Photo by Grant W. Martin Photography

Meghan Patrick wins SOCAN honour, four others, at 2019 Ontario country music awards

Story by Howard Druckman | Monday June 17th, 2019

Meghan Patrick earned the SOCAN-sponsored Songwriter of the Year honour at the 2019 Country Music Association of Ontario (CMAO) Awards, held June 16, 2019, in Southam Hall, at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa.

Patrick won the award for co-writing “Walls Come Down” with professional Nashville songwriters and colleagues Kelly Archer and Justin Weaver. She also earned four other awards, for Album (for Country Music Made Me Do It), Female Artist, Music Video (for “Walls Come Down”), and Fans’ Choice of the Year.

Other multiple award winners included Tim Hicks (Male Artist of the Year and Nielsen Compass Award), and The Reklaws (Group/Duo and Single of the Year, for “Feels Like That”). The Good Brothers earned the Impact Award for their lasting and encouraging influence on country music in Ontario, and led an “all-hands-onstage” finale performance of their best-known song, “Fox on The Run.”

For a complete list of winners, click here.

Below, in a short interview conducted during The SOCAN Awards on April 1, 2019, Meghan Patrick talks about how she co-wrote “Walls Come Down” (which earned a SOCAN Country Music Award that night), and her songwriting process in general.

SOCAN delivers record royalties to members

Story by Howard Druckman | Tuesday June 18th, 2019

In sync with the organization’s annual general meeting in Vancouver, SOCAN announced final financial results for 2018, confirming another record year for royalties earned by its more than 160,000 member songwriters, composers, music publishers, and visual artists.

The largest organization in the Canadian music ecosystem attracted and distributed record amounts to more members than ever, but cautioned that more must be done to ensure that all rightsholders receive a more equitable share of rapidly growing revenues from digital uses of music.

Significant SOCAN results achieved in 2018:

  • A record $320-million distributed to SOCAN members – an 8% increase over the previous year.
  • $375-million in total collections – an 11% increase compared with 2017.
  • Domestic collections at an all-time high of $286-million – 9% more than 2017.
  • A 15% year-over-year increase in royalties from outside of Canada ($87-million), again the top revenue stream for SOCAN members.
  • Even with a substantially more complex environment, and investments in technology to keep SOCAN ahead of the digital curve, SOCAN was able to operate with a 12.6% net expense ratio.
  • A 29% increase in revenue from digital sources ($63-million).

“The popularity of music streaming continues to increase, but a SOCAN member who received royalties in 2018 on average took in only $54 from digital sources,” said SOCAN CEO Eric Baptiste. “Digital platforms are reaping massive value on the backs of music creators and publishers. SOCAN will continue to fight for more equitable and fair compensation for rightsholders as this part of the industry matures.”

Among many topics discussed at SOCAN’s AGM, Baptiste highlighted several key recent advancements for the company’s members, including the full acquisition of Québec-based rights organization SODRAC, bringing mechanical/reproduction rights and royalties to members, as well as the extension of SOCAN’s mandate into visual arts; the creation of Entandem, a combined licensing venture with RE:SOUND that will bring benefits to rightsholders and licensed businesses alike; and the addition of Dataclef, the back-office services arm of the organization.

SOCAN continues to work on harnessing artificial intelligence, and to offer tools that allow third-party organizations to build software from its online application programming interface (API) specifications. These identify and collect on more public uses of music, returning more royalties, with even greater speed and accuracy, to those who’ve rightfully earned them.

Also reviewed at the meeting were SOCAN’s member advocacy accomplishments with the federal government. Several recommendations were included in the recent Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage ““Shifting Paradigms” report, including:

  • Extending the term of copyright protection to the creator’s lifetime plus 70 years.
  • Regulation and clarification of the “charitable exemption” clause for businesses using music.
  • Updating the private copying regime to be technologically neutral.
  • Remuneration for visual artists when their copyright works are re-sold.
  • A more level playing field for rightsholders, across all platforms.

SOCAN’s 2018 annual report and complete financial statement are available at socanannualreport.ca.

Photo by Benoit Rousseau

Warm, festive atmosphere for SOCAN’s 2019 Spring House Party

Story by Eric Parazelli | Thursday June 13th, 2019

In what’s now become a tradition, the fifth annual SOCAN Spring House Party was held June 12, 2019, at our Montréal office, just in time for the city’s festival season. More than 250 songwriter, composer and music publisher members, as well as the movers and shakers of the Québec music ecosystem, and representatives of licensed business, attended the event. The evening’s music was provided by DJ Odile Myrtil and, as is also the tradition, several SOCAN No. 1 Song Awards were presented to writers and publishers for their recent chart successes.

Here’s the list of songwriters and music publishers that were honoured by SOCAN throughout the night:

Sam Tucker and Éditorial Avenue, whose song “California Queen” reached the top spot of the Correspondants Anglophone chart on Oct. 23, 2018.

Sam Tucker, Huguette Langlois, Guillaume Lafrance, Éditorial Avenue, Eric Baptiste, SOCAN,,Marc Ouellette

From left to right: Huguette Langlois (SOCAN), Guillaume Lafrance (Éditorial Avenue), Sam Tucker, Eric Baptiste (SOCAN), Marc Ouellette (SOCAN).

Vincent Vallières, Philippe Bergeron, Éditions Bonsound and Éditions Les Trente Arpents, whose song “Au matin du lendemain,” performed by Vincent Vallières, reached the top spot of the Correspondants chart on Feb. 12, 2019.

Geneviève Côté, David Charest, Philippe B, Marie-Ève Rochon, Éditions Bonsound, Eric Baptiste, Marc Ouellette, SOCAN

From left to right: Geneviève Côté (SOCAN), David Charest (SOCAN), Philippe B, Marie-Ève Rochon (Éditions Bonsound), Eric Baptiste (SOCAN), Marc Ouellette (SOCAN).

Simon Proulx, Charles Dubreuil, Alexandre Parr, Pierre-Luc Boisvert, and Éditions de La Tribu, whose songs “Corinne” and “Ouvre tes yeux Simon !,” performed by Les Trois Accords, reached the top spot of the Correspondants chart on Oct. 30, 2018, and April 2, 2019, respectively.

Nathalie Gagné, Simon Proulx, Eric Baptiste, Charles Dubreuil, Marc Ouellette, SOCAN

From left to right: Nathalie Gagné (SOCAN), Simon Proulx, Eric Baptiste (SOCAN), Charles Dubreuil, Marc Ouellette (SOCAN).

Jesse Proteau, Domenic Pandolfo, Martin Moalli, Carl Sylvestre, and Coyote Records, whose song “Fairplay,” performed by Zagata, reached the top spot of the Correspondants chart on April 23, 2019.

Nathalie Gagné, Domenic Pandolfo, Carl Sylvestre, Eric Baptiste, Marc Ouellette, SOCAN

From left to right: Nathalie Gagné (SOCAN), Domenic Pandolfo, Carl Sylvestre, Eric Baptiste (SOCAN), Marc Ouellette (SOCAN).

Ludovick Bourgeois, Fred St-Gelais, Éditions Bloc-Notes, Éditions J, and Éditions Lo Phat, whose song “Desert Song,” performed by Ludovick Bourgeois, reached the top spot of the Correspondants chart on Jan. 23, 2018.

Huguette Langlois, David Charest, Ludovick Bourgeois, Fred St-Gelais, Diane Pinet, Éditions Bloc-Notes, Eric Baptiste, Marc Ouellette, SOCAN

From left to right: Huguette Langlois (SOCAN), David Charest (SOCAN), Ludovick Bourgeois, Fred St-Gelais, Diane Pinet (Éditions Bloc-Notes), Eric Baptiste (SOCAN), Marc Ouellette (SOCAN).

Nelson Minville, Fred St-Gelais, Éditions Musicor, and Blu Dog Media, whose song “Pour commencer,” performed by Alex Nevsky, reached the top spot of the BDS chart on May 7, 2019.

Huguette Langlois, Arnaud Schauman, Musicor, David Charest, Fred St-Gelais, Nancy Brault, Blu Dog Media, Eric Baptiste, Marc Ouellette, Nathalie Gagné, SOCAN

From left to right: Huguette Langlois (SOCAN), Arnaud Schauman (Musicor), David Charest (SOCAN), Fred St-Gelais, Nancy Brault (Blu Dog Media), Eric Baptiste (SOCAN), Marc Ouellette (SOCAN), Nathalie Gagné (SOCAN).

Marc Dupré, Nelson Minville, John Nathaniel, John Nathaniel Productions, Éditions Dama, and Éditions Chansons du Suisse, whose song “Pourquoi t’es restée,” performed by Marc Dupré, reached the top spot of the BDS chart on May 21, 2019.

Nathalie Gagné, David Charest, John Nathaniel, Eric Baptiste, Marc Ouellette, SOCAN

From left to right: Nathalie Gagné (SOCAN), David Charest (SOCAN), John Nathaniel, Eric Baptiste (SOCAN), Marc Ouellette (SOCAN).

Amélie Larocque, Éditions Arielle, Éditions Marcha, and David Murphy et Cie., whose song “Léo Gagné,” performed by 2Frères, reached the top spot of the BDS chart on Oct. 9, 2018, and the Correspondants chart on Aug. 28, 2018.

David Charest, Huguette Langlois, Arnaud Schauman, Éditions Marcha, David Murphy, David Murphy et cie., Amélie Larocque, Eric Baptiste, Marc Ouellette, SOCAN

From left to right: David Charest (SOCAN), Huguette Langlois (SOCAN), Arnaud Schauman (Éditions Marcha), David Murphy (David Murphy et cie.), Amélie Larocque, Eric Baptiste (SOCAN),Marc Ouellette (SOCAN).

 

Steve Marin, Éditions du Baume, and Éditions Marcha, whose song “Au sommet,” performed by 2Frères, reached the top spot of the BDS chart on Feb. 27, 2018, and the Correspondants chart on March 20, 2018.

Huguette Langlois, Arnaud Schauman, Éditions Marcha, Steve Marin, Eric Baptiste, Marc Ouellette, SOCAN) and David Charest (SOCAN

From left to right: Huguette Langlois (SOCAN), Arnaud Schauman (Éditions Marcha), Steve Marin, Eric Baptiste (SOCAN), Marc Ouellette (SOCAN), David Charest (SOCAN).

Steve Veilleux, Productions Pop Culture inc., and Éditions Musicor, whose song “La nuit gronde,” performed by Kaïn, reached the top spot of the BDS chart on March 27, 2018.

Huguette Langlois, Arnaud Schauman, Éditions Musicor, Geneviève Côté, Eric Baptiste, Marc Ouellette, SOCAN

From left to right: Huguette Langlois (SOCAN), Arnaud Schauman (Éditions Musicor), Geneviève Côté (SOCAN), Eric Baptiste (SOCAN) and Marc Ouellette (SOCAN).

SOCAN congratulates all the members recognized for their accomplishments, and wishes everyone a wonderful summer, filled with music from our creative members!

You can watch the Facebook Live reel of these No. 1 Song Awards on the SOCAN Musique Facebook page. We’ve also created albums of the evening’s pictures and the springtime photobooth that welcomed guests in the lobby of our Montréal office.