Video: Meet Gagan Singh, SOCAN Creative Executive, Film/TV, Visual Media
Story by Howard Druckman | Saturday January 1st, 2022
Gagan Singh recently joined SOCAN, to strengthen our relationships with screen composers, along with film/television music ecosystem influencers, both in Canada and globally.
He’ll meet with screen composers to support their needs from business and creative perspectives, and develop workshops and education initiatives that will benefit and expand the knowledge areas of trends and best practices among the emerging screen composer community. He also serves as a strategic liaison between composers and industry associations.
Singh is a successful composer himself, and has sat on the Board of Directors of the Screen Composers Guild of Canada (SCGC) for the past few years, so he has a first-hand understanding of the challenges and interests of screen composers.
You can meet Gagan in the video below, and also hear from others at SOCAN about some of the many ways that we serve our #ComposersWhoScore.
Click on the image to watch the video
Photo by Benoit Rousseau
An Undying Love: R.I.P. Renée Martel
Story by Éric Parazelli | Saturday January 1st, 2022
Her biggest hit was undoubtedly “Jai un amour qui ne veut pas mourir” (freely paraphrased, undying love). Since the announcement of her death on Saturday, Dec. 18, 2021, at the age of 74, Renée Martel has been receiving an outpouring of tributes, proving that our love for her won’t die, despite the great void she leaves in her family, but also in the Québec music community, and among her fans of all generations.
Rightly so, since Martel was considered the Queen of the Québe country scene. Daughter of legendary country singer Marcel Martel and singer Noëlla Therrien, she followed in her parents’ footsteps at a very young age. Her very first stage appearance was at the age of five and for many years afterward, she joined her parents on tour everywhere. But it was as a pop singer that she began making a name for herself. Her immensely popular song “Liverpool” made her a mainstay on Jeunesse d’aujourd’hui, a Québec TV show similar to American Bandstand. She followed that up with “Je vais à Londres,” a classic late-’60s hit.
It was in the early ’70s that she began going back to her country roots. It was among her extended country music family that she would shine the brightest, and pursue an exceptional career, marked by great memorable songs — some of which she wrote the lyrics to, but always remaining extremely loyal to her frequent collaborators: Martine Pratte, Nelson Minville, Bourbon Gautier, Martine Coupal, and a few more who left their mark on her repertoire. Admired by Québec’s entire musical community, M artel wass offered songs by several other songwriters, gestures meant as a bouquet of flowers: Pierre Huet, François Guy, Pierre Flynn and Michel Rivard, to name but a few.
In 2018, she received the Lifetime Achievement Award during the SOCAN Gala. During the event, she received the honour from her own daughter, Laurence Lebel. You can re-live this touching moment below, as well as the interview she gave us immediately after leaving the stage, still overwhelmed by so much love and recognition.
To the woman whose music still resonates in the hearts of her passionate listeners, as well as those who, among the younger generation of artists, consider her an inspiration and an example of longevity to follow, thank you, Ms. Martel, for having offered us nothing less than excellence. SOCAN pays tribute to this Great Lady of Song and extends its deepest condolences to her family, friends, and all those who knew and loved her.
SOCAN strengthens reproduction rights expertise
Story by SOCAN | Saturday January 1st, 2022
Nicole Pratt has joined SOCAN in the newly created role of Vice President, Reproduction Rights Operations, as part of a new, distinct, strategic team of 15 experts at SOCAN, dedicated to reproduction rights.
Reporting to Martin Lavallée, Head of Reproduction Rights and Senior Legal Counsel, Pratt brings more than 13 years as a reproduction rights professional, and more than 20 years of client relations experience, to SOCAN. She’s an experienced project manager who recently successfully delivered and implemented a new Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system to improve business interaction with clients, oversaw a large administration team, and maintained positive relations with vendors.
“Nicole Pratt’s experience with complicated data integration projects and company acquisitions, thoughtful strategic planning, and process improvement and documentation, will be great assets to SOCAN and our reproduction rights clients,” said SOCAN CEO Jennifer Brown. “Her joining the SOCAN leadership team is an important milestone in our evolution as the Canadian leader in reproduction rights. Her subject matter expertise and experience, combined with her proven ability to manage and build teams, will be greatly beneficial to us and our expanding roster of reproduction rights clients.”
Since 2018, reproduction rights development and management have become integral parts of SOCAN’s strategy. To serve our reproduction rights clients even better, and to fully appreciate the many finer details and nuances of the field, SOCAN has created the new team of 15 experts, and sharpened the company’s focus so that such dedicated expertise is present at all levels of the organization.
This enhanced commitment will enable our clients to reap the benefits of being part of a multi-rights organization with the dedication to both performing and reproduction rights service that they need. For our members and clients, this is an opportunity to maximize their royalties, as SOCAN will offer decision-making and oversight that understands the nuances of reproduction rights.
Before joining SOCAN, Nicole Pratt worked with Anthem Entertainment (previously known as ole) since 2013, most recently as Director, Administration. She was responsible for developing strategic plans and providing clear directives to her team, while leading projects and encouraging the development of client relations. Before Anthem, she was Supervisor of Royalties with the Canadian Musical Reproduction Rights Agency (CMRRA) for seven years.
