Welcome to the 2022 SOCAN Annual!
I feel that in 2022, SOCAN really turned a corner in recovering from the last three years, and I’ve heard from others in the global music ecosystem who feel it as well.
In 2022, we took great strides toward a full-strength return.
In 2022, the SOCAN Board of Directors led us boldly toward a full-scale comeback from the conditions imposed by the past three years, and continued to advocate for our members as strongly as possible. As always, the Board of Directors worked hard to represent the interests of our reproduction rights clients, member songwriters, composers, screen composers, and music publishers.
“Life is a Highway”
Cultural Impact Award
The Canadian Screen Awards were presented live and in-person once again in 2022, for the first time in three years.
SOCAN’s total revenue in 2022 was $483.8-million, a new record and a 16% increase over the previous year. Strong growth in digital collections coupled with the “return-to-normal” activity positively impacting General Licensing and Concert revenues were the key contributors to this solid performance.
Performing Rights Revenue
Reproduction Rights Revenue
Royalties distributed to Creators and Publishers
In 2022, SOCAN made the following changes in order to improve the end-user experiences of our members as they interact with us online in the SOCAN Member Portal:
Bryan Adams, Jim Vallance, David Foster, Alanis Morissette, and Daniel Lavoie were inducted into Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame (CSHF), in a Gala Show on Sept. 24, 2022, at Massey Hall in Toronto.
TO LEARN MORE ABOUT EACH SONG, ROLLOVERTAP EACH OF THE PHOTOS
In 2022, SOCAN Foundation focused on delivering high-calibre initiatives for SOCAN members while moving back to in-person events.
Entandem, SOCAN’s joint venture in general and concert licensing with RE:SOUND, continued working hard in 2022 to return at full strength, as we emerged from the COVID-19 pandemic.
In partnership with SOCAN and the Canadian Live Music Association (CLMA), Entandem launched AID: #ForTheLoveOfLIVE, a relief initiative in support of Canadian independently-owned and -operated live music venues in Canada.
In 2022, SOCAN made an even stronger commitment to cultivate a workplace where every voice matters, by working together to ensure that diversity, equity, inclusion, and anti-racism are positively affecting our organizational culture.
The year 2022 was a busy one. We formed the HR Committee, which includes members of the SOCAN Board of Directors and management. The Executive Team drafted and approved the Remote Work Program, and reviewed related rules and procedures. SOCAN HR hired an external company to complete an independent HR policy review, prompting necessary revisions. We began conducting interviews with Work Modern to create a High Performing Work Culture. And SOCAN staff were treated to an exclusive live performance by 2022 SOCAN Songwriting Prize winner Emily Steinwall at the SOCAN Toronto office.
Manager Success Workshops
attended by people leaders
Live Virtual Sessions
in the "My Wellness" program
Employees
attend activities in the "My Wellness" program
New Hires
including four people leaders and 72 individual contributors
Employees Use Education Assistance
taking courses or training under the program
It was great to get out and about to see so many of our stakeholders in person again, and build on those relationships during 2022. Recovery has been strong and quick. There’s still a long way to go, but it’s already looking very good.
Thanks to the commitment of our more than 280 employees, we once again grew our revenue, both domestic and international. Our strong international collections mean that we’re supporting Canadian music that the world wants to listen to, which is a great place to be.
As always, we’re keeping the four pillars of our strategic vision in mind: a Member Centric Focus; Maximizing Royalties for our members; Revolutionizing Service; and a renewed commitment to our People & Partners, that will support us moving forward.
In 2022, we distributed $360 million in performing rights royalties, which is 11 percent more than in 2021. While much of this growth was in digital, we were very happy to see concerts growing as well. For Reproduction Rights, we entered into a deal with Netflix, and have been working to expand to other audiovisual services.
We continued to improve our core services for our members by enhancing registrations, and adding new drill-downs for digital audio royalties. We also launched the CISAC harmonized cue sheet, which is a standardized international format for reporting screen use of music. With this format, cue sheets will be entered into our system automatically. We also started paying royalties on music used in TV commercials.
