2020, at the Signal Creative Community in downtown Toronto.

Equity X Production, SOCAN Foundation“SOCAN Foundation established this national program in response to the Annenberg Inclusion Initiative study launched in 2019,” said Charlie Andrews, Executive Director of SOCAN Foundation. “The profoundly concerning research exposes the lack of gender diversity among the role of the music producer. We worked to fundraise and develop a program that challenges the status quo by empowering gender minorities to become producers, through education, networking, and support.”

The program is made possible with the generous support of RBC, Ableton, and Signal Creative Community (a one-of-a-kind creative hub), as well as encouragement from the SOCAN Foundation Board of Directors.

The first edition received more than 300 submissions, and allowed for only 25 participants. About 70% of the participants were from outside of Ontario, and all are SOCAN Members. Instructors Heidi Chan and Laura Dickens (both also SOCAN members) facilitated as the group of aspiring and emerging producers worked with, and learned more about, MIDI loops and keyboard mapping, drum machines and samplers, drum programming, workflows, production for live performances, and more. Ableton, in collaboration with SOCAN Foundation, was able to give the participants full access to Ableton Live 10 software.

The first-year participants were (listed in alphabetical order, by last name):

  • Ila Barker
  • Hannah Bayoumi
  • Emma Berger-Kovacs
  • Ashley Bieniarz
  • Tonya Cattan
  • Richelle Chatarpaul
  • Monique Clarke
  • Nicole Curry
  • Rebecca Emms
  • Anique Granger
  • Tajkiran Grewal
  • Eugénie Jobin Tremblay
  • Kaia Kater
  • Missy Knott
  • Kate Kurdyak
  • Alice Lin
  • Kellie Loder
  • Marie-Hélène Massy Emond
  • Ali ‘Willa’ Milner
  • Atisa Rashadi
  • Emily Rockarts
  • Jordana Talsky
  • Kirsten Taylor
  • Nimkish Younging

Also attending were Charlie Andrews; Meryl Gosch, SOCAN Foundation Project Co-Ordinator; Julien Boumard-Collier, SOCAN Foundation Administrator of Programs; Aggrey Ellis, Sales & Marketing, Ableton; and Tanya Faraday, Special Events & Programming, Signal Creative Community.

Equity X Production, SOCAN FoundationSaid SOCAN CEO Eric Baptiste visited on Jan. 10, along with SOCAN CFO Diane Petrucci, to offer a word of encouragement to the participants. “This is a very innovative program, that has drawn attention around the world,” he said. “What you’re doing today is a great contribution to proving to the world that if you’re talented and hardworking, you have a place not only at SOCAN, but in the music business.” Also visiting, from the Entertainment, Media & Digital Media, Commercial Financial Services department of RBC, were Joy Yang, CPA, CA, and Joelle Finnen, MBA.

Said participant Mizz Taj (Tajkiran Grewal) on Instagram, “After hearing stories from other women from across Canada, I’m so inspired by them, and realize that I wasn’t the only one who was facing barriers as a woman in music! Not only did I leave this program being more Ableton Live 10-proficient, but I met 30 phenomenal women from across Canada and made friends to last a lifetime.”