ICYMI: The Weeknd wins 10 Billboard Music Awards for 2021

Story by Howard Druckman | Tuesday May 25th, 2021

After being shut out by the 2021 Grammy Awards, SOCAN member The Weeknd dominated the 2021 Billboard Music Awards, winning no less than 10 of them.

He won six times as an artist, for

  • Top Artist
  • Top Male Artist
  • Top Hot 100 Artist
  • Top Radio Songs Artist
  • Top R&B Artist
  • Top R&B Male Artist

His song “Blinding Lights” won three awards, for

  • Top Hot 100 Song
  • Top Radio Song
  • Top R&B Song

And his LP After Hours won for Top R&B Album.

Drake also won, not only as the Top Streaming Songs Artist for 2021, but as the Artist of the Decade.

The Billboard Music Awards were held on Sunday, May 23, 2021, at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. The ceremony was broadcast live from NBC,  hosted by Nick Jonas.

SOCAN congratulates The Weeknd and Drake on these great achievements!

Apply now for 2021 SOCAN Foundation Awards of more than $97,000 in total

Story by Howard Druckman | Wednesday May 26th, 2021

Canadian Music creators are invited to apply now for the 2021 edition of three separate annual SOCAN Foundation Awards: for Young Composers, Emerging Screen Composers, and Young Canadian Songwriters.

The SOCAN Foundation Awards for Young Composers are designed to recognize Canadian composers who are 30 years of age and under, for original concert music works in the following five categories: large ensemble, chamber ensemble, solo or duet, vocal, and electroacoustics. Four prizes will be offered in each of five categories: 1st Prize is $3,000; 2nd Prize is $2,250; 3rd Prize is $1,500; the Young Composer Prize is $1,500 (awarded to someone 21 years of age and younger); and the Grand Prize of $5,000 for the best overall work may also be awarded. The deadline for applications is June 15, 2021.

The SOCAN Foundation Awards for Emerging Screen Composers are designed to recognize Canadian composers who are 30 years of age and under, for original musical themes or scores created exclusively for audio-visual support (TV, film, Internet, and so on). Two prizes – a 1st Prize of $3,000 and a 2nd Prize of  $2,250 – will be awarded in each of four categories: Best Original Theme (opening or closing), Best Original Score – Fiction, Best Original Score – Animated, and Best Original Score – Non-Fiction. A Grand Prize of $5,000 for the best overall work may also be awarded. The deadline for applications is June 15, 2021.

The SOCAN Foundation Awards for Young Canadian Songwriters was created through a joint partnership with Sirius XM Canada Inc., and is designed to celebrate emerging and talented songwriters in Canada. Submissions to the talent competition must be from genres of popular music, such as folk, blues, rock ‘n’ roll, hip-hop, R&B, etc. Songwriters that are age 21 or younger, Canadian citizens, and the original creators of the musical submission are eligible to apply. Five awards, valued at $5,000 each, will be granted to the finalists, and the deadline for applications is July 15, 2021.

For more information, or to apply for any of these awards, click here.

Photo by Brad Ardley. Left to right/De gauche à droite : Amin Bhatia, Ari Posner

Eight SOCAN #ComposersWhoScore win in 2021 Canadian Screen Awards

Story by Howard Druckman | Tuesday May 25th, 2021

Eight SOCAN #ComposersWhoScore were honoured in musical categories of the 2021 Canadian Screen Awards, presented online for the second time this year because of ongoing health measures to combat the spread of COVID-19.

The co-composing team of Amin Bhatia and Ari Posner were double winners, for Best Original Music in both the Fiction and Animation categories – in collaboration with two sets of different colleagues in each category.

The winners are:

TELEVISION

Best Original Music, Fiction
Amin Bhatia, Ari Posner, Sarah Slean, Antonio Naranjo – Detention Adventure – “All the World’s a Stage” episode

Best Original Music, Animation
Amin Bhatia, Ari Posner, Chris Tait, Kris Kuzdak – Let’s Go Luna!, “Monster Park / Meet the Strongs” episode

Best Original Music, Non-Fiction
Darren Fung – A Bee’s Diary
Published by Third Side Music Inc.

FILM

Achievement in Music – Original Song
Marie-Hélène L. Delorme – “Timid Joyous Atrocious,” from Sugar Daddy

For a list of all the SOCAN #ComposersWhoScore nominees, click here. For a complete list of all of the nominees and winners, click here.

SOCAN congratulates all our winners on these great achievements!