How we communicated with our members was extremely important, and we’ve launched different formats to reach you, and will continue to develop these methods.
Benefit to our members is at the heart of every decision and everything we do. We hope you feel our commitment.
To focus on our core work for them, SOCAN transferred our visual arts and crafts business to Copyright Visual Arts/Droit d’Auteurs Arts Visuels (COVA-DAAV), a proven leader and expert in that market. This made it the only copyright collecting agency in Canada tasked with licensing and distributing copyright royalties to the visual arts and crafts sector.
Advocating on behalf of our more than 185,000 members, SOCAN continued to welcome and amplify official government recommendations supporting Canadian content – including a provision to make it mandatory for online streaming companies to contribute to music creation and publishing, as traditional media do. In 2022, we supported this obligation as proposed in Bill C-11, which was passed by Parliament and became law on April 27, 2023.
SOCAN’s Board of Directors will always keep moving forward, as we did in 2022, for the constant benefit and progress of our members and clients.
[Tom Cochrane:] “I’ve tried to, kind of, defy following the trends of the time, and just write what’s relevant to me.
“I look at songwriting as therapy. You try to get in touch with what you want to say, and what you want to get off your chest. And if you’re really honest, and you really get in touch with that…
“And I did it, really, to an intense level with “Life is a Highway,” because I was coming back from a very rough trip in Africa. I probably had a bit of post-trauma stress disorder, from being in Mozambique, which was going through a civil war, and seeing the suffering I saw. To me, I addressed that in the song.
“And it was talking about, you can’t control what’s here and here [motions sideways], you’ve got to keep your eye on the road ahead of you, keep moving on that highway, and spread some joy along that highway. Spread that good will, and it’ll go out from there. All the people you meet, all the people you get in touch with, that’s all you can control, is what’s in front of you. If you get all caught up in this stuff [motions sideways] you’re going to crash.
“So, I think that metaphor really touched people, and I think it’s something that resonates with them. And that’s what you do, as a songwriter, as a therapist. Hopefully it resonates with yourself, and then resonates with other people. That’s what that song did, and I felt better. It was like a pep talk to myself, so it became a pep talk to a lot of other people.”
(Français) [Jay Scott] « Bonjour, ici… » [FouKi retire le micro] [rire]
Bonjour, ici Jérémy, alias Jay Scott, et… »
[FouKi] « FouKi, alias Zé-Zé-Zé ».
[Jay Scott] « Nous sommes maintenant récipiendaires une plaque numéro un pour la chanson… »
[FouKi] « “Copilote” ».
[Jay Scott] « Zé-Zé ».
[FouKi] « Aaahhh »!
[Musique]
[FouKi] « Ah, oui, l’histoire de la toune. L’histoire de la toune ».
[Jay Scott] « L’histoire de la toune. Vas-y ».
[FouKi] « Toune ».
[Jay Scott] « Yea ».
[FouKi] « L’histoire de la toune. Moi, je connais pas l’histoire de l’originale, mais je sais que un jour, Quiet Mike est arrivé avec un remix de feu de “Copilote.” Puis moi, j’ai dit, “Man, je veux rapper là-dessus.” Puis Jay Scott, ça fait vraiment longtemps que je le suis, que j’écoute sa musique, que je me suis dit, “C’est sûr qu’il va être down, let’s go, jeune man! ” Puis ça s’est fait. That’s what’s up ».
[Jay Scott] « Super! Donc, cette chanson a été composée en 2019, si je me trompe pas, tout seul dans ma chambre à coucher. Je travaillais temps plein, ce n’est pas facile la vie, on a mangé beaucoup de ramen ».
[FouKi] « Ça sentait les crottes de fromage aussi ».
[Jay Scott] « Oui, beaucoup, j’ai beaucoup de chandails blancs maintenant tâchés. Donc, faque je fais cette chanson-là, je la mets sur l’Internet, et je ressens que c’est comme ma première chanson qui commence à fonctionner, tsé, dit qu’elle a vraiment une belle essence. Puis moi, la, je reçois dans ma boîte message, un message de Michel Silencieux, un message en MP3 qui avait remixé la chanson. Là, c’est là que, écoute, à partir de là, ça l’a changé ma vie. Je me suis ramassé à Verdun dans un garde-robe chez Pops et Poolboi. Y’a toute cette belle équipe là, avec FouKi, qui s’est rajouté, on a créé la chanson “Copilote,” qui a été numéro un des centaines d’années ».
