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      Music Creator & Publisher Members:

      • 1.866.307.6226
      • members@socan.ca

      General Enquiries:

      • 416.445.8700
      • 1.800.55.SOCAN (76226)

      Music Licensees:

      • Current licensees: 1.866.944.6223
      • New licensees: 1.866.944.6210
      • licence@socan.ca

      Editor in Chief:

      • Howard Druckman
      • druckmanh@socan.ca

      Read more »

      About Us

      Words + Music is the online magazine of SOCAN, the Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada. Just as SOCAN was formed in 1990 by the merger of its predecessor Canadian performing rights organizations PROCAN and CAPAC, their separate magazines merged in 1994 to form Words + Music. Our mission is to provide interesting, high-quality content about the increasingly exciting and

      Read more »

      SOCAN Song of the Week

      Grace of Arc - SOCAN Song of the Week

      Read more »

      Video: Red Carpet Interviews from 2023 SOCAN Gala – Part 1

      Video: Red Carpet Interviews from 2023 SOCAN Gala – Part 1

      Plume, Banx & Ranx, Ginette Reno, Nathalie Bonin, Roxane Bruneau, Mathieu Brisset

      Speaking Out: SOCAN advocates politically for music creators

      Currently lobbying government on several key issues

      President’s Message: The accelerating pace of change

      Adapting to constant, disruptive technological shifts

      All From the Top »

      Catalogue Acquisition Deals

      Catalogue Acquisition Deals

      Legal considerations for creators

      Composition vs Master – Breaking Down Music Copyrights

      What are the differences?

      Building a career in France: challenges, sacrifices, dreams, reality

      The export strategies of Klô Pelgag, Fredz, Aliocha, Patrick Watson and Billy du Page

      All Sound Advice »

      Adam El Mouna and Erika Hagen: the importance of giving everything you’ve got

      Adam El Mouna and Erika Hagen: the importance of giving everything you’ve got

      They will share the stage on June 18 during the SOCAN Showcase at the Francos de Montréal.

      La Bottine Souriante: Half a Century of Keeping Memory Alive

      Looking ahead. That’s the first thing to know about La Bottine Souriante in 2026.

      Boi-1da’s World Cup vision

      Boi-1da has given music fans a lot: his artistic fingerprints are on tracks so embedded into the cultural fabric of the last two decades. It seems fitting then that Boi-1da would help create the sonic atmosphere for one of the world’s biggest sporting events: the World Cup.  While the Grammy Award winning producer is still working on music with the world’s biggest artists (ahem, Iceman?), he gathered together an extraordinary ...

      All Features »

      Here are the 40 albums on the 2026 Polaris Music Prize Long List

      Here are the 40 albums on the 2026 Polaris Music Prize Long List

      On an especially hot summer day at the NXNE Artist House in downtown Toronto, artists, music journalists, and industry reps gathered together to kick off the 2026 Polaris Music Prize. Forty albums were long listed for Prize, with nominee highlights including 13 first timers and three former winners (Kaytranada, Tanya Tagaq, Daphni’s Dan Snaith, who won as Caribou.) Many of this year’s nominees were in attendance for the announcement.   Every year, the Polaris Music Prize jury — comprised of critics, journalists, and creators — puts forth recommendations for the best Canadian albums. This year, 205 jurors recommended 202 records to be ...

      SOCAN partners with Warner Chappell Music, Universal Canada, and Homecoming for song camp

      During the first week of June, SOCAN held a large-scale song camp with partners Warner Chappell Music, Universal Canada, and Homecoming in downtown Toronto.  The three-day event was held across WCM offices and Universal Studios, and was facilitated by SOCAN Senior Creative Executive Houtan Hodania, Creative Executive, Black Music Lord Quest, Ricardo Chung of Warner Chappell Canada, Rich Christina of Warner Chappell Music Publishing, Liv DuFine of ...

