Photo by Leon Bennett/Getty Images for/pour The Recording Academy (of/de Tobias Jesso Jr., left/à gauche); Alex Pittet (of/de Yannick Nézet-Séguin, right/ à droite)

Tobias Jesso Jr. wins inaugural Songwriter of the Year honour at 2023 Grammy Awards

Story by Howard Druckman | Monday February 6th, 2023

SOCAN member Tobias Jesso Jr. won the inaugural Songwriter of the Year, Non-Classical, honour at the 2023 Grammy Awards, held in two gala ceremonies on Feb. 5, 2023, in Los Angeles. Jesso Jr., originally from Vancouver, earned the award for co-writing songs with Harry Styles, Adele, Diplo, Orville Peck, King Princess, FKA Twigs, and Omar Apollo. He also enjoyed the distinction of contributing to songs on the Album of the Year, Harry’s House, by Harry Styles.

SOCAN member Yannick Nézet-Séguin, of Montréal, won two Grammy Awards:  One for his conducting work on Blanchard: Fire Shut Up In My Bones, which won Best Opera Recording, and one as a pianist on Voice Of Nature – The Anthropocene, which earned the prize for Best Classical Solo Vocal Album.

Drake won for Best Melodic Rap Performance, for his feature (along with Tems) on Future’s “Wait for U,” while Michael Bublé won in the Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album category, for Higher. Snarky Puppy (which includes SOCAN member Larnell Lewis) won Best Contemporary Instrumental Album, for Empire Central.

Although they didn’t win directly, many SOCAN members contributed as co-creators of Grammy-winning works.

Sevn Thomas and Boi-1da co-wrote and co-produced songs for Beyonce’s Renaissance, which won Best Dance/Electronic Album. Boi-1da also co-produced and co-wrote songs on Kendrick Lamar’s Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers, which won Best Rap Album.

SOCAN members Joey and David Landreth, of the Bros. Landreth, co-wrote “Made Up Mind,” whose cover version by Bonnie Raitt won for Best Americana Performance. On receiving the honour, Raitt thanked them “for writing this kick-ass song.” SOCAN member John Capek also co-wrote a song on Raitt’s Just Like That album,  “Blame It on Me.”

Rachael Kennedy (of L I O N C H I L D) contributed to The Kalling, by Kabaka Pyramid, which won for Best Reggae Album.

On Rosalía’s MOTOMAMI, which won Best Latin Rock or Alternative Album, Adam “Ging” Feeney (formerly known as Frank Dukes) co-produced and co-wrote “Candy” and “La Fama,” and The Weeknd also co-produced and co-wrote the latter.

Demy & Clipz (aka Étienne Gagnon and Steve Martinez-Funes), contributed to “La Corriente,” by Bad Bunny, on his album Un Verano Sin Ti, which won Album Musica Urbana.

Ron Korb is featured on flute on Sakura by Masa Takumi, which won Best Global Music Album. Korb also played on Divine Tides by Stewart Copeland (of The Police) and Ricky Kej, which won for Best Immersive Audio Album.

On Kendrick Lamar’s Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers, which won Best Rap Album, the song “Savior” contains samples of “Hypnotized,” written and performed by Tommy Paxton-Beesley (aka River Tiber).

SOCAN member Ryan Ofei is a featured performer on Kingdom Book One Deluxe, by Maverick City Music & Kirk Franklin, which won for Best Gospel Album.

SOCAN congratulates all of our winning members on these great achievements!

SOCAN advocates for our members in Online Streaming Act

Story by SOCAN | Wednesday February 8th, 2023

SOCAN CEO Jennifer Brown today sent a letter to all Members of Parliament in Canada urging them to reject an amendment to section 4.2 of Bill C-11, the Online Streaming Act, that will not support Canadian songwriters and composers in a modern digital age. The bill has been passed in the Senate, but the House of  Commons has yet to ratify it and accept the new amendment.

Here’s the text of Jennifer Brown’s letter:

SOCAN welcomes the passing in the Senate of Bill C-11, the Online Streaming Act, but urges the House of Commons to reject the amendment to clause 4.2.

Online streaming has had exponential growth over the last number of years, but Canadian songwriters and composers are not receiving their fair share of that growth. For every dollar in music licenses from Canadian TV and radio broadcasters, around 34 cents are distributed to Canadian songwriters and composers, but for every license dollar from online streaming, only 10 cents remain in Canada.

This inequity is due in large part to the fact that the foreign streaming services that have benefitted greatly from operating in Canada are not required to support or promote Canadian songs to Canadian audiences. Foreign streaming giants that benefit from unfettered access to Canadian audiences should be supporting our cultural community, and Canadian songwriters and composers. It is vital to the survival of our culture and cultural sovereignty.

Bill C-11 must remain broad so that it can adapt to future online services, whose models for delivering content are not yet known. A bill that is tailored only to services in operation today will not be flexible enough for the future of broadcasting online. The amendment to clause 4.2 jeopardizes this flexibility. We need Parliamentarians to reject this amendment.

SOCAN thanks the Minister of Canadian Heritage,  the Honourable Pablo Rodriguez, for staying true to the promise of introducing this important Bill and look forward to all parties stepping up for what’s right for Canada’s culture and economy.

Photo by courtesy of/courtoisie de Gala Dynastie

Nominees announced for 2023 edition of Gala Dynastie

Story by Eric Parazelli | Thursday February 2nd, 2023

The annual Gala Dynastie has thrived in Montréal since 2017, as it aims to reward members of Black communities who excel in the fields of music, arts and culture, and media, whose achievements and accomplishments deserve to be recognized.

This year marks the first edition of the Semaine Dynastie, culminating with two events, the Media and Culture galas. More than 100 cultural artisans and media representatives are nominated. There are two dates to save: March 30, 2023, at the Salon Urbain (media event), and April 1, 2023, at Théâtre Maisonneuve (culture event).

“Dynastie Week will be celebrated under the theme POWER, rooted in the celebration and affirmation of the legacy of great African-American thinkers, and the civil rights movement that still inspires us, to this day, to tap into our own power and recognize the unique talents and abilities we possess,” reads the event’s press release.

Nominations for awards  in the 13 culture categories were announced on Feb. 2, and below are the music-related ones:

Music Video of the Year:
Mikezup — “G.O.A.T.” featuring Connaisseur Ticaso and Enima
Pierre Kwenders — “Heartbeat”
Sarahmée — “Quand la route est longue”
Jay Jay — “Bloc Boy”
Kelly Krow — “Papo”

“World Music” Artist or Group of the Year
Pierre Kwenders
Magdala
Afrikana Soul Sister
Wesli
Kelly Krow

Anglophone Artist or Group of the Year
Maky Lavender
Odreii
Zach Zoya
Yves Jarvis
Nate Husser

Francophone Artist or Group of the Year
Corneille
Leïla Lanova
KNLO
Sarahmée
Mikezup

Artist or Group Having Achieved Outstanding Success Internationally
Dee End
Ouri
Zach Zoya
Skiifall
Corneille

Musical Breakthrough of the Year
Modlee
Chung
Naomi
Hawa B
Magi Merlin

Visit Gala Dynastie’s website for the complete list of nominations.

The event will be hosted by stand-up comedian Preach, and will be available for live viewing on the Natyf TV app, and re-broadcast on the channel on April 8, 2023, at 8:00 p.m. ET for Bell subscribers.