[FouKi] « Ha ha! Des centaines d’années! Des centaines d’années »! Mais, pour vrai, sincèrement, on est vraiment niaiseux à ce moment, mais merci beaucoup à la SOCAN. Merci à vous, et au public, à tout le monde qui écoute la musique. Sans vous on n’avait pas de “Copilote” ».
[Jay Scott] « Oui c’est vrai, pis merci à FouKi. C’est vraiment une chance inouïe de faire voir une chanson qui joue comme ça partout globalement au Québec, puis que qui joue sans arrêt aussi. Ça fait que ça touche, c’est ultra touchant de voir faire ça. On peut pas prédire ces trucs-là. Merci beaucoup, ça me touche énormément. Fait que, merci à tout le monde qui l’écoute. Merci à Pops, Poolboi. Merci à FouKi.
Merci à Michel Silencieux [Quiet Mike]. Merci à Septième ciel. Merci à la SOCAN. Merci à tout le monde qui font de la musique québécoise. C’est pas mal le truc le plus important, continuer d’en faire jouer partout. C’est ce qu’il faut. Puis PEACE OUT! »
[FouKi] « Brap ! »
(Français) [Soké aka Zacharie Raymond] « Mesdames et messieurs, je m’appelle Soké ».
[KNY Factory aka Yannick Rastogi] « Et je m’appelle Yannick. Et ensemble on est… »
[ensemble] « Banx and Ranx! »
[Soké] « Récipiendaire d’un prix numéro un SOCAN un pour la chanson 1 + 1, Sia et Amir. Prrrrr-aaaaaah! »
[Musique]
[KNY Factory] « C’était vraiment un remix, donc on a le morceau de Sia existait déjà sur son album Music. Je pense qu’il était l’album lié à son film. Donc, 1 + 1 était une des chansons qui était un petit peu sur l’album, qui est à juste là, en fait. »
[Soké] « C’était pas un single, quoi ».
[KNY Factory] « No, c’était pas un single, et son manager a contacté notre manager et a demandé à ce qu’on fasse un Banx & Ranx remix, parce qu’on avait déjà travaillé, en fait, des remixes pour Sia l’an passé, notamment le remix LSD, donc Labyrinth, Sia, Diplo. On avait commencé a faire « Dynamite » avant, avec Sean Paul, avant. Non, actually, non. C’était, en fait, c’était a même temps. C’était un petit peu après. On a fait donc quelques travaux avec Sia, et donc notamment sur la 1 + 1, et on est vraiment content aujourd’hui de remporter ce beau petit prix, qui va aller sur le mur. Alors, en fait, c’était, on a commencé ça, je me rappelle à ce moment-là, j’étais en Guadeloupe, Soké était à Montréal, on a commencé ça à distance, on s’est envoyé des loops etcétéra. On a commencé à build, à construire les drums de la chanson et ensuite on a envoyé les accords, etc., qu’on avait décidés à un guitariste très talentueux, qui s’appelle… »
[Soké] « L’incroyable Clément Langlois Légaré! »
[KNY Factory] « Le plus fort. Clément, gros bisous ».
[Soké] « Le plus beau et plus fort! »
[KNY Factory] « D’ailleurs Clément y’a une petite plaque comme ça qui t’attend ».
[Soké] «Si gentil! » [rire]
[KNY Factory] « Et de fil en aiguille, donc on a commencé à monter différentes versions. On a fait, donc, une version la première était la version de Sia. Ensuite on a fait la version latine avec Sofia Reyes
[Soké] Ben, d’ailleurs, c’est ça, c’était censé juste être un remix de Sia. Puis, on a tellement aimé une autre version, qu’ils ont dit « on fait un nouveau single avec ». Puis on a fait trois versions : la version originale avec Sia, version latine avec Yandel et Sofia Reyes, et la version française avec Amir. Puis, ben, on est super, super heureux avec ces décisions-là.
