Photo by courtesy of BreakOut West. Left to right/De gauche a droite: Geoffrey Kelly, Matthew Harder, Vince Ditrich, all of/tous de Spirit of the West.

“Home for a Rest” inducted into Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame

Story by Howard Druckman | Tuesday October 16th, 2018

The song “Home for A Rest” – popularized by Vancouver folk-rock band Spirit of the West – was inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame  during the 2018 Western Canadian Music Industry Awards, in Kelowna, B.C., on Oct. 13, 2018.

A simple song that humorously chronicles the perils of over-drinking, “Home For a Rest” has grown to become one of Canada’s most beloved party anthems.

When Spirit of the West’s John Mann and Geoffrey Kelly wrote “Home for a Rest” in 1989, it was just a throwaway Celtic tune about the Vancouver group’s booze-soaked tour of England. – At the insistence of producer Danny Greenspoon, the song wound up on the band’s 1990 album, Save This House.

Audiences soon embraced the song’s joyous spirit. “Home for Rest” became Spirit of the West’s signature song, and has since taken on a life of its own. It reached platinum record sales, and appeared on countless “best songs” lists. “Home for a Rest” has been covered by countless punk and folk bands, and even performed by the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra.

When John Mann was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease, Jim Cuddy, Sarah McLachlan, Alan Doyle, and others recorded an all-star tribute cover of the song at a 2017 benefit concert.

There to accept the award was the song’s co-composer Geoffrey Kelly, along with Spirit of the West’s Vince Ditrich and Matthew Harder, and the song was performed at the event by Shred Kelly.

“It’s an honour for the CSHF to celebrate John Mann and Geoffrey Kelly’s skilled songwriting and Spirit of the West’s amazing execution of this iconic song,” said Vanessa Thomas, Executive Director, Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame.

“We wouldn’t all be here if it weren’t for songs” said Geoffrey Kelly. “I know this award would mean so much to John, because that’s how it all begins. At a kitchen table with a cup of tea, pencil, and blank piece of paper. A song is still the beating heart of the music world, and we’re honoured to accept this award here today.”

Photo by @hoeshell

SOCAN panel with Bijan Amir a hit at IMSTA FESTA 2018

Story by Howard Druckman | Tuesday October 16th, 2018

SOCAN presented a “Cooking Beats” panel with beat-maker/producer Bijan Amir at the SOCAN-sponsored 2018 edition of IMSTA FESTA, a free, one-day music tech conference held in the Rogers Communications building at Ryerson University on Saturday, Oct. 13, 2018.

Amir is a 21-year-old, Toronto-based, up-and-coming producer, who blends melodies of all genres with a progressive approach. His variable skill set has enabled him to work with both emerging artists like Sean Leon and Rory Fresco, and seasoned veterans like PARTYNEXTDOOR and Belly. Bijan’s inspiration for producing came from the influence of Lil Wayne, Boi-1da, Wondagurl, and T-Minus, leading him to create, and to pursue his craft.

Young beat-makers, producers, artists and managers jam-packed the room for the panel, moderated by SOCAN A&R Representative Aidan D’Aoust. Amir explained and demonstrated some of the technical secrets of his trade, breaking down the construction of the beats he created.

The fast-rising producer also preached the importance of patience. He met his most high-profile collaborator, Metro Boomin, in 2014 at a Battle of the Beatmakers in Toronto (where Bijan was a contestant, and Metro a judge). He introduced himself and then maintained a relationship via e-mail. After a couple of years, he sent Metro a beat pack and that eventually led to Bijan’s biggest placement, “Ric Flair Drip.”

Bijan also talked about the importance of time management as an aspiring producer – he mentioned going to university, and having to work his butt off both in the classroom and at home in the studio. And he chatted about his approach to production, which is that everything he makes is unique to his own sound. He doesn’t produce instrumentals that sound like other people’s beats, and in fact, dislikes when he’s in the studio and artists ask him for tracks “that Young Thug would rap over” or “like something DJ Mustard would make.”

There were also various other panels, booths, demonstrations, and master classes available to all attendees at IMSTA FESTA 2018.

Written with files from Aidan D’Aoust

Photo by Brad Ardley

SOCAN celebrates publishers with mutiple No. 1 Song Awards

Story by Howard Druckman | Monday October 15th, 2018

SOCAN celebrated Canada’s music publishers for songs that had achieved No. 1 positions on various airplay charts this year, in a presentation held Friday, Oct. 5, 2018, at SOCAN’s Toronto, Vancouver, and Los Angeles offices, during our annual publishers’ meeting and reception.

At the reception, we presented SOCAN No. 1 Song Awards as follows:

SOCAN, Michael McCarty, Vivian Barclay, Warner Chappell Music Canada, Amy Eligh, Arts & Craft,; Eric Baptiste, Daryl Hamilton

Left to right: SOCAN’s Michael McCarty; Vivian Barclay of Warner Chappell Music Canada; Amy Eligh of Arts & Crafts; SOCAN CEO Eric Baptiste; and SOCAN’s Daryl Hamilton.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Arts & Crafts Music
For publishing Megan Bonnell and Joshua Van Tassell, who co-wrote “Separate Rooms”
No. 1 on CBC Music Top 20 in May 2018. Warner Chappell had been awarded earlier,
for publishing another of the song’s co-writers, Donovan Woods.

