RE:SOUND and SOCAN Collaborate to Create Entandem

Story by SOCAN | Wednesday May 8th, 2019

With goals of simplifying music licensing for hundreds of thousands of organizations across Canada that benefit from music, and to source and return more earned royalties to Canadian songwriters, composers, publishers, labels and performers, RE:SOUND and SOCAN have created Entandem.

Co-owned and overseen by RE:SOUND and SOCAN, Entandem brings the music licensing now managed separately by each organization into a single, jointly-operated business. With Entandem, retailers, restaurants, nightclubs, fitness clubs, and myriad other organizations that use music will be able to complete their legally-required licenses in a single transaction.

The new joint venture, which builds upon a successful 2017 pilot project that combined music licensing for both parent organizations via an online portal, will be launched in July 2019. Until launch, licensing will continue to be administered separately by RE:SOUND and SOCAN, without change.

“Entandem is all about simplicity,” said Ian MacKay, president of RE:SOUND. “For most businesses that use music, a single licensing organization means a simplified experience, by interacting with one organization instead of two, with one payment for both RE:SOUND and SOCAN music licenses, and one point of contact to answer questions and resolve issues.”

“It’s about time – literally,” said Jeff Stinco, member of Simple Plan and owner of Mangiafoco, one of the many great restaurants of Montréal. “Mangiafoco welcomes Entandem’s one-stop service because it will save us time. We strongly believe that the music we play at the restaurant brings value, otherwise we wouldn’t use it, and it’s only fair that the owners of the music that we license gain fair royalties for their work.”

A songwriter and performer who receives royalties from both RE:SOUND and SOCAN, Stinco added, “By making music licensing easier and more efficient, it will help put more of the value our music provides into the hands of rights-holders like me. It’s a big step forward for anyone seeking to build a sustainable career in music.”

Whether recorded or live music, it’s the law in Canada that businesses must pay for the music they use so that those who made the music can be fairly compensated, just as restaurants pay food suppliers and nightclubs pay for the liquor they serve.

Entandem will administer the licensing process as RE:SOUND and SOCAN do today, bringing royalties to Canadian songwriters, composers, publishers, labels and performers. Music licenses will continue to be based on agreements with users or tariffs approved by the Copyright Board of Canada.

While Entandem will collect licenses for live performances and the general use of recorded music in public venues, RE:SOUND and SOCAN will continue to administer royalties separately for recorded music – for example, on YouTube, social media, radio, television, movies, and online streaming services in single-use or as copies. Background music suppliers will also continue to obtain licenses directly from RE:SOUND and SOCAN.

SOCAN CEO Eric Baptiste added: “RE:SOUND and SOCAN getting together for Entandem means a strengthened ability to reach more businesses that should be paying both music licenses that provide vital support to music creators, especially the emerging and middle-class ones. By making the process easier, we expect stronger engagement across the country and, with that, increased realization of earned royalties for Canada’s songwriters, composers, publishers, labels and performers.”

Entandem will be a partner with businesses that use music, helping them to use music more effectively, increase the use of live music, improve audio systems and more, with the essential truth that, the better the music experience, the better the customer experience. An improved customer experience results in extended shopping, increased spending, loyalty and, importantly, recommending the business to others.

Entandem will be jointly owned and overseen by RE:SOUND and SOCAN. However, in its day-to-day activities, it will operate separately from the parent organizations, under separate management.

The new organization will operate nationwide and will have premises in both downtown Toronto and Montréal. Existing licensing teams from each company will come together in shared locations.

Further information about Entandem is available at the organization’s website, www.EntandemLicensing.com/.

Photo by Eric Parazelli

Francouvertes 2019 : O.G.B. comes out on top

Story by Eric Parazelli | Wednesday May 8th, 2019

First, the Nova Scotian country sounds of Baie Sainte-Marie band P’tit Béliveau et les Grosses Coques made everybody smile and stomp their feet. Lastly, Alex Burger showed that he was able to evolve his rock music at lightning speed, presenting an even more powerful performance than he did in the semi-finals, with the addition of a second drummer. In between, jazz-rap combo O.G.B. – which stands for Original Gros Bonnet (Original Big Wig) – skillfully snuck up to first place.

All this in the finals of the 2019 Francouvertes competition, held Monday, May 6, 2019, with results determined by the combined votes of the jury and audience. In addition to the $10,000 cash prize, O.G.B. also received several other prizes, as did P’tit Béliveau and Alex Burger.