[KNY Factory] « Et, ben, le reste, c’est que, en fait, les remix sont sortis, La version qui a le mieux fonctionné c’est vraiment la version de Sia avec Amir, 1 + 1, que vous avez sans doute entendu en radio. Merci pour votre support, merci à la SOCAN pour le numéro un ».
[Soké] « Tu sais, quand ta grand-mère t’appelle et te dit [en voix de grand-mère], “J’ai entendu ton morceau avec Amir à la radio. Y’est tellement beau, y’est tellement fin, j’adore tellement sa musique.
Moi, là, je trouve ça incroyable, ce que vous faites” ».
[KNY Factory] [tous les deux rires] « Merci à la SOCAN! »
[Soké] « Shout out to Grandma! »
[SOCAN Editor Howard Druckman:] “Let’s talk a little bit about how you got together with the incredible rising star right now in the Nashville firmament, Mickey Guyton. How did you manage to get together with her and sing “Boys”?
[Dean Brody:] “Yeah, I heard Mickey sing on… Jimmy Allen was working with Roxanne on the Bud Stage [the Budweiser Stage venue in Toronto] – I’m starting to forget, it was so long ago. But three years ago, we had Jimmy Allen open for us on the Bud[weiser] Stage [in Toronto]. And Jimmy’s an amazing country act in the U.S. He did a duet with Mickey, and I just remember hearing her voice, going, ‘Man, she’s got a powerhouse of a voice.’ The song ‘Boys,’ the sentiment of it… I also heard she was going to have a baby boy. And so, through a couple of different relationships, we got the song in front of Mickey, and Mickey, of course, loved it, and said, ‘Yes, absolutely, I want to be part of this song.’
“And then we just kept going back and forth, like this [online]. We actually haven’t met in person yet. But we’ve talked a lot like this [online], we’ve done interviews like this [online]. She’s just a sweet, sweet person. And her star has risen so much, even since we did ‘Boys.’ She’s all over the place. I’m so happy for her. Her voice on ‘Boys,’ I think, elevated the song. If it was just me, it would just be… whatever. It might have been OK, but the way she comes in and just lends that female perspective to the lyric, and the vocal, it gives me chill bumps, for sure.”
[DZL] “That one, like, it’s crazy, ’cause I really knew that song was special from the jump. I made the beat, actually, with Akeel Henry, who’s also a Toronto guy, and Luca Mauti, both from Toronto. I made that s__t at my house. I’ve got a little home studio set-up, so I made that at the crib.
“I came out to L.A., and I was in a session with my boy Elliot Trent, who’s, like, an amazing, amazing songwriter. We penned it together. We wrote it, and as soon as we wrote that record, I knew it was special. So, as soon as we finished the session I was, like, man, I’ve got to send this to Jasmine, ’cause I just knew I already had that relationship with her, from [working on her song] ‘Pick Up Your Feelings.’ You know, from doing that vibe. So, I knew it was something special, and I knew this might be for her.
“That record relates to relationships, especially in 2022, 2023, and forward. That’s really the context of a lot of relationships, you know, there’s a lot of pain in these relationships, and a lot of, like, toxic energy. Just, people going through these back-and-forths all the time, and I think that song really speaks to the place of society, and speaks to, like, the place of where people’s relationships are right now. It’s tough. It’s tough being single, it’s tough going through break-ups, and I think people really resonated with the whole vibe of, you know, ‘Hurt Me So Good.’ It’s, kind of, the feeling of where s__t is right now.”
This is Steinwall’s first foray into songwriting; she was first recognized as an emerging composer, saxophone player, flautist, and bandleader, and has previously graced the stage as a backup singer for Alessia Cara.
“Just as a flower and the Earth are one, synergistically connected and inseparable, an artist cannot exist without the community of people from which they grow. We cannot be separated from our history or environment. This is the message I hope comes across with ‘Welcome to the Garden’,” said Steinwall. “Thank you to everyone that took the time to vote, without whom I would not have received this award. I think this is a clear indication that music grows from the ground up — its roots in community, its meaning and value in how it resonates with others. Thank you so much to SOCAN and all of the sponsors for creating this award to encourage and celebrate young songwriters.”
