Photo by courtesy of/courtoisie de the Trews

The Trews, Jack de Keyzer, take first place in rock, blues at 2018 International Songwriting Competition

Story by Howard Druckman | Friday May 3rd, 2019

Jack de Keyzer

Jack de Keyzer (Photo: David McDonald)

Out of more than almost 19,000 entries from 140 countries, SOCAN members The Trews (Colin MacDonald, John-Angus MacDonald, and Jack Syperek, along with co-writer Derek Hoffman) and veteran guitarist Jack de Keyzer both earned first-place prizes at the 2018 International Songwriting Competition (ISC).

The Trews won in the rock category for their song, “Times Speeding Up,” while de Keyzer won in the blues field for “My Love Has Gone.”

Several SOCAN members earned other 2018 ISC awards, as follows:

Second  Place

  • Christian – Matt Adams (of the band West of Here), for “The Other Side”
  • Folk/Singer-Songwriter – Garrett Vandenberg, for “Stubborn Thing”

Third Place

  • Performance — Will Bowes, for “Mad at the World”
  • Teen – Sofia Kay, for “Astronomy Rose”
  • Unsigned Only – Jocelyn Alice, Jayson DeZuzio (ASCAP), Marco Borrero (ASCAP), and Sabrina Bernstein (BMI), for Alice’s “You’re the Worst”

For a complete list of 2018 winners and honorable mentions, and to hear the winning songs, visit the ISC website. SOCAN congratulates all of our winning members on their achievements!

SOCAN, Nielsen Music extend partnership, monitoring 200 more radio stations

Story by Howard Druckman | Friday May 3rd, 2019

SOCAN and global media measurement company Nielsen have extended their partnership –   maintaining Nielsen as the exclusive provider of radio airplay data from more than 500 Canadian radio stations – as the company increases coverage by adding 200 new stations in 137 new markets to its BDSradio product.

The increased monitoring will provide deeper insights into popular Christian music formats for the first time, and include additional Francophone music stations in Canada. The newly-added stations, monitored electronically 24 hours a day, include 14 Christian music ones, and 29 French-language ones.

With Nielsen BDSradio data, SOCAN members can access more detailed reporting across a wide range of platforms, for more accurate and timely data for the distribution of royalties.

“As Canada’s largest rights management organization representing songwriters, composers, and music publishers, it’s our responsibility to ensure that our nearly 160,000 members are compensated for their work,” says SOCAN CEO Eric Baptiste. “By extending our relationship with Nielsen Music, and the scope of coverage, we’re reinforcing our commitment to timely and accurate royalty payments in Canada.”

“With coverage of more than 500 stations in Canada, BDSradio now provides airplay for the long tail, including Christian and additional French language stations, to help artists get paid,” said Paul Shaver, Vice President of Entertainment for Nielsen Music. “We’re honoured to continue our 12-plus-year relationship with SOCAN, one of the leading and most respected music rights organizations in the world. Renewing our partnership with SOCAN demonstrates the power of Nielsen Music as the trusted and reliable data source for the music industry.”

In addition to monitoring radio airplay, online streaming, and music consumer behavior, Nielsen compiles data from nearly 40,000 retail outlets globally to determine what albums, singles, and music videos people are consuming, and where they’re consuming them. Nielsen’s data serves as a major source for the Billboard charts, and is widely cited as the standard for music industry measurement.

Photo by courtesy of/courtoisie de Billboard Music Awards

Drake becomes Billboard Music Awards’ most-honoured artist ever

Story by Howard Druckman | Thursday May 2nd, 2019

SOCAN member Drake won 12 awards out of 17 nominations at the 2019 edition of the Billboard Music Awards (BBMAs) on May 1, 2019, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, bringing his career total to 27 trophies – which makes him the top award winner in the almost 30-year history of the event.

Among Drake’s 2019 Awards were Top Male Artist, Top Artist, and Top Billboard 200 Album – and it was the second time that he’s won the latter two awards in the past three years.

While accepting the Top Billboard 200 album for Scorpion, Drake said he’d fulfilled his wish to make a double album, and won’t be making another one. “Thank you to everybody who gave me their time and their energy,” he said, “who stayed away from their family and their friends while we were trying to complete this.” He also added, in a reference to the April 28 episode of Game of Thrones, and while making a stabbing motion with his trophy, “Shout-out to Arya Stark for putting in that work last week, ay!”

After he won Top Artist, he said, “I just want to thank my mom for her relentless effort in my life. I want to thank my mom for all the times you drove me to piano. All the times you drove me to basketball and hockey – that clearly didn’t work out. All the times you drove me to Degrassi. No matter how long it took me to figure out what I wanted to do, you were always there to give me a ride, and now we’re on one hell of ride.”