SOCAN to augment service, streamline workflows in Québec

Story by SOCAN | Thursday September 21st, 2023

SOCAN recognizes the important role that Québec music creators and publishers play in the cultural framework of Canada’s music industry, and we’re pleased to share an initiative that will prioritize the management of Québec member royalties and creative efforts, via our Montréal office.

SOCAN is activating a dedicated team that will provide end-to-end service for Québec members.

Moving forward, members based in Québec will benefit from:

  • dedicated Account Executives in the Montréal office, focusing exclusively on Québec accounts.
  • a new dedicated Account Executive Team Lead in the Montréal office, who’ll manage escalations and prioritize work, ensuring resources are deployed to complete work efficiently.
  • additional repertoire and distribution specialists in the Montréal office, dedicated to updating Québec member agreements, works, and cue sheets.
  • an efficient workflow where Account Executives and Distribution Administrators work together to resolve catalogue, statement, and royalty questions and concerns.
  • Member Service Agents that continue to be a first point of contact, answering member questions, assisting with on-boarding, and operating with the understanding and confidence that they’re able to quickly raise Québec member queries to a team dedicated to prioritizing their work.
  • the addition of a Québec-based Human Resources professional to ensure that we’re hiring and retaining employees that understand the Québec market.
  • communications and marketing content that’s developed locally for a curated experience, delivering the information most important to Québec members, telling their stories, supported by Francophone communications expertise.
  • the continued support of a dedicated Creative Team providing education, special events, craft development, networking opportunities, and one-on-one touch-points.

SOCAN continues to be accessible to all Québec members via membres@socan.com or through the call centre at 1-866-307-6226.

Our commitment to service excellence for all members is at the core of what we do. Recognizing the distinctive needs of our Québec members is one of many things we’ll do to best serve our different member communities.

 

Photo by courtesy of the JUNO Awards / courtoisie du Prix JUNO

SOCAN grieves the loss of Stan Klees

Story by Howard Druckman, including research in/y compris la recherche dans FYI Music and/et www.junoawards.com | Monday September 25th, 2023

Stan Klees, one of the most crucial and influential founders of the Canadian music ecosystem as we’ve come to know it, died in his sleep on Friday, Sept. 22, 2023, of natural causes, at the age of 91.

In 1964, Klees co-founded Canada’s first radio tip-sheet, RPM, which grew into a weekly magazine that championed Canadian artists, year in and year out. Klees (along with longtime partner Walt Grealis) was  relentlessly dedicated to Canadian music, which lead to the creation of the JUNO Awards (formerly the RPM Gold Leaf Awards) in 1971. That same year, Klees co-founded CIRPA (the Canadian Independent Record Production Association), the predecessor organization of CIMA (the Canadian Independent Music Association), to effectively represent, and advocate for, the independent sector of the Canadian music business. RPM Weekly also created the Big Country convention and the Big Country Awards, the forerunners of Canadian Country Music Week and The Canadian Country Music Awards, respectively. To assist radio programmers and artists in determining what qualified as Canadian content, Klees created the MAPL logo system, still used by Canadian labels and musicians today.

At the 2021 SOCAN Awards, Klees was among 24 visionaries recognized for the roles they played in boosting made-in-Canada content, both nationally and internationally. “To be recognized with the Guardian Award is an acknowledgment of decades of work,” said Klees in a 2021 interview with The Independent Free Press in Georgetown. “It makes me smile.”

At the 2001 SOCAN Awards, Klees (along with Grealis) received a Special Achievement Award for his essential work developing the nascent Canadian music industry. In 1995, he was inducted into the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame. Grealis died of lung cancer in 2004, and a year later, Klees accepted the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame (CSHF) Legacy Award on both their behalf.

Klees had a compelling enthusiasm, a generous spirit, and a true love for Canadian music. He’s being remembered as a mentor, a friend, and an inspiration to all who knew him, and leaves an eternal legacy in the Canadian music ecosystem. SOCAN extends its deepest condolences to his family and friends. Klees will be laid to rest at Mount Pleasant Cemetery in Toronto, alongside Walt Grealis and Lori Bruner, a former RPM Weekly colleague.