Each of the remaining nine nominated songs were awarded $500 for the songwriters. Those songs were:
An equivalent competition for songs in French, the Prix de la chanson SOCAN, is conducted separately, and the 2022 winner was “Secret ”, written by Hubert Lenoir, Julyan, and Félix Petit, performed by Lenoir, and published by Leclerc Lenoir Inc.
In 2017, Vancouver-based, SOCAN and JUNO Award-winning singer-songwriter Dan Mangan and Halifax-based music promoter Laura Simpson opened Side Door, an innovative three-sided marketplace for artists, hosts, and audiences to create live performances in alternative venue spaces.
Mangan and Simpson wanted to support acts without a booking agent to nonetheless have viable careers. Side Door already had a relationship with SOCAN for in-person concerts in Canada, but their pandemic pivot to globally accessible online shows complicated the payment of royalties – because of different royalty rates in each country where the concert might be viewed. After much complex technological effort, Side Door, as Mangan says, “got there, and we are totally compliant.”
Not only that, but in November of 2022, Mangan and Simpson pitched Side Door on the CBC business proposal program Dragons’ Den, and venture capitalist Arlene Dickinson backed them with a $500,000 deal to help support the company.
[Dan Mangan:] “In my early days I played a lot of house concerts, and I would come home with, like, an envelope full of cash. And I found that if you played to 30 people in a bar, you got paid with beer tickets, and if you played to 30 people in a living room, you might make, like, 600 bucks. And the difference was so incredible that when Laura and I met, we realized that we both had this shared passion for, house concerts. Basically, concerts in any kind of alternative space. There was a lot of fireworks, and we both realized that we could do something together, because we both had a shared passion for this particular area of the industry. What I’ve learned with Side Door, over and over again, is that building a platform that serves artists is very similar to building a fan base as an artist.
“There’s so many parallels between my own career, and the things that we’re experiencing, trying to lift Side Door off the ground. So much of it comes down to that core thing of, are you creating value and existential respite for people, for your listeners, or for your users, or whatever? Are you bringing something that is essential to them? And so, that’s all we’re trying to do, all the time, yeah.”
[Laura Simpson:] “Both Dan and I come from opposite sides of the coin. So, Dan is the artist, and myself on the industry and hosting side. And we both just saw these kinds of D.I.Y. shows as the greatest R.O.I. [return on investment] for artists, the most sustainable way to tour. And we wanted to make it easy for anybody to do that, so that’s where the tech platform actually got its start. [It] was to just make it possible for anyone in the world to do that, and that’s what we’re trying to go for.”
[Dan Mangan:] “We have a philosophy that if your footprint cannot be wide, let it be deep. If you can’t sell a thousand tickets, have the most unforgettable evening with 30, 40 people, and at the end of it they feel like they know you, they have a sense of you, they want you to succeed. You’ve left the footprint in that market. And so, when you come back, maybe that 40 people can be 80 people, or whatever.”
[Laura Simpson:] “We’re going for world domination, democratizing, and giving absolute control to artists to tour, wherever they want, whenever they want, and give them a way to make a sustainable living. That’s where we want to be.”
In 2022, SOCAN co-organized the first-ever Song & Score Week, in Toronto, dedicated to helping songwriters and screen 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.
Indigenous Song Camp
A dozen-odd Indigenous singer-songwriters and producers gathered at the downtown Toronto offices Kilometre Music to write, make demo recordings of, and share new songs together.
On the Clock with Murdoch
Award-winning screen composer Robert Carli worked with live musicians to capture the score for an 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
Carli and 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)
The Screen Composers Guild of Canada celebrated its first-ever Canadian Screen Music Awards in a live ceremony, 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 (now deceased), Trevor Morris, The Canadian Film Centre, and The Slaight Family Foundation.
