Photo by Brad Ardley (via Zoom)

SOCAN presents No. 1 Song Award to MacKenzie Porter for “Pickup”

Story by Howard Druckman | Tuesday September 13th, 2022

SOCAN was pleased and proud to surprise MacKenzie Porter with a SOCAN No. 1 Song Award – her first – for co-writing “Pickup,” which scaled the peak the Billboard Canada Country Chart on the week of June 18, 2022.

ET Canada presented the honour on behalf of SOCAN, after conducting a brief interview during the week of the 2022 Canadian Country Music Awards in Calgary. “Pickup” was co-written by Porter, Will Bundy, and Lydia Vaughan, and is published by Warner Chappell Music Publishing Canada.

SOCAN congratulates all of the participants in the song on their chart-topping work together! The presentation takes place at the end of the video below.

Photo by courtesy/courtoisie. In-Story Photos / Photos dans l'article : Marie-Michèle Bouchard

Gémeaux Awards: SOCAN hosts panel on screen composing

Story by Marie-Michèle Bouchard | Wednesday September 14th, 2022

To support its members, the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television – Québec Chapter organized its first-ever edition of the Salon des membres des prix Gémeaux, at the Cinémathèque québécoise, in Montréal, on Sept. 13 and 14, 2022, ahead of the various galas of the 37th edition of the Gémeaux Awards. The Salon des membres is intended to be an additional platform for promoting local talent. SOCAN took this opportunity to host a panel on screen composing.

The panel was a case study on the documentary La goutte de trop, a film whose music is nominated at the 2022 Gémeaux Awards in the category of Best Original Score: Documentary, and which tackles the myth that the supply of drinking water is inexhaustible in Québec. The Chairman of SOCAN’s Board of Directors, Marc Ouellette, moderated the discussion, as did Jérémie Battaglia, director of the documentary, and Anaïs Larocque, the SOCAN member who scored Une goutte de trop. They addressed several subjects, focusing on the methodology and creative process of screen composing, especially when it comes to documentary films.

Following the panel, SOCAN hosted a cocktail reception in the private room of Bar Le Furco, to celebrate the Canadian Screen Awards nominations of the past few years. Because in-person gatherings were not possible during the past few years, the nominees of the 2020, 2021, and 2022 editions were all invited to come and celebrate their success.

Don’t miss the 2022 Gala de l’industrie des Gémeaux, hosted by Nicolas Ouellet on Thursday, Sept. 15, broadcast on radio-canada.ca and on the Facebook page of the Prix Gémeaux – this being the gala where the winners in the music categories will be announced.

The Opening Gala will take place on Sunday, Sept. 18, at 5:00 p.m. ET. It will be broadcast on ther ICI ARTV website, and will once again be hosted by Nicolas Ouellet.

The Main Gala will also take place on Sept. 18, at 8:00 p.m. ET. It will be hosted by Véronique Cloutier and will be broadcast on ICI TÉLÉ and its companion website.

Good luck to all nominated SOCAN members!

Photo by Jeff McIntosh, Canadian Press

Tenille Townes wins five honours at 2022 CCMAs, including SOCAN Songwriter Award

Story by Howard Druckman | Monday September 12th, 2022

Tenille Townes was the big winner at the 2022 Canadian Country Music Association Awards (CCMAs), where she took home five honours – for Entertainer, Female Artist, Album of the Year (for Masquerades), Single of the Year, and Songwriter of the Year (both for “Girl Who Didn’t Care”).

SOCAN presented the songwriter award to Townes and her co-writers on the song, Steph Jones and David Pramik, as the ceremonies for the 40th annual edition were held in a broadcast show, televised on Global, on Sept. 11, 2022, at the Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary, and the previous night at the Music Industry Gala Dinner & Awards.

Dallas Smith earned the Male Artist of the Year and Fans’ Choice Award, while The Reklaws celebrated their second Group or Duo of the Year honour, and Andrew Hyatt won his first-ever CCMA Award in the Rising Star category. George Fox and Randall Prescott were inducted into CCMA Hall of Fame.

On the music industry front, Anthem Entertainment earned the Music Publishing Company of the Year Award, while The Unison Fund received the Gary Slaight Music Humanitarian Award, and was announced as the recipient of a $10 million grant from the Slaight Family Foundation.

For a full list of the broadcast show award winners, click here; for the industry gala award winners, click here. SOCAN congratulates all of its members and music industry colleagues who won Canadian Country Music Awards this year!