Photo by Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame / Panthéon des auteurs et compositeurs canadiens. Left to right/De gauche à droite : Michel Rivard, Marjo

Michel Rivard, Marjo, Jean Millaire to be inducted into Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame

Story by Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame / Panthéon des auteurs et compositeurs canadiens | Thursday September 21st, 2023

Michel Rivard, Marjo, and Jean Millaire will be inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame (CSHF) on Oct. 11, 2023, at Espace St-Denis in Montréal, as part of the inaugural Legends series, supported by the RBC Foundation through RBC Emerging Artists. A very limited number of tickets went on sale starting at 10:00 a.m. ET on Thursday, Sept. 21, on the venue’s website.

Sonia Benezra will host the event, where Isabelle Boulay, Lou-Adriane Cassidy, Martin Deschamps, Laurence Jalbert, Lulu Hughes, Martin Léon, Tina Leon, Elliot Maginot, Safia Nolin, and Paul Piché will perform tributes to the three inductees.

Legends is a CSHF induction series that travels across the country, putting our greatest songwriters centre stage. Inductees participate in an onstage interview moderated by host Sonia Benezra, who’ll delve into their journeys as songwriters, and the stories behind some of our nation’s biggest songs. Intimate performances from a diverse list of emerging and established artists closest to the songwriters are intermingled with the conversation, backed by a house band led by revered Musical Director Simon Godin, as well as stunning visuals.

Legends is supported by the RBC Foundation through RBC Emerging Artists, with additional support from YouTube Music, SOCAN, and the Canadian Musical Reproduction Rights Agency (CMRRA).

Michel Rivard
An author, improviser, playwright, actor, comedian, composer, and performer, whose career spans five decades, Michel Rivard is a true craftsman of words and melodies, who’s left an indelible mark on the Canadian music scene. His talents as a lyricist, composer, and singer, as well as his ability to describe the deepest and most complex emotions of the human experience, make him an indisputable pillar of our culture.

Throughout his 50-year career, this keen observer of the human condition has garnered numerous awards and honours, including 16 Félix awards, the title of Chevalier de l’Ordre national du Québec in 2005, the Prix Denise-Pelletier for his distinguished career in 2021, and the title of Compagnon de l’Ordre des arts et des lettres du Québec in 2022. Like Félix Leclerc, Gilles Vigneault, Robert Charlebois, and Jean-Pierre Ferland, Michel Rivard has helped bring “la chanson québécoise” into the modern age. His rich body of music has become part of our cultural heritage, earning him a place in the Hall of Fame of our country’s great artists.

Marjo
A true Canadian music icon, Marjo is a singer-songwriter with a powerful voice and personality. Her career, both with Corbeau and as a solo artist, is punctuated by unforgettable hits, remarkable lyrics, songs, and unforgettable stage performances, and she’s contributed significantly to shaping the world of Francophone rock.

Free-spirited, and a feminist who didn’t feel the need to declare it openly, Marjo has helped a whole generation of women to assert themselves and become empowered. As a songwriter and composer, she’s constantly sought to broaden the horizons of her art, experimenting with different genres while maintaining her roots – firmly planted in rock music. Having sold more than a million albums, and written and composed some 60 songs in her career – including several big hits, that have earned her 14 Félix awards – she not only left her mark on Canadian musical history, but also paved the way for many artists, such as Anik Jean, Marie-Chantal Toupin, and Marie-Mai. Her commitment to authenticity, power, and emotion in music and lyrics has left a lasting legacy for generations to come. Quite simply, she embodies the spirit of rock.

Jean Millaire
A gifted guitarist and brilliant composer, Jean Millaire has left an indelible mark on the Canadian music scene. His prolific career has been marked by a great sense of melody, and collaborations with numerous blues, rock, and pop artists and bands. After joining Corbeau, he became one of its creative driving forces, co-writing songs with singer-songwriter Marjo. The fusion of Millaire’s melodic riffs and Marjo’s powerful vocals is undoubtedly one of the key elements of the band’s success.

Marjo and Millaire left Corbeau in 1984 and began working together on the singer’s first solo album. Launched in 1986, Celle qui va was a resounding success on both sides of the Atlantic. This highly fruitful musical collaboration lasted several years.

Over the years, Millaire has explored diverse musical horizons and styles, and collaborated with a multitude of artists. His musical curiosity has led him to integrate jazz, blues, and folk influences into his playing, creating a rich and varied sonic signature. His mastery of the guitar, his sensibility, and his constant desire to explore have made him one of Québec’s most respected musicians.