 

SOCAN, Michael McCarty, Jennifer Beavis, BMG Rights Management Canada, Eric Baptiste, Vicki Walters, Daryl Hamilton

Left to right: Michael McCarty; Jennifer Beavis of BMG Rights Management Canada; Eric Baptiste; Vicki Walters of BMG Rights Management Canada; and Daryl Hamilton.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

BMG Rights Management
For publishing Lindsay Ell, who co-wrote and performed “Criminal”
No. 1 on Nielsen BDS Country Chart in April 2018

For publishing Tebey Ottoh, who co-wrote “Dive Bar,” performed by Gord Bamford
No. 1 on Nielsen BDS Country Chart in September 2018

 

SOCAN, Michael McCarty; Rachael Bestard, peermusic Canada, Eric Baptiste, Daryl Hamilton

Left to right: McCarty; Rachael Bestard of peermusic Canada; Baptiste; and Hamilton.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Peermusic
For publishing Michael DeAngelis, Nicholas Dika, Robert Kerman, and Tim Oxford (Arkells),
who co-wrote “People’s Champ,” performed by Arkells
No. 1 on the CBC Music Top 20 in April 2018

 

SOCAN, Michael McCarty; Janet Baker, Sony/ATV Music Canada, Eric Baptiste, David Quilico, Daryl Hamilton

Left to right: McCarty; Janet Baker of Sony/ATV Music Canada; Baptiste; David Quilico of Sony/ATV Music Canada; and Daryl Hamilton.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SONY / EMI
For publishing Tawgs Salter and Simon Wilcox, who co-wrote “Ripple Effect,” performed by Scott Helman
No. 1 on CBC Music Top 20 in June 2018

 

SOCAN, Michael McCarty; Katharine Perak, Jodie Ferneyhough, CCS Rights Management, Eric Baptiste, Daryl Hamilton

Left to right: McCarty; Katharine Perak and Jodie Ferneyhough of CCS Rights Management; Baptiste; and Hamilton.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CCS Rights Management
For publishing Gavin Brown/Inside Pocket, who co-wrote “Infra-Red,” performed by Three Days Grace
No. 1 on Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Chart in September 2018

 

SOCAN, Michael McCarty; Michael Graves, ole, Eric Baptiste, Adam Nathanson, Daryl Hamilton

Left to right: McCarty; Michael Graves from ole; Baptiste; Adam Nathanson from ole; and Daryl Hamilton.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ole
For publishing Gord Bamford, who co-wrote “Neon Smoke”
No. 1 on Australian Country Radio Charts in September 2018

 

SOCAN congratulates all of or publishers on their chart-topping efforts!

At the annual publishers’ meeting, before the reception, SOCAN CEO Eric Baptiste and Chief Membership and Business Development Officer Michael McCarty highlighted SOCAN’s desire to keep the publishing community informed on issues that matter to them. Senior Vice-President of Operations Jennifer Brown and Rights Consultant Craig Horton presented details of our new reproduction rights offering, and provided an update on the integration of SODRAC into SOCAN. Publishers were also treated to a demonstration of the work being done on SOCAN’s new member portal, as well as our recently upgraded Royalty Guru earnings analysis tool. And members of SOCAN’s Licensing team provided an update on licensing trends and digital services.

Attending the event at the Toronto office were:

  • Bobby Anderson and Mitch Cook of BellMedia;
  • Ross Hardy of hard Music;
  • Vicki Walters and Jennifer Beavis from BMG Rights Management Canada;
  • Amy Eligh from Arts & Crafts;
  • Andreas Rizek (formerly of SOCAN) from Ultra Music Publishing;
  • Steve Payne from Casablanca/Red Brick Publishing;
  • Jodie Ferneyhough and Katharine Perak of CCS Rights Management;
  • Janet Baker and David Quilico from Sony/ATV Music Publishing/EMI Music Publishing;
  • Tony Tobias from Pangaea Media &  Music;
  • Vince Degiorgio from Cymba Music;
  • Rachael Bestard from peermusic Canada;
  • Vivian Barclay and Bryce Seefieldt from Warner Chappell Music Canada Ltd.;
  • Gord Dimitrieff from Aporia Records;
  • Steven Saffer from Abbeywood Records;
  • Ryner and Mary Stoetzer from Maryner Muzik;
  • Mark Quail from QAP;
  • Adam Nathanson and Michael Graves from ole;
  • Brad Machry from Linus Entertainment/True North Records; and
  • Margaret McGuffin from the Canadian Music Publishers Association.

Joining via videoconference from Vancouver were:

  • Michael Burke and Jocelyn Greenwood from Cordova Bay Publishing;
  • Amanda Hawkshaw from Nettwerk;
    Daniel Turcotte of Monstercat;

Joining via videoconference from Los Angeles were:

  • Chad Irvin of West One Music;
  • Karen Moore and Gina Eady-Marshall of Disney;
  • Abby North of the North Music Group/Sonic Concierge; and
  • Michael Eames of PenMusic.