SOCAN’s Michael McCarty to take part in “Cover Your Assets” webinar

Story by Howard Druckman | Wednesday April 8th, 2020

Michael McCarty, SOCAN’s Chief Membership & Business Development Officer, will take part in a webinar presented by online songwriter collaboration service MDIIO, Cover Your Assets, this Friday, April 10, at 12:00 p.m. PT (3:00 p.m. ET).

Joining him will be Zach Katz, former Global President of BMG Music Publishing and current CEO of Raised in Space with Scooter Braun, as well as MDIIO founder and CEO Justin Gray.

Cover Your Assets will present a live online discussion of copyright management and protection, including the importance of affiliating with a performing rights organization, registering your songs, and following the right steps when releasing your music. The participants will also talk about the various ways to monetize your music, how to ensure you’re getting paid, and whether or not you need a music publisher.

To attend the webinar, join MDIIO for free today at app.mdiio.com/signup. Once you’ve joined, you can submit your songs for feedback from your MDIIO page, and  register for the webinar by the deadline of April 9, 2020. Or e-mail brand@mdiio.com.

SOCAN Foundation’s Charlie Wall-Andrews named Trudeau Scholar

Story by Howard Druckman | Wednesday April 8th, 2020

Charlie Wall-Andrews, the Executive Director of the SOCAN Foundation (one of The SOCAN Group of Companies), has been named a Trudeau Scholar – one of only 16 announced across the country by the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation – and will immediately start on a new leadership program.

“I’m honoured to be named a Trudeau Scholar,” said Wall-Andrews, currently studying for her Ph.D. at Ryerson University, which nominated her for the honour. “It will support me in expanding my capacity of being an engaged leader in our society that is committed to making a positive impact in our community, and among the broader public.”

Wall-Andrews is also an Edmund de Rothschild Foundation Legacy Fellow; Vice-Chair of Music Canada’s Advisory Council;  and sits on the boards of WorkinCulture and Telus Community Investment. She says her three-year program as a Trudeau Scholar will help her conduct meaningful research about engaged citizens, human rights, and dignity.

She’s especially interested in prompting corporations and government to create equity, as she’s already done with the SOCAN Foundation’s groundbreaking Equity X Production mentorship program and HER Music Awards. Both projects have advanced diversity and gender balance in the Canadian music industry, and will continue to do so as annual initiatives.

Congratulations to our SOCAN colleague on this great achievement!

Photo by ciuyrtesy/courtoisie. Left to right/De gauche à droite : Abigail Lapell, Bernard Adamus, Diyet van Lieshout

Abigail Lapell, Bernard Adamus, Diyet van Lieshout win songwriting awards at 2020 CFMAs

Story by Howard Druckman | Monday April 6th, 2020

SOCAN members Abigail Lapell, Bernard Adamus, Diyet van Lieshout won the three songwriting honours at the 2020 Canadian Folk Music Awards, announced online for the first time – on Saturday, April 4, 2020 – because of self-isolation protocols in place to deal with the global coronavirus pandemic.

Abigail Lapell, earned the SOCAN-sponsored English Songwriter of the Year honour, for her album Getaway. Bernard Adamus  won French Songwriter of the Year for C’qui nous reste du Texas, while Diyet van Lieshout received the Indigenous Songwriter of the Year Award, for Diyet & the Love Soldiers.

The duo Small Glories were the big winners, taking home three awards for their album Assiniboine & the Red: Ensemble, Vocal Group, and Contemporary Album of the Year.

The CFMAs announced that it will resume its live-in-person gala in 2021, in Charlottetown, PEI – where the 2020 awards ceremony had been scheduled to take place.

For a complete list of winners, click here.