How To Optimize Your Vocal Recordings
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
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
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
Music Publishers Canada 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
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
David Foster – one of the most successful songwriters and record producers in history – reflected on an illustrious songwriting and producing career.
Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame Gala
Alanis Morissette, Bryan Adams, Jim Vallance, David Foster, and Daniel Lavoie were inducted 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.
Twenty-twenty two was another impressive year for SOCAN’s performance.
SOCAN’s total revenue in 2022 was $483.8-million, a new record and a 16% increase over the previous year. Strong growth in digital collections coupled with the “return-to-normal” activity positively impacting General Licensing and Concert revenues were the key contributors to this solid performance. SOCAN’s expenses were $62.1-million, an increase of 13% when compared to 2021, mainly driven by “return-to-normal” expenditures and investments in various services provided including reproduction rights.
SOCAN distributed a total of $362.6-million to rightsholders in 2022, a 3% year-over year increase. This was driven primarily by increased distributions for digital services (audio and audio visual), as well as increases in traditional services (cable, TV, and radio). Increased year-over-year distributions were also noted in increased processing of international royalties from affiliated music rights organizations across the world.
SOCAN’s position as one of the top music rights organizations in the world continues. Our strength in licensing performing rights and reproduction rights, ensures that more royalties are delivered to the more than 185,000 Canadian songwriters, composers, and music publishers who we are grateful to list as SOCAN members, as well as the millions of rightsholders whom we represent in Canada via agreements with over 100 societies in over 200 countries and dependent territories.
Gala Induction Ceremony
Bryan Adams, Jim Vallance, David Foster, Alanis Morissette, and Daniel Lavoie were inducted into Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame (CSHF), in a Gala Show on Sept. 24, 2022, at Massey Hall in Toronto.
The inductees were honoured with live performances their hit songs, video tributes, and a presentation speech by someone close to them.
Olivia Rodrigo introduced Alanis Morissette, and musical highlights included an explosive version of Alanis Morisette and Glen Ballard’s “You Oughta Know” by Serena Ryder; Charlotte Cardin’s passionate reading of the Bryan Adams-Jim Vallance co-write, “Heaven”; Deborah Cox’s incredible vocal performance of David Foster’s “I Have Nothing”; and a soulful cover of Daniel Lavoie’s “Je voudrais voir New York” by Clerel.
Other artists who appeared or performed at the Gala included Jessie Reyez, Pierre Lapointe, Corey Hart, Chad Kroeger and Ryan Peake of Nickelback, Lawrence Gowan, Jim Corcoran, JP Saxe, Bruno Pelletier, Chicago’s Neil Donell, Bobby Bazini, Maurice Moore, Tafari, Divine Brown, James Baley, and Ruby Waters
[Drums and clapping] [David Foster] The three ingredients to a hit record are, the song, the song, and the song. So, to come home and be recognized for songwriting, it’s really the highest praise a musician can hope for. Thank you Canada, for being my secret weapon to success.
[Music] [Montage of CSHF Gala participants]
[Marie-Mai] What a start to our show, right? Whoo!
[Music] [Montage of CSHF Gala performers, including Deborah Cox, Clerel, Charlotte Cardin, Serena Ryder, and Bryan Adams in the audience]
[Applause]
[David Foster] By the way, this band, Lou [Pomanti, bandleader], is slammin’!
[Music] [Montage of performers, including Nickelback’s Chad Kroeger, Ruby Waters with JP Saxe, Bobby Bazini, Pierre Lapointe with Charlotte Cardin, Alessia Cara, Serena Ryder, Jessie Reyez, Marie-Mai, Chicago’s Neil Donnell, Bruno Pelletier, and Corey Hart]
[Olivia Rodrigo] The Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame! Alanis Morissette!
[Alanis Morissette] Thank you Canada. Are you kidding me? I love you so much.
[Daniel Lavoie] Une bonne chanson, c’est décidée par vous [A good song, it’s decided by you].
[Music] [Montage of performers, including JP Saxe, Marie-Mai, and Chicago’s Neil Donnell]
[Bryan Adams] And I want to acknowledge that songwriting, for me, has always been a team effort.
