SOCAN members gathered on April 29, 2026, at Lumi in Calgary for the organization’s Annual General Meeting, a first in the city. The event was also live-streamed in English and French.
The meeting kicked off with remarks from SOCAN Board of Directors President and Chair Marc Ouellette, Liam Russell, Live Music Industry Relations Lead, and Matthew Gorman, principal lawyer and founder of Gorman Entertainment Law, who presented a music law masterclass that included important information about music contracts for creators.
Robert Bennett, SOCAN’s Chief Financial Officer, discussed our financial results from 2025, another record-setting year for revenue: SOCAN recorded $585 million in collections, a five percent growth over 2024.
Jennifer Brown, SOCAN CEO, discussed the continuing importance of measures to deal with generative artificial intelligence. AI is one of the most important topics in every conversation. This isn’t new for SOCAN or its members, who’ve have weathered significant technological change and adaptation together. From broadcasting to digital to streaming, SOCAN has pivoted to endure it all.
A key position for SOCAN to push forward, Brown noted, is how music creators get compensated in a world with generative AI. “We’re here to ensure you’re fairly paid when your songs are played,” she said.
AI transparency is critical. Whatever music AI companies use as generative AI inputs and outputs need to be known to music creators so they can be renumerated.
Brown spoke of the new member portal that rolled out this past year, an important tool to replace outdated systems, and operate at a high standard, with better data for music creators. The space offers members transparency about where their royalties are coming from. Key improvements for the platform have been identified and prioritized, driven largely by important member feedback, and will be implemented over the coming months.
Advocacy was integral to the 2025 SOCAN story, as told by Andrea Kokonis, Chief Legal Officer and General Counsel at SOCAN. SOCAN focused on three areas: generative AI; the modernization of Canada’s broadcasting system; and advocacy before both the Copyright Board and courts.
“Stealing isn’t innovation,” Kokonis noted. An AI ecosystem valuing human creativity is possible, but not at the cost of music creators’ work not being paid fairly or acknowledged. SOCAN has shown up in Ottawa to present our position. Other advocacy work has focused on countering the lobbying work by AI companies to introduce legal exceptions to use music for free, which we believe is wrong.
Charlie Wall-Andrews, SOCAN Foundation Executive Director, discussed the higher demand for the organization’s support for music creators. SOCAN Foundation’s programming impact is profound and important: for example, 780 new works were created through various programs and grants. The demand for SOCAN Foundation support is getting higher.
Stan Meissner, Board Chairman for the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame, spoke about the growth of the organization, and strengthening their relationship with Canadian songwriters across the country. The 2026 inductee class includes The Tragically Hip, Feist, Loverboy songwriters Mike Reno and Paul Dean, and Roch Voisine.
Finally, Cameron Kennedy, Chief Membership Officer at SOCAN, shared member highlights. SOCAN continues to drive member value with four priorities: education, connection, celebration and recognition. Craft development programs grew by 250 percent year-over-year; 90 SOCAN No. 1 Awards were presented; and song camps brought 200 members together, resulting in 200 new songs.
2026 priorities are clear and deliberate for members: adapt to the new portal, for clarity in their earnings; and deepening a targeted segmented approach with music creators.