Photo by Marie-Michèle Bouchard

What does Cultural Impact Award-winning song mean to today’s artists?

Story by Eric Parazelli | Thursday September 13th, 2018

Loud, Hubert Lenoir, King Melrose, Patrick Norman and Jean-Olivier Bégin are all scheduled to receive at least one SOCAN Award at our upcoming SOCAN Montréal Awards Gala. As they were visiting our offices, we asked them to explain what “La Complainte du phoque en Alaska,” this year’s winner of the SOCAN Cultural Impact Award, means to them personally.

At the upcoming 2018 SOCAN Montréal Awards Gala, to be presented at Montréal’s TOHU theatre, “La Complainte du phoque en Alaska” – Michel Rivard’s hit song, first recorded by Beau Dommage – will receive the award, celebrating a song that has had a lasting impact, both at home and abroad.

Photo by Brad Ardley, of/de Michael King

SOCAN building new team to harness power of data

Story by SOCAN | Friday September 14th, 2018

The adoption of data analytics – the process of examining data to draw conclusions about the information they contain – is pervasive across almost every industry, and the music industry is no exception.

Music streaming services like Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon have contributed to a massive growth in the consumption of music globally. All of these platforms are also huge generators of data for music labels, distributors, managers, writers, and publishers, while also creating a challenge with regards to the aggregation and management of that data. Tied to this is the fact that there’s been a shift from measuring the sale of music to measuring the consumption of music, enabling artists to better understand how to retain and increase the size of their audiences.

SOCAN has recognized the importance of strategically leveraging the power of data, and our opportunity to aggregate, validate, and ultimately visualize data. This is why SOCAN recently appointed Michael King to head up a data analytics initiative across SOCAN and its associated companies.

King is establishing the Data Governance Office, responsible for effectively advancing our data-analytics capabilities, including the management, delivery, governance, stewardship, and quality control of data.

We’ll create data-governance steering and working groups to make strategic and tactical decisions, and the Data Governance Office will work closely with our legal and IT teams, as well as other critical SOCAN departments like Membership, Licensing and Distribution. The office will initially consist of a limited team of dedicated data engineers committed to advancing business intelligence and data-analytics capabilities across SOCAN.

According to Michael King, “The future of SOCAN lies in our ability to adapt and collaborate in leveraging the power of data through the Data Governance Office. We have to continually review the way in which we work, and identify more innovative ways to provide services to members and clients globally. It’s no longer good enough to accept that we can provide services the way we’ve always provided services; we have to evolve dynamically by embracing the power of data.”

Stay tuned for future developments from the SOCAN Data Governance Office, as we continue to lead the global transformation of music rights.

Photo by Jean-Charles Labarre: 17 of/de 18 recipients of/récipiendaires des bourses 2018 de la Fondation SPACQ Awards

Fondation SPACQ distributes $140,000 to 18 recipients

Story by Eric Parazelli | Wednesday September 12th, 2018

Nelson Minville, Geneviève Côté, Eric Baptiste

Nelson Minville (centre), recipient of the Prix Stéphane-Venne, flanked by SOCAN’s Geneviève Côté (left) and Eric Baptiste (right).

Four the thirteenth consecutive year, the Fondation SPACQ (Société professionnelle des auteurs et des compositeurs du Québec) presented awards to songwriters, composers, and performers at its annual gala, held Sept. 10, 2018, at the National Bank Headquarters in Montreal. Ten $10,000 grants and eight $5,000 grants were distributed to 18 recipients. The ceremony was hosted for the tenth year in a row by Louise Forestier, and attended by a large SOCAN delegation, including CEO Eric Baptiste, Geneviève Côté, Board President Marc Ouellette, Martin Lavallée, Joël Martin and Alain Lauzon. SOCAN also presented the new Stéphane Venne Lifetime Achievement Award for a non-performing songwriter to Nelson Minville.

“Thirteen years already!” said Diane Juster, President of the Fondation SPACQ. “Year after year, it’s always with renewed pleasure that Fondaton SPACQ celebrates the achievements of songwriters and composers by bringing together creators, businesspeople, major broadcasters, and other stakeholders in our cultural and musical environment. The deep changes that the music industry is undergoing, on an ongoing basis, have a major impact on the lives of our songwriters and composers. It is therefore vital that we continue to defend their interests, and put a stop to the erosion of their rights. The ongoing engagement of our partners makes it possible for the Fondation SPACQ to promote and acknowledge the immense talents of our creators.”

Here is a complete list of the 2018 award winners:

ANDRÉ “DÉDÉ” FORTIN AWARD – Presented by Stingray Musique
Emerging Artist
BEYRIES and LOUD

ANDRÉ GAGNON AWARD – Presented by Québecor
Instrumental Music
YVES LÉVEILLÉ

DIANE JUSTER AWARD – Presented by Fondation SPACQ
Outstanding Commitment to Singer-Songwriters
DAVID BUSSIÈRES

EDDY MARNAY AWARD – Presented by Productions Feeling
Emerging Artist
ANDRÉANNE A. MALLETTE and ROXANE BRUNEAU

ÉDITH BUTLER AWARD – Presented by Bell Média
Canadian Francophonie
CÉLESTE LÉVIS and RAPHAËL BUTLER

ÉVAL MANIGAT AWARD – Presented by Fondation Evenko
Emerging Artist
ÉMILE BILODEAU and HUBERT LENOIR

FRANÇOIS COUSINEAU AWARD – Presented by Cogeco
Song Music
PHILIPPE BRAULT

GILLES VIGNEAULT AWARD – Presented by National Bank
Ongoing Career
PATRICE MICHAUD

LUC PLAMONDON AWARD – Presented by ICI Musique
Lyricist
TIRE LE COYOTE

LUCILLE DUMONT AWARD – Presented by Industrielle Alliance
Lifetime Achievement Award – Performer
MARIE-MICHÈLE DESROSIERS

RICHARD GRÉGOIRE AWARD – Presented by Hydro-Québec
AV Music
MARTIN LÉON

SYLVAIN LELIÈVRE AWARD – Presented by Fiera Capital
Lifetime Achievement Award – Songwriter
JEAN LAPOINTE

ROBERT CHARLEBOIS AWARD – Presented by Power Corporation du Canada
International Outreach
MARC-ANDRÉ HAMELIN

STÉPHANE VENNE AWARD – Presented by SOCAN
Lifetime Achievement Award – Songwriter
NELSON MINVILLE

For more information, visit the Fondation SPACQ website.