[Music] [Montage of performers and inductees, including David Foster, Nickelback’s Chad Kroeger, Daniel Lavoie, Serena Ryder, ]
[Applause] [Jim Vallance] I’ve been on the SOCAN Board [of Directors] for decades, and let me tell you, these people care deeply about Canadian songwriters and Canadian music.
[Music] [Montage of performers and inductees, including Mari-Mai, Corey Hart, Jessie Reyez, Nickelback’s Chad Kroeger, and Deborah Cox]
In 2022, SOCAN Foundation focused on delivering high-calibre initiatives for SOCAN members while moving back to in-person events.
The Foundation continued to administer its long-running grants, awards, and programs – including its re- opened Travel Assistance Grants.
The 2022 TD Incubator for Creative Entrepreneurship provided 25 emerging music creators with $3,000 cach in seed funding, mentorship, and participation in a progressive educational series-providing tools and resources to help turn their talents into sustainable careers.
The five recipients of the 2022 SiriusXM Black Canadian Music Awards were Adria Kain, AHI, Desarae Dee, Nonso Amadi, and Zach Zoya, each of whom received $10,000 (double last year’s amount) to support their development. SOCAN Foundation also made five Honourable Mentions, accompanied by $1,000 each, to City Fidella, Haley Smalls, Leila Day, Promise, and Shreez.
Singer-songwriters Savannah Ré and Kellylee Evans were the two $5,000 cash prize recipients of the 2022 Her Music Awards, sponsored by Bendzoogle, and designed to celebrate and support female-identifying Canadian music creators.
In partnership with SOCAN and the Canadian Live Music Association (CLMA), Entandem launched AID: #ForTheLoveOfLIVE, a relief initiative in support of Canadian independently-owned and -operated live music venues in Canada.
The initiative recognized the intrinsic and vital relationship between our members and these places where emerging musicians play. Thirty live-music rooms, with capacities of 500 or fewer, received financial assistance offered specifically to help them – because venues of this size experienced significant financial challenges because of lockdowns during the pandemic.
In 2022, SOCAN made an even stronger commitment to cultivate a workplace where every voice matters, by working together to ensure that diversity, equity, inclusion, and anti-racism are positively affecting our organizational culture.
Our work is never-ending, as we strive to learn, improve, and be better. Our imperative is to create a workplace and an environment where everyone can be themselves and do their best work.
This includes removing barriers and bias by gaining a deeper understanding of our organizational behaviours, and continuing education and training across the organization.
Learn more about SOCAN’s framework for change
In 2022, SOCAN re-connected with its Francophone members through both new and renewed initiatives.
In April of 2022, we held the inaugural edition of our brand new Kenekt Studio Song Camp. We’re pleased to have connected six Francophone singer-songwriters and three producers in our downtown Montréal studios, with the goal of fostering bold collaborations and having the participants explore new creative horizons. Nine new songs were presented to music industry experts at the end of the process, and these studio-based song camps were held monthly until the end of the year.
At our annual meeting with Francophone music publishers, SOCAN’s Chief Membership Officer, Jean-Christian Céré, spoke with members to highlight our ongoing efforts to improve the quality of our service, as well as that of our data collection and processing. He pledged that SOCAN will respond more quickly to publishers’ questions, and highlighted efforts to improve the user experience on our member portal.
We also awarded the Prix de la chanson SOCAN, and its $5,000 cash prize, to Hubert Lenoir, Julyan, and Félix Petit for Lenoir’s hit, “Secret.” “Canada is lucky to have such talented Francophone songwriters,” said SOCAN CEO Jennifer Brown. “The 10 songs nominated for the prize are emblematic of its promising future.”
Hubert Lenoir, CRi, Choses Sauvages, and Lou-Adrianne Cassidy each shared their unique advice on how to achieve a memorable live performance, as part of our video series, “The Pros.” Similarly, our “Top Secrets” video series featured SOCAN No. 1 Song Award winners FouKi with Jay Scott, and Banx & Ranx, who shared some of their methods for creating hit songs.
SOCAN personnel were also back on the scene, live and in-person, at the following events throughout Québec in 2022: