SOCAN celebrated Canada’s music publishers for songs that had achieved No. 1 positions on various airplay charts this year, in a presentation held Monday, Nov. 18, 2019, at SOCAN’s Toronto, Vancouver, and Los Angeles offices, during our annual publishers’ meeting and reception.

SOCAN, No. 1 Songs, awards, publishers, Adam Nathanson, Anthem Entertainment

Left to right: SOCAN’s Michael McCarty; Adam Nathanson of Anthem Entertainment; and SOCAN’s Daryl Hamilton.

SOCAN presented three awards to Anthem Entertainment, for the following songs:

  • “Feels Like That,” co-written by Jenna Walker and Stu Walker, which they performed as duo The Reklaws. The song reached No. 1 on the Nielsen BDS Country Chart on Jan. 21, 2019.
  • “You Are,” written and performed by Aaron Goodvin, which scaled the peak of the same chart on Feb. 11, 2019.
  • “Keep It Simple,” co-written by Gavin Slate, and performed by the James Barker Band, which attained the zenith of the same chart on May 27, 2019.
SOCAN, No. 1 Songs, awards, publishers, Sony/ATV, EMI, Janet Baker, David Quilico

Left to right: McCarty; Janet Baker and David Quilico of Sony/ATV; and Hamilton.

SOCAN presented two awards to Sony/ATV Music Publishing Canada, and its subsidiary EMI Music Publishing Canada, for the following songs:

  • “Lost” – written by Brad Rempel, published by Sony/ATV, and performed by High Valley – which ascended to the top spot of the same chart on April 7, 2019.
  • “Going Bad” – co-written by Drake, co-published by EMI, and performed by Meek Mill featuring Drake – which topped the Billboard Mainstream R&B/Hip Hop Chart on Mar. 16, 2019.

At the annual publishers’ meeting, before the reception, SOCAN CEO Eric Baptiste and Chief Membership and Business Development Officer Michael McCarty welcomed the publishing community. Our Financial Controller Mary Ann Fulop updated the publishers on our finances, while Manager, Media, James Leacock did the same for our Licensing Department. Offering the latest information on SOCAN’s use of technology and collection of reproduction rights royalties were Leslie Craig,  Vice President, Distribution; Tobi Akinwumi, Product Manager, Member Digital Products; and Jennifer Brown, Senior Vice President, Operations & Reproduction Rights. Also attending from SOCAN, in Toronto, were Gary Laranja, Rodney Murphy, Stephanie Kornhaber, and Stephen Taunt.

Publishers were also treated to a demonstration of the work being done by our SOCAN Group API (Application Programming Interface) partner MDIIO, presented by CEO and President Curtis J. Serna and Founder and CCO (and SOCAN songwriter) Justin Gray.

Attending the event at the Toronto office were:

  • Ross Hardy of hard Music;
  • Vicki Walters and Jennifer Beavis from BMG Rights Management Canada;
  • Amy Eligh from Arts & Crafts;
  • Steve Payne and Lauren Manley from Casablanca/Red Brick Publishing;
  • Katharine Perak of CCS Rights Management;
  • Janet Baker and David Quilico from Sony/ATV Music Publishing/EMI Music Publishing;
  • Margaret McGuffin from Music Publishers Canada;
  • Jean-Marie Barker from Counterpoint Musical Services;
  • Rachael Bestard from peermusic Canada;
  • Vivian Barclay and Bryce Seefieldt from Warner Chappell Music Canada Ltd.;
  • Gord Dimitrieff from Aporia Records;
  • Steven Saffer from Abbeywood Records;
  • Ryner and Mary Stoetzer from Maryner Muzik;
  • Adam Nathanson from Anthem Entertainment;
  • Mark Altman from Morning Music;
  • Jeff Pachman and Seigo Takeshima from Domino Publishing;
  • Debbie Rose from Shapiro Bernstein;
  • Curtis Serna and Justin Gray from MDIIO;
  • Melanie Santa Rosa from Spirit Music;
  • Jason Belo from Danyliw & Mann;
  • Steve Thomson from Backstage;
  • Bobby Anderson from BellMedia;
  • Craig Nimens from Sound Ideas;
  • Aideen O’Brien from eOne; and
  • Jean-Marie Barker from Counterpoint Musical Services

Joining via videoconference from Vancouver were Jocelyn Greenwood from Cordova Bay Publishing and Shannon Malcolm from Hyvetown, hosted by SOCAN’s Coralie Hummel, with our Ryan Maule in attendance as well. SOCAN’s Camille Mathews hosted in L.A., where the attendees were Abby North of Sonic Concierge, and Michael Eames and Rebecca Valice of PENMusic.



SOCAN members can take advantage of one free song submission when they apply for the 18th annual Independent Music Awards (IMAs). Enter in any Album, EP or Music Producer category here, and you’ll receive a free song submission coupon with your receipt, which is good for use throughout the submission period.

Self-released SOCAN members and members signed to independent labels are invited to submit their best work in more than 100 categories, until the final deadline of midnight on Friday, Jan. 31, 2020. The IMAs reward artistry and originality, and actively promote exceptional artists and releases to talent buyers, radio programmers, press, and millions of music fans worldwide.

Among the SOCAN member winners in the 2019 IMAs were Pharis and Jason Romero, in the Americana Album category, for Sweet Old Religion; Ron Korb, in the World Beat Album field, for World Café; Rosie & the Riveters, in the Social Action Song category, for “I Believe You”; and the Toronto Tabla Ensemble, in the World Traditional Song field, for “Faceoff.”

Submissions are reviewed by fans, peers, music icons, radio and festival programmers, media, Film & TV music supervisors, and bookers from venues throughout North America, Asia, Australia, and Europe. Winners and nominees can also benefit from IMA-arranged performance, distribution, and marketing opportunities – including a 12-week radio promotion campaign, and inclusion on IMA-branded streaming playlists.

Nominees will be announced in March of 2020, and winners will be revealed on June 27, 2020 during the IMA Ceremony and Indie Konference in New York City.



In an exclusive video interview with SOCAN, Jocelyn Alice talks about how she wrote her new album How Dare You, out today. The SOCAN member, celebrated songwriter, platinum-selling artist, 2016 SOCAN Pop/Rock Award winner, and SOCAN No. 1 Song Award winner also discusses the Caribbean flavour of some of the new songs; confessional songwriting with others; how songs sometimes fall right out of the air; and the differences in writing from scratch, or to a finished beat.