On Oct. 22 and 23, 2024, SOCAN was proud to co-host — for the first time in Montréal, a highly dynamic music city — the 2024 annual general assembly of the International Council of Music Creators (CIAM). CIAM coordinates a network of regional creator alliances involved in local copyright debates and initiatives. It was founded in 1966 to champion the cultural and professional aspirations of music creators. The organization defends their economic and legal interests, provides a forum for sharing information, ideas, and best practices, and offers practical advice to help music creators achieve their goals. CIAM’s mission is to unify the voices of music creators across all genres and regions of the world. It was only natural for SOCAN to get involved and contribute its expertise and resources to the organization of this year’s event.
On the program: conferences, industry panels, awards, and a songwriting camp for women. Music creators were welcomed by SOCAN CEO Jennifer Brown and SOCAN Chairman of the Board of Directors Marc Ouellette, who both spoke during the keynote address. In her speech, Brown emphasized the importance of local talent to a country’s culture, and the collective responsibility that must be taken to protect what has been achieved, and stimulate development, in the era of all-digital technology and artificial intelligence: “How can we, together, convey to the next generation of songwriters that a career is not only possible, but that it will enable them to provide for their families? We can achieve this by preserving the valuable network we’ve created, and we believe that the voice of songwriters’ associations and collective management societies is more important than ever,” she said.
For his part, SOCAN Chairman of the Board and composer Marc Ouellette delivered a heartfelt plea for respect of creators’ rights, which must be considered at their fair value: “We write the soundtrack of the lives of everyone around us. A hundred times, a thousand times, an infinite number of times, we go back to the drawing board. We are privileged witnesses to life, and even our physical death has no influence on what we leave to the societies of tomorrow. Consequently, our voice to the decision-makers in our societies must have as much impact as the works we create. The survival of our raison d’être depends on it,” he said.Brown also took part in a panel on the collective management of musical rights, and moderated a panel on the place of women in music, featuring Sonia Mutesi Hakuziyaremye from the African Music Academy, Andrea England of CMRRA, Anaïs Larocque of SPACQ-AE and Michelle Lewis of ASCAP. Andrea Kokonis, SOCAN’s Chief Legal Officer and General Counsel, took part in a panel entitled “Courts, Legislatures and Rights — Navigating a Brave New World,” where she focused on remuneration for creators, the importance of a permanent revenue stream in AI, and collaboration and transparency — recurring themes that are central to SOCAN’s advocacy on behalf of music creators.
Songwriting Camp for Women
In parallel with the annual general meeting, CIAM, SAC (Songwriters Association of Canada), SOCAN, MPC (Music Publishers Canada) and SPACQ_AE co-hosted an international songwriting camp at Planet Studio in Montréal. Over the course of three days, five teams of female singer-songwriters and producers from 10 countries were tasked with creating and recording five songs a day, using the five studios made available to them. This intense creative and cultural experience gave birth to some musical gems, and, hopefully, to future international collaborations. The participants were: Carole Facal (Montréal), Mélanie Venditti (Montréal), Shawnee Kish (Toronto), Denise De’ion (Toronto), Rivita Goyle (États-Unis), AILI (Japan), Madara Perkone (Benelux), Lam Si Man (Macao), Misia Furtak (Poland), Luciane Dom (Brazil), Marcela De La Garza (Mexico), Andrea Alvarez (Argentinia), Merlyn Dsouza (India) and Nitanee Paris, (U.S.). The songs completed during the writing camp were presented on the second day of CIAM’s AGM at the Phi Center, much to the delight of the delegates present.
More SOCAN members were given an opportunity to shine in front of CIAM attendees with outstanding performances at the Delegates’ Dinner, presented by SOCAN on Oct. 23, at the Cour Arrière restaurant in Old Montréal. Dominique Fils-Aimé, Pierre Lapointe, and Joseph Sarenhes demonstrated their immense talent, as well as the diversity and excellence of Montréal’s music, to participants from around the world.