On June 13, 2018 the Professional Music Publishers’ Association (PMPA) awarded its Christopher J. Reed to Montréal music publisher Denis Wolff.
Named after the influential music publisher who died in 2012, the Prix Christopher J. Reed is presented annually, since then, to an outstanding music publishing advocate. The honour recognizes one who’s demonstrated a high level of commitment to their profession, as well as to copyright compliance, and the rights of creators. The award presentation, organized by APEM with SOCAN support, took place in Montréal as part of the 2018 Rendez-vous Pros des Francos music festival.
With a career spanning more than 25 years, Denis Wolff got started in the music business as sub-publisher of the Beggars Banquet catalogue. In the 1990s, he joined Audiogram, Québec’s premium independent label, where he spent nearly 15 years in capacities ranging from VP of the Music Publishing Division, which he set up, to Director of Creative Services. He’s worked closely with artists such as the late Lhasa De Sela, Bran Van 3000, Loco Locass, and Pierre Lapointe.
In 2007, Wolff created Maisonnette, an agency offering full film and television composition and production services, where he worked closely with a number of composers (Jean Massicotte, Patrick Watson, Philippe Brault, Benoît Charest, Samuel Laflamme, Mathieu Vanasse, and more) whose original music he’s placed in more than 50 screen productions over the past few years.
In 2014, Denis Wolff partnered with Mary Catherine Harris to create Harris & Wolff, a one-stop, online, pre-cleared music library, catering to the film and TV market, among others. In 2017, Wolff launched Ray-On, an artist development and music services agency.
Wolff, who’s been a member of the PMPA Board of Directors since 2011, has also served on the boards of ADISQ (1998-2003), Musicaction (1999-2006), Fonds RadioStar (2001-2006, including President from 2004 to 2006 and Vice-President from 2001 to 2003), and SOPROQ (2004-2006). His industry awards include three consecutive ADISQ awards for Publisher of the Year (for Éditions Kaligram in 1997, 1998 and 1999) and the ADISQ award for Record Producer of the Year (for Jean Leloup’s Les Fourmis). Wolff was also the recipient of the inaugural SOCAN Publisher of the Year award, presented at the Montréal SOCAN Awards Gala in 2016.