SOCAN participates in Tune Up/The Bout panel co-presented by Women in Music Canada

Story by Howard Druckman, with files from/avec la participation de Racquel Villagante | Wednesday March 11th, 2020

SOCAN A&R Representative Racquel Villagante took part in a Tune Up/The Bout panel, co-presented by Women in Music Canada, at a “Monetize Your  Music” event held March 5, 2020, at The Hideout in downtown Toronto.

The gathering, also sponsored by Music Ontario and Music Publishers Canada, included a panel of royalty experts;  a presentation by the Canadian Federation of Musicians presentation; a lightning round of one-on-one Q&As with representatives of various rights organizations; and a post-event cocktail reception for networking directly.

The event drew more than 100 people, mainly artists, songwriters, producers, and their managers. The panel was moderated by Margaret McGuffin of Music Publishers Canada, and there were speakers from SOCAN, ACTRA-RACS, CONNECT Music Licensing, The Canadian Federation of Musicians, MROC, and RE:SOUND.

Attending music makers got to connect with the rights and royalties people in their corner. They learned how organizations collect royalties on their behalf when their music is publicly performed, reproduced, and synchronized, and how those companies pay them. They also were educated on how to ensure their works are properly registered with these organizations, and advocate with them, to make sure they’re getting properly paid for the use of their music.

Drake, Kaytranada, each earn three 2021 Grammy Award nominations

Story by Howard Druckman | Thursday March 12th, 2020

SOCAN members Drake and Kaytranada have each earned three nominations for the 63rd annual Grammy Awards, to be held this Sunday, Mar. 14, 2021, and broadcast live on CBS.

Drake earned all three 2021 Grammy nods for singles he released last year. “Laugh Now, Cry Later,” featuring Lil Durk, is nominated for Best Melodic Rap Performance and Best Rap Song, while Future’s video for the song “Life is Good,” featuring Drake, and co-written by SOCAN member OZ, is up for Best Music Video.

Kaytranada, who won the 2016 Polaris Music Prize, earned his first-ever Grammy nominations in three categories: Best New Artist; Best Dance Recording, for “10%,” featuring Kali Uchis; and Best Dance/Electronic Album, for his 2020 Polaris-short-listed album, Bubba, which includes contributions from SOCAN member Charlotte Day Wilson.

Other SOCAN member nominations include:

  • Lido Pimienta, Best Latin Rock or Alternative Album, for Miss Colombia
  • deadmau5, Best Remixed Recording, for “Imaginary Friends (Morgan Page Remix)”
  • The late Leonard Cohen, Best Folk Album, for Thanks for the Dance
  • Jayda G, Best Dance Recording, for “Both of Us”
  • JP Saxe, Song of the Year, for co-writing Julia Michaels’ “If the World was Ending”
  • Sam Ellis, Best Country Song, for co-writing Ingrid Andress’ “More Hearts Than Mine”

While star producer Frank Dukes wasn’t directly nominated, his work with Post Malone was associated with two nominations for the American rapper: Record of the Year for “Circles,” and Album of the Year for Hollywood’s Bleeding. Similarly, SOCAN member Kaan Güneşberk co-wrote “Circles,” which also appeared on Hollywood’s Bleeding, while BadBadNotGood’s Matthew Tavares and Seth Nyquist, aka MorMor, also contributed to the album.

Justin Bieber (ASCAP) was nominated for Best Pop Vocal Album, for Changes, which includes  songwriting and/or production contributions from SOCAN members Boi-1da, Nasri Atweh (of MAGIC!), Cvre, Nineteen85 and Daniel Daley (aka the duo DVSN), Maneesh, and Majid Al Maskati (of Majid Jordan). Atweh is also a co-writer of R&B Song of the Year nominee “Slow Down,” by Skip Marley & H.E.R.. Similarly, Toronto-based expert violinist Drew Jurecka was one of the engineer/mixers on Dua Lipa’s “Don’t Start Now,” which was nominated for Record of the Year.

Star producer Stephen “Koz” Kozmeniuk is credited for Dua Lipa’s Future Nostalgia, up for Album and Best Pop Vocal Album of the Year. Sevn Thomas produced the Giveon EP Take Time, up for R&B Album of the Year. Drummer/composer Larnell Lewis, of Snarky Puppy, is up Contemporary Instrumental Album of the Year, for the band’s Live at the Royal Albert Hall.

SOCAN congratulates our Grammy-nominated members on this huge achievement!

SOCAN mourns the loss of Laura Smith

Story by Howard Druckman | Wednesday March 11th, 2020

SOCAN mourns the loss of East Coast folk singer-songwriter, SOCAN member, and former member of the SOCAN Board of Directors Laura Smith, who died on March 7, 2020, of pancreatic cancer, at the age of 67. Smith passed away peacefully at her home in Mahone Bay, Nova Scotia, surrounded by family and friends. A GoFundMe campaign started for Smith’s care raised $45,000, nearly twice its goal, and Smith’s musical peers across the country had expressed their love and support for her.

On Feb. 28, 2020, Hugh’s Room Live in Toronto hosted a tribute to Smith, Celebrating An Icon, featuring Paul Mills, Tony McManus, Grit Laskin, Tannis Slimmon, Allison Lupton, Eve Goldberg, David Woodhead, John Sheard, and Lenny and Wendy Solomon. An all-star, sold-out tribute concert, My Bonny: Celebrating the Music of Laura Smith, at Casino Nova Scotia’s Schooner Showroom in Halifax on March 29, 2020, will go ahead as scheduled, with a lineup that includes Heather Rankin, Bruce Guthro, Lennie Gallant, Lucy MacNeil, Myles Goodwyn, and more.

Born and raised in London, Ontario, Smith made her debut on the local coffeehouse circuit. She moved to Toronto in 1975, then to Cape Breton in 1984. Her second album, B’tween the Earth and My Soul, brought her national acclaim and earned two East Coast Music Awards (for Female Artist and Album of the Year) and two JUNO nominations (for Best New Solo Artist and Best Roots and Traditional Album). In 1997, earned a Gemini Award for Best Performance in a Performing Arts Program or Series. Her 1995 single “Shade of Your Love” was one of the year’s biggest hits on adult contemporary radio stations in Canada.

An adaptation of the Scottish folk song “My Bonnie Lies over the Ocean,” which she shortened to “My Bonny,” became one of her most popular songs, and she recorded a version of it with The Chieftains on their album Fire in the Kitchen. In 2003, Smith was honoured with a Doctor of Humanities in Literature from Mount Saint Vincent University. In the 2000s, she spent two seasons onstage in Prince Edward Island, in the role of Marilla in the musical Anne & Gilbert, at the Victoria Playhouse in Victoria-by-the-Sea, and the Jubilee Theatre in Summerside, respectively. Although her career was hindered by debilitating accidents, and a resulting dependence on painkillers, Smith completed her first recording in 16 years, Everything Is Moving, in 2013.

There are plans for a memorial and wake, and SOCAN extends its deepest sympathies to Smith’s family, friends, and colleagues throughout the Canadian music community.