      Lysandre wins the 30th Félix-Leclerc Song Award, presented by SOCAN

      Lysandre received the top honours on June 12, at MTELUS. She was presented with the award by Lou-Adriane Cassidy

      All News »

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    • Sound Advice
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    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Contact Us

      Music Creator & Publisher Members:

      • 1.866.307.6226
      • members@socan.ca

      General Enquiries:

      • 416.445.8700
      • 1.800.55.SOCAN (76226)

      Music Licensees:

      • Current licensees: 1.866.944.6223
      • New licensees: 1.866.944.6210
      • licence@socan.ca

      Editor in Chief:

      • Howard Druckman
      • druckmanh@socan.ca

      Read more »

      About Us

      Words + Music is the online magazine of SOCAN, the Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada. Just as SOCAN was formed in 1990 by the merger of its predecessor Canadian performing rights organizations PROCAN and CAPAC, their separate magazines merged in 1994 to form Words + Music. Our mission is to provide interesting, high-quality content about the increasingly exciting and

      Read more »

      SOCAN Song of the Week

      Grace of Arc - SOCAN Song of the Week

      Read more »

      Video: Red Carpet Interviews from 2023 SOCAN Gala – Part 1

      Video: Red Carpet Interviews from 2023 SOCAN Gala – Part 1

      Plume, Banx & Ranx, Ginette Reno, Nathalie Bonin, Roxane Bruneau, Mathieu Brisset

      Speaking Out: SOCAN advocates politically for music creators

      Currently lobbying government on several key issues

      President’s Message: The accelerating pace of change

      Adapting to constant, disruptive technological shifts

      All From the Top »

      Catalogue Acquisition Deals

      Catalogue Acquisition Deals

      Legal considerations for creators

      Composition vs Master – Breaking Down Music Copyrights

      What are the differences?

      Building a career in France: challenges, sacrifices, dreams, reality

      The export strategies of Klô Pelgag, Fredz, Aliocha, Patrick Watson and Billy du Page

      All Sound Advice »

      Adam El Mouna and Erika Hagen: the importance of giving everything you’ve got

      Adam El Mouna and Erika Hagen: the importance of giving everything you’ve got

      They will share the stage on June 18 during the SOCAN Showcase at the Francos de Montréal.

      La Bottine Souriante: Half a Century of Keeping Memory Alive

      Looking ahead. That’s the first thing to know about La Bottine Souriante in 2026.

      Boi-1da’s World Cup vision

      Boi-1da has given music fans a lot: his artistic fingerprints are on tracks so embedded into the cultural fabric of the last two decades. It seems fitting then that Boi-1da would help create the sonic atmosphere for one of the world’s biggest sporting events: the World Cup.  While the Grammy Award winning producer is still working on music with the world’s biggest artists (ahem, Iceman?), he gathered together an extraordinary ...

      All Features »

      Here are the 40 albums on the 2026 Polaris Music Prize Long List

      Here are the 40 albums on the 2026 Polaris Music Prize Long List

      On an especially hot summer day at the NXNE Artist House in downtown Toronto, artists, music journalists, and industry reps gathered together to kick off the 2026 Polaris Music Prize. Forty albums were long listed for Prize, with nominee highlights including 13 first timers and three former winners (Kaytranada, Tanya Tagaq, Daphni’s Dan Snaith, who won as Caribou.) Many of this year’s nominees were in attendance for the announcement.   Every year, the Polaris Music Prize jury — comprised of critics, journalists, and creators — puts forth recommendations for the best Canadian albums. This year, 205 jurors recommended 202 records to be ...

      SOCAN partners with Warner Chappell Music, Universal Canada, and Homecoming for song camp

      During the first week of June, SOCAN held a large-scale song camp with partners Warner Chappell Music, Universal Canada, and Homecoming in downtown Toronto.  The three-day event was held across WCM offices and Universal Studios, and was facilitated by SOCAN Senior Creative Executive Houtan Hodania, Creative Executive, Black Music Lord Quest, Ricardo Chung of Warner Chappell Canada, Rich Christina of Warner Chappell Music Publishing, Liv DuFine of ...

      Lysandre wins the 30th Félix-Leclerc Song Award, presented by SOCAN

      Lysandre received the top honours on June 12, at MTELUS. She was presented with the award by Lou-Adriane Cassidy

      All News »

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Photo by Brad Ardley

JUNOs 2019 Video Interview: How does Bahamas write his songs?

Story by Howard Druckman | March 21, 2019

In an exclusive interview with SOCAN, JUNO Adult Alternative Album of the Year winner Bahamas discusses keeping songs distinctive, writing economically, playing softly, allowing space, and mixing the bitter with the sweet.

Music Industry Music Industry/Entrepreneurs News Pop R&B/Soul Roots Singer-Songwriter SOCAN TV Songwriting/Composing


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Backstage at the JUNOs 2023

Backstage at the JUNOs 2023

Who said what? Plus a photo gallery

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