Nickelback is the eleventh best-selling musical act of all time. They’re also the second best-selling non-American group in the U.S., behind only The Beatles. Since the group debuted in 1995, they’ve sold 50 million albums. In a brief chat with us, Nickelback’s Chad Kroeger and Ryan Peake (both SOCAN members) offer young singer-songwriters their views on social media feedback, with a wisdom gleaned from years of experience.
Photo by Frédérique Ménard-Aubin
Apply now for 2023 Francouvertes
Until Nov. 10, 2022, music groups and singer-songwriters from the Canadian Francophonie and Indigenous communities are invited to submit their applications via the Francouvertes website, so that the organizers can select the 21 participants for the next edition.
L to R: Calamine, Samian
The event will take place at the Lion d’Or and Club Soda, both in Montréal, and online. From March 13 to May 15, 2023, and throughout the 11 evenings of the Francouvertes, artists will present their original songs onstage, in front of an audience which includes many music industry representatives. The spokespersons of this 27th edition are Calamine, rapper and finalist of the 25th edition, and Samian, Anishinaabe singer-songwriter.
Whatever their musical style, the Francouvertes offer participants an excellent showcase to present their songs to new audiences, the media, and various music business personnel. By participating in the Francouvertes, artists have the chance to live an experience rich in artistic and professional networking. In addition, there are opportunities for cash prizes – including the $15,000 SiriusXM scholarship award – studio time, promotional and professional support, paid performances with major broadcasters, and performances at major events.
Francouvertes is a competition that takes place in three stages: the preliminaries, the semi-finals, and the finals, totalling more than 11 nights, with three artists or groups per night. To find out more about the competition, visit francouvertes.com.
Photo by SOCAN. Clockwise from top left/dans le sens des aiguilles d'une montre, à partir du haut à gauche : Kim Temple, Jared Daniel, Victor Adeolu Oriola, Mauvey, Michaela Slinger, Camille Brereton, Amelie Patterson, Vince Digiorgio, Dee Landsberg, Olivia Street, NIMKISH, Houtan Hodania, Brayden Bell, Mustafa Fadl El Mola.
At BreakOut West 2022, SOCAN Song House inspires songwriters
For two days at the 2022 BreakOut West festival and conference in Calgary, on Sept. 28 and 29, 2022, the SOCAN Song House provided 12 member participants the opportunity to develop the craft of writing songs. The session was lead and organized on-site by SOCAN Creative Executive Houtan Hodania, and held at Studio Bell: Home of National Music Centre in Calgary.
The participating songwriters in the Song House, all from Western Canada, were:
- Olivia Street
- Brayden Bell
- Mauvey
- Cassidy Mann
- Victor Adeolu Oriola
- Amelie Patterson
- Mustafa Fadl El Mola
- Dee Landsberg
- Camille Brereton
- Jared Daniel
- Michaela Slinger
- NIMKISH
Left to right: Houtan Hodania, Holly Hudson, Charlie Wall-Andrews, Fraser Turnbull
The first day, they presented half-written songs and were given individualized feedback. They re-worked these songs and re-presented them to the group. On the second day, they were partnered up, and co-wrote with each other to come up with new songs together. At the final listening session, music publishers Kim Temple (High Priestess Publishing) and Vince Degiorgio (CYMBA Music Publishing) listened to their finished songs. All 12 SOCAN songwriters came away with new co-write connections, new songs for their repertoire, and a more comprehensive understanding of what it takes to write a hit song.
During the conference, held at the Calgary Marriott Downtown Hotel, SOCAN’s Hodania also participated in a workshop on The Business of Songwriting, while he and SOCAN Legal Counsel Fraser Turnbull both took part in another one, Rights and Royalties Revisited. The SOCAN Foundation’s Executive Director Charlie Wall-Andrews lead a session, Data to Dollars: Data Analytics for Artists, while the Foundation’s Programs and Development Co-ordinator Holly Hudson led the organization’s three-day Equity X Production Pop Up for Women, and appeared in a Meet the Funders panel.
In total, more than 585 people attended BreakOut West events, with delegates from 15 different countries. A total of 135 speakers were engaged across 50 conference sessions, and more than 950 one-on-one meetings. Attendees were able to take part in numerous networking events, making valuable contacts and establishing key business opportunities.