Photo by Marie-Michèle Bouchard

Video – ADISQ 2022: Laura Niquay’s message is getting through

Story by Eric Parazelli | Tuesday November 8th, 2022

SOCAN member Laura Niquay shone twice at the 2022 ADISQ Galas: First, at the Premier Gala on Nov. 2, where she won the first Félix for Album of the Year – Aboriginal Languages for Waska Matisiwin, and then at the televised gala on Nov. 6, in the Indigenous Artist of the Year category.

This double win took on even greater meaning during her performance alongside Claude Mckenzie, Samian, Ivan Boivin-Flamand, and Émile Bilodeau, all of whom lit up the stage, while demonstrating the evolution and richness of Québec’s indigenous musical landscape.

Niquay seemed content after winning her second Félix award, and after also winning the 2022 SOCAN Foundation TD Indigenous Songwriter Award in July of 2022, as well as three awards at the Teweikan Gala on Oct. 10, 2022.

We spoke with Niquay, who considers herself a messenger, and for whom the transfer of knowledge plays a vital role in the vitality of the indigenous music scene.

SOCAN fights for members’ rights on Parliament Hill

Story by SOCAN | Wednesday November 9th, 2022

On Oct. 25, 2022, Martin Lavallée, SOCAN’s Head of Reproduction Rights and Senior Legal Counsel, testified – on behalf of our nearly 180,000 members – at the special Senate Transport and Communications committee hearing on Bill C-11, the Online Streaming Act.

SOCAN has been advocating strongly to government, for years, about the imperative to modernize legislation for the digital era. We look forward to the full bill being passed to safeguard the future of Canada’s music industry.

Read Martin Lavallée’s full testimony here (in English and French).

Photo by Feng Jiang

SOCAN to help showcase Magi Merlin in Los Angeles

Story by Howard Druckman with files from / avec la participation de Racquel Villagante | Tuesday November 8th, 2022

Magi Merlin is the latest Montréal-based Anglophone SOCAN member scheduled for a showcase performance – on Dec. 9, 2022, at Gold Diggers in Los Angeles – as part of a monthly series co-curated by Pop Montréal’s Evan Dubinsky and SOCAN Creative Executives Sara Dendane (Montréal) and Racquel Villagante (Los Angeles). The Canadian Consulate in L.A. will, as usual, cover travel expenses, and Magi Merlin will enjoy free accommodations at the SOCAN House in L.A. during the week of her performance.

SOCAN members Aiza, Clerel, Kallitechnis, and 2022 Polaris Music Prize winner Pierre Kwenders have already benefitted from the program – enjoying the opportunity to both present their music, and network with key music ecosystem personnel, in Los Angeles. Read more about the SOCAN/Pop Montréal program in L.A. for Anglophone Montrealers here.

On Nov. 8, 2022, Magi Merlin released “DOLLA BILL,” her first collaboration with Fernie. In May of 2022, she released Gone Girl, an EP that draws on influences from ‘90s house, drum-and-bass, Motown, and acid-flecked hip-hop. Gone Girl attracted the attention of Complex, Bandcamp Daily, CBC Music, and Nylon. In the past few months, the artist has performed at The Montreal International Jazz Fest, Festival d’ Été du Québec, & the Festival du Musique Émergente; toured Europe; and played a captivating show at the Fairmount Theatre as part of POP Montréal.