SOCAN was pleased and proud to be one of the organizing entities for the first-ever Song & Score Week, Sept. 19-24, 2022, in Toronto, dedicated to helping songwriters and composers achieve and share their musical and career goals. Song & Score Week provided educational programming to build skills, supported industry growth, delivered opportunities to connect, and presented awards to recognize music creators.

Song & Score Week was organized collectively by the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame, Music Publishers Canada, the Screen Composers Guild of Canada, SOCAN, the SOCAN Foundation, and the Songwriters Association of Canada.

The week was jam-packed with exciting events and activities (all held at downtown Toronto’s El Mocambo, unless otherwise noted).

Indigenous Song Camp
From Sept 20-22, a dozen-odd Indigenous singer-songwriters and producers gathered at the downtown Toronto offices of Kilometre Music to write, make demo recordings of, and share new songs together.

On the Clock with Murdoch
On Wednesday, Sept. 21, award-winning screen composer Robert Carli worked with live musicians to capture the score for the latest, unreleased episode of the CBC series Murdoch Mysteries – in front of a live audience. It was a rare opportunity to experience a real scoring session for one of Canada’s top-rated series.

Scores, Songs, & Screens: Pulling Back the Curtain
Later the same day, Carli and his colleague screen composers Darren Fung, Aaron Paris, Alexandra Petkovski, and Sarah Slean discussed the various approaches and styles to composing music for the screen, and how that role now encompasses an extremely wide range of responsibilities.

Canadian Screen Music Awards (CASMAs)
That night, The Screen Composers Guild of Canada (SCGC) celebrated its first-ever Canadian Screen Music Awards (CASMAs) in a live ceremony, with the proceedings live-streamed for those unable to attend in person. Screen composers Steph Copeland and Todor Kobakov won two awards each, while other winners were Janal Bechthold & La-Nai Gabriel, Steffan Andrews, Layal Watfeh, Phil Strong, Trevor Morris, The Canadian Film Centre, and The Slaight Family Foundation. For a complete list of winners and their awards, click here.

How To Optimize Your Vocal Recordings
On Thursday, Sept. 22, Dr. Amandine Pras, Lecturer in Sound Recording and Music Production at the University of York, U.K., discussed acoustics, microphone placement, and manipulating audio files when recording vocals.

Indigenous Music Protocols: Developing Industry Standards, Guidelines, and Best Practices
Later that day, this event furthered a key mandate for the Indigenous Music Office: to gather and share best practices, and to develop, maintain, and serve as keeper of industry protocols, supporting artists and industry in ensuring appropriate protocols are both known and followed.

Songwriters Circle
That night, SiriusXM Canada presented a Songwriters Circle, featuring Fefe Dobson, Tyler Shaw, Tim Hicks, TOBi, and Ruby Waters, who shared their songs and the stories behind them.

Women In The Studio National Accelerator
On Friday, Sept. 23, Music Publishers Canada (MPC) welcomed six participants for the first day of a three-day event offering women, gender-fluid, non-binary, and gender-non-conforming participants a series of curated workshops, educational sessions, and networking opportunities with music industry leaders.

NXTGen Mixer
Later that day, Music Publishers Canada invited their new NXTGen members to Song and Score Week. NXTGen is a new MPC membership level created to foster the next generation of music publishing leaders across the country, representing all intersections of industry professionals.

David Foster Master Class
That night, David Foster – one of the most successful songwriters and record producers in history – was joined by Ralph Peer at the piano, to reflect on an illustrious songwriting and producing career.

Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame Gala
On Saturday, Sept. 24, Alanis Morissette, Bryan Adams, Jim Vallance, David Foster, and Daniel Lavoie were indicted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame, during a gala held at Massey Hall in downtown Toronto. The event was hosted by Marie-Mai, with tribute performances from Corey Hart, Chad Kroeger and Ryan Peake of Nickelback, Alessia Cara, Charlotte Cardin, Jessie Reyez, Deborah Cox, Serena Ryder, Ruby Waters, Pierre Lapointe, and more.