Eric Parazelli, the SOCAN online magazine Francophone editor, was there and met with the septet to capture their reaction to this win as soon as they stepped off the stage:

The night opened with the last of the “J’aime mes ex” performances, presented by SOCAN, featuring event spokespersons Karim Ouellet and his sister, rapper Sarahmée, who performed a few songs prior to the finalists’ performances.

Alex Burger won the Paroles & Musique Award – including a $1,000 cash prize and a stay at the Paris or Nashville SOCAN House, offered by SOCAN. The honour recognizes the excellent writing of the songs he performed during the semi-finals. The contest winner will, of course, be invited to perform in the “J’aime mes ex” series during the 24th edition of the Francouvertes, next year.

Paroles & Musique, Alex Burger, Eric Parazelli, Francouvertes

The winner of SOCAN’s Paroles & Musique award, Alex Burger (right) and his musicians alongside SOCAN’s Eric Parazelli (centre) during the Francouverte’s semifinals at Montréal’s Lion d’Or venue (Photo: Frédérique Ménard-Aubin/Francouvertes)

For a complete list of the prizes given out to the 2019 finalists, visit the Francouvertes website.

The finals of the Francouvertes were broadcast via Facebook Live on the ICI Musique page, and you’ll be able to hear them again on May 15, at noon on Influence Franco—SiriusXM 174 (and again on Friday, May 17, at 6:00 p.m.).

SOCAN congratulates O.G.B. on this important win in their budding career.

Photo by Eric Parazelli

Trille Or 2019: Cindy Doire wins SOCAN Songwriter Award

Story by Eric Parazelli | Tuesday May 7th, 2019

The 10th bi-annual edition of the Gala Trille Or, celebrating the musical diversity of Canada’s Francophone community, was held May 2, 2019, at a sold-out Centre des arts Shenkman in the Ottawa suburb of Orléans. Produced by the Association des professionnels de la chanson et de la musique (APCM) and presented by Unis TV, the gala offered an opportunity for artists from across Canada, industry professionals, and the public to honour artistic excellence and celebrate Franco-Canadian music.

YAO, Trille Or 2019

SOCAN member YAO won three awards at the 2019 Trille Or Gala. (Photo: Eric Parazelli)

 

Ottawa singer-songwriter YAO won a leading three awards, for Best Solo Artist, Best Live Show and Media Favourite. Timmins-based singer-songwriter Cindy Doire received the SOCAN Songwriter Award from the President of the organization’s Board of Directors, Marc Ouellette. Eric Parazelli, Francophone Editor of SOCAN’s online magazine, was also there, to meet Doire and capture her reaction.

 

 

Presented every other year, the Gala Trille Or is an opportunity for Canada’s Francophone regional music communities to get together and catch up on the news from other areas, reflect on their common issues, and even make music together during the work lab, and other workshops. SOCAN once again accepted APCM’s invitation to present a panel, this time on the artistic and economic opportunities of co-writing. The workshop was facilitated by Parazelli, and featured Caracol, DJ Unpier,  publisher Xavier Collin from France, as well as Xavier Forget from the Oç Centre for the Arts. Interesting discussions took place about co-writing, song camps such as SOCAN’s Kenekt, and the mistakes to avoid when deciding copyright shares for the resulting songs.

 

SOCAN, panel, Trille Or 2019

SOCAN panel: The importance of co-writing; artistic process and economic perspectives. (Photo: Julien Lavoie)

 

Who better to give us a feeling of the characteristically warm atmosphere of the Gala Trille Or and its red carpet than the famed Franco-Ontarian singer-songwriter Damien Robitaille, who also hosted the gala in 2015. He graciously accepted SOCAN’s invitation to take us on a tour of the red carpet during a Facebook Live event, broadcast on SOCAN’s French Facebook page.

 

 

WINNERS of the 2019 GALA TRILLE OR   

Solo Artist
YAO

Band
Les Rats d’Swompe

Breakthrough (Artist or Band)
Kimya

Author(s) and/or Composer(s)
Cindy Doire

Best EP
Vaero – Le noeud

Best Album
Mclean – Une dernière fois

Best Album from Acadia
Les Hôtesses d’Hilaire – Viens avec moi

Best Live Show
YAO

Best Song
Mélissa Ouimet, Amours jetables

Media Favourite
YAO

Homage
Carmen Campagne

For the complete list of winners of the industry gala that took place on May 1, 2019, see the  APCM press release.