Photo by courtesy/courtoisie. Left to right/De gauche à droite : IDMAN, Falana, Shopé, Maurice Moore, Jon Vinyl
SOCAN Foundation announces winners of 2021 Black Canadian Music Awards
Story by SOCAN Foundation / Fondation SOCAN | Thursday March 10th, 2022
The SOCAN Foundation today announced the five recipients of the 2021 SiriusXM Black Canadian Music Awards, created to recognize and celebrate the artistic merit demonstrated by Black music creators: Falana, IDMAN, Jon Vinyl, Maurice Moore, and Shopé, each of whom will receive $5,000, made possible by SiriusXM Canada.
New this year, five Special Distinctions awards of $1,000 each were presented as well, to B.ROB, Haviah Mighty, Liza, Lu Kala, and Shad.
To learn more about all of the 2021 winners, click here.
“This award is an opportunity to highlight Black creators. I’m happy to have been a part of the Black Canadian Awards since its inception [in 2020], and am thrilled to continue to see such incredible talent come through the submissions,” said Keziah Myers, Executive Director at ADVANCE Music Canada and Award jury member. “This year’s winners are bringing fresh sounds to the industry, and we are ecstatic to see them honoured in this space [through SOCAN Foundation].” Myers was part of the SOCAN Foundation committee that created the Black Canadian Music Awards, and has also served as a jury member for the last two years.
Winners were selected, from hundreds of applications, by a jury and advisory council of prominent Black artists and industry leaders: Jordan Sowunmi (Lead, Music Editorial and Content Strategy at TikTok); Kentya Kurban (Community Engagement Co-ordinator at Music BC Industry Association); the aforementioned Keziah Myers; Michael Assante (Creative Executive, Rap and R&B, at SOCAN); Owen Lee (artist, singer-songwriter, musician, vocal director); Vivian Barclay (Managing Director at Warner Chappell Music Canada); and Widney Bonfils (Director, A&R at Universal Music Canada).
“We’d like to extend a sincere congratulations to all the incredibly talented and deserving winners of this year’s Awards,” said Kayla J. Schwartz, Senior Manager, Communications & Canadian Content Development at SiriusXM. “We’re so proud to continue partnering with the SOCAN Foundation on spotlighting Black creators in Canada and can’t wait to see what’s next for this year’s recipients”.
Lack of reform costs Canadian songwriters and composers $28-million-plus
Story by Andrea Kokonis, SOCAN Chief Legal Officer and General Counsel, and Fraser Turnbull, SOCAN Legal Counsel / Andrea Kokonis, chef des affaires juridiques et avocate générale de la SOCAN, et Fraser Turnbull, conseiller juridique à la SOCAN | Thursday March 10th, 2022
Current broadcasting laws and regulations were designed for radio and television. While these rules have been effective, foreign digital platforms have zero obligations to support and promote Canadian creators, even to Canadian audiences. Reforming the Broadcasting Act is a necessary step to strengthening Canadian songwriters and composers’ place within Canada and supporting Canadian music in a digital world.
This article continues to explain SOCAN’s advocacy efforts to reform the Broadcasting Act. The previous articles in this series can be read here and here.
If the Broadcasting Act is reformed to extend to online broadcasting undertakings, what does that do for SOCAN songwriters and composers? Let’s take the best-case scenario that distributions from online broadcasters match the distributions from traditional broadcasters.
As you’ll recall from our previous two articles, for every dollar collected from traditional broadcasters, around 34 cents are distributed to SOCAN songwriter and composer members, whereas for every dollar collected from digital broadcasters, only around 10 cents remain in Canada.
Below is a chart setting out the actual distributions from online broadcasters to SOCAN songwriter and composer members, and the hypothetical distribution if online broadcasters matched the distribution percentage of traditional broadcasters.
From this chart we see that SOCAN songwriter and composer members received $11.8M in royalties from 2015 to 2020, but they would have received $39.8M in royalties (around 337% more) if digital broadcasting undertakings operated under the same regulatory regime as traditional broadcasting undertakings.
Granted, this hypothetical has its flaws. Traditional broadcasters generally “push” content out to consumers. In contrast, digital broadcasters are often interactive, don’t follow a fixed schedule, and allow consumers to “pull” content on-demand. With such different business models, it may not be possible or advisable to regulate digital services in the same way as traditional services.
But that doesn’t mean these services cannot be regulated. Without broadcasting regulations, Canadian songwriters and composers face an existential crisis when a key revenue stream – performing rights royalties – decreases up to 69% in the transition from traditional to digital sources.
Photo by Bryan Adams. Left to right/De gauche à droite : Jim Vallance, Bryan Adams
Bryan Adams, Jim Vallance to be Inducted into Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame
Story by Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame / Panthéon des auteurs et compositeurs canadiens | Wednesday March 9th, 2022
On the eve of his 15th studio album, countless Billboard hits, and an illustrious career that spans more than four decades, Canadian rock superstar Bryan Adams has solidified his rank as one of the world’s most successful musicians of all time – and newest Inductee to the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame (CSHF). The CSHF is also pleased to announce that Jim Vallance will be inducted as a songwriter, best known for churning out hits with Adams, he has an equally enviable catalogue of classics written for the likes of Anne Murray, Rick Springfield, Joan Jett, Glass Tiger, and Heart’s “What About Love,” which was inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2021.
“I’m delighted to see Jim Vallance get the acknowledgement he deserves, he’s a masterful songwriter and an incredible musician,” said Adams.
“It’s a thrill to see my name added to the list of songwriters I idolised when I was starting out 50 years ago, and who I still idolise today – Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, and Robbie Robertson, among others – and I’m especially pleased to be inducted along with my friend and songwriting partner Bryan Adams,” said Jim Vallance.
Having pivoted to virtual induction presentations over the past two years, the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame is excited to announce the return of its in-person gala, with presenting partner El Mocambo, that will take place at Toronto’s Massey Hall on Saturday, Sept. 24, 2022. The bilingual live show will honour Adams, Vallance, and the rest of the class of 2022 inductees, with tributes and performances from fellow Canadian and international stars and recording artists.
“The collaboration between Bryan Adams and Jim Vallance is one of the most prolific music partnerships in Canadian rock history, and we’re so pleased to honour them distinctively for their incredible talent and craft as songwriters,” says Stan Meissner, Board Chairman, CSHF. “Today’s announcement kicks off what will be an incredible year for the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame, as we get ready to celebrate the return of our live gala. Music has helped many of us through the past few challenging years, and we can’t wait gather once again as a community to share in the joy and universal connection of storytelling through songs.”
It was a chance meeting with Jim Vallance at a music store in Vancouver that would launch his solo career – and a lifelong friendship and collaboration. “It was an incredible ascension from having to borrow bus fare, to having hit records. It was also the first time I’d ever eaten boiled cauliflower.” says Adams. Vallance also recalls, “Right from the first day I was impressed with Bryan. It was obvious he had enormous talent coupled with extraordinary drive.”
1983’s Cuts Like a Knife roared onto the scene with singles including “Straight from the Heart” and “This Time,” garnering JUNO Awards for Best Male Vocalist for Adams, and Composer of the Year for Adams and Vallance. The follow up Reckless album reached No. 1 on the Billboard and Canadian album charts, yielding another string of Adams-Vallance hits, including the duo’s first Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 single, “Heaven”; the SOCAN Classic and No. 1 Mainstream Rock track, “Run to You”; and all-time favourite, the nostalgic “Summer of ’69.”
Adams’ songwriting includes 1991’s “(Everything I Do) I Do It For You” (written with Robert “Mutt” Lange and Michael Kamen), which won a Grammy Award for Best Song Written for Motion Picture. The song is among countless No. 1 hits by Adams, including “Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman,” “All for Love,” “Please Forgive Me,” “Don’t Give Up,” “Can’t Stop This Thing We Started,” “Thought I’d Died and Gone to Heaven,” and “Let’s Make a Night to Remember.” Many of his songs have been in feature films, garnering him three Academy Award nominations and five Golden Globe nominations throughout his career.
While continuing to collaborate with Adams, Vallance became a coveted producer and songwriter for some of music’s biggest icons, including Ozzy Osborne, Aerosmith, and The Go-Go’s, making him one of the best in the industry for his ability to pen hit songs across the entire music spectrum, from country to hard rock.
In 2018, Adams and Vallance reunited to collaborate on the music and lyrics for Pretty Woman – The Musical, that made its record-breaking Broadway run and is now touring around the globe. Meanwhile, Adams is getting ready to release his 15th studio album So Happy It Hurts on March 11, 2022, and will be embarking on a world tour this year. Just ahead of that release, Adams has also just released his own versions of the songs from Pretty Woman – The Musical.
Adams and Vallance will be honoured during the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame Gala planned for Sept. 24, 2022, at Toronto’s iconic and newly renovated Massey Hall. Additional Inductees and details for the gala will be announced in the coming months.
For more information about the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame go to www.cshf.ca.
