Photo by Courtesy. Photo of/de Andrew Lockington

ASCAP, BMI honour SOCAN members at 2018 screen music awards

Story by Howard Druckman | Tuesday May 29th, 2018

SOCAN #ComposersWhoScore Andrew Lockington and Keith Power, and member Ed Robertson, were among the honourees at the 2018 editions of the ASCAP Screen Music Awards, held May 24 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, and the BMI Film, TV and Visual Media Awards, held May 9 at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel, both in Los Angeles.

The SOCAN member winners at the ASCAP event were:

ASCAP TOP TELEVISION SERIES
The Big Bang Theory, Ed Robertson
The Good Witch, Mchael Berec, Jack Lenz
Saving Hope, Gary Koftinoff
The Voice, Jordan Sears

ASCAP MOST PERFORMED THEMES AND UNDERSCORE
Ed Robertson

And those honoured by BMI were:

BMI FILM MUSIC AWARDS
Rampage, Andrew Lockington

BMI NETWORK TELEVISION MUSIC AWARDS
Hawaii Five-0, Keith Power
MacGyver, Keith Power

SOCAN congratulates our screen composers and theme song writers on these great achievements!

Hamilton becomes first municipality Licensed To Play with SOCAN

Story by Amal Yassir | Tuesday June 5th, 2018

The City of Hamilton is standing up for fair and legal music licensing for music creators, becoming the first Canadian municipality to receive a special SOCAN Licensed To Play designation.

After confirming that all of its city-owned recreational facilities – including community halls, swimming pools, arenas, and other recreational services – are legally licensed by SOCAN to play commercially released music, Hamilton was given a Licensed To Play designation by SOCAN. It includes a Hamilton-specific version of the emblem that more than 40,000 Canadian music-using businesses have so far received to show their support of fair compensation for music creators.

“We are proud to be the first Canadian municipality to receive the special Licensed To Play designation from SOCAN. Music is an important aspect of community, culture, and recreation activities, and can bring people from all backgrounds together through special events, festivals, fitness, and dance,” said Laura Kerr, Manager of Program Development, Recreation Division, at the City of Hamilton.

Hamilton’s vibrant music scene and music-related initiatives have made the city a popular residence for music creators, including SOCAN members, and Hamilton’s SOCAN-licensed recreational facilities set the stage for many private and public events each year where music is heard and performed.

“Hamilton is a true playground for music creation, publishing and performance,” said Hamilton-based SOCAN member, Max Kerman, of Arkells. “The SOCAN Licensed To Play designation confirms that Hamilton recognizes the hard work of music creators and publishers, and the importance of venues having a music license. To truly celebrate Canadian culture, it’s important to honour the livelihood of the thousands of songwriters, composers, music publishers, and other musicians living in the area. These administrative steps really add up for someone who works in music.”

While Hamilton is home to a diverse community of musicians, it also boasts a growing number of businesses using music as their core offering, or which offer music to improve their business. The City of Hamilton’s Planning & Economic Development Department encourages businesses to use music responsibly by becoming Licensed To Play with SOCAN.

“The City of Hamilton believes that musicians and artists are entrepreneurs and being Licensed To Play with SOCAN helps ensure that music creators and publishers are fairly compensated for their hard work. Our Music Strategy and Hamilton Music Advisory Team are focused on cultivating local music creation and talent and encouraging others to support artists via SOCAN licensing and fair payment. A lot of time and effort is invested in the creative process before you listen to the final song,” said Debbie Spence, Business Development Consultant Creative Industries, City of Hamilton.

While organizations that use music in their business are expected to abide by the law, constantly monitoring every one of Canada’s music-using businesses isn’t feasible. SOCAN works with businesses and their trade associations, as well as municipalities, to encourage them to stay up-to-date with their music licenses. Collectively, music licensing provides a major part of songwriters’, composers’, and music publishers’ livelihoods through royalties. It’s a vital aspect of Canada’s music ecosystem.

“The City of Hamilton is making a clear statement that it stands up for music rights and the need for songwriters, screen composers, and music publishers to be fairly compensated for their music,” said SOCAN Vice President of Licensing, Leslie Craig. “As the first Canadian city to receive this designation, it’s a milestone for the Hamilton music community, and the more than 150,000 songwriters, composers, and music publishers represented by SOCAN.”

Licensed To Play is a long-term program encourages businesses to show that music is an instrumental aspect of the customer experience, and that they stand up for songwriters, screen composers, and music publishers who have created the valuable music that enhances their business.

Photo by Dave Chan, of/de Mélanie Joly

SOCAN lets music ring on Parliament Hill

Story by Howard Druckman | Friday May 25th, 2018

Parliament Hill in Ottawa was abuzz in the early evening of May 22, 2018, as Minister of Canadian Heritage the Honourable Mélanie Joly, and more than 200 Members of Parliament, Senators, and government staff turned out to attend SOCAN’s fourth annual Parliamentary reception.

Rose Cousins

Rose Cousins (Photo: Dave Chan)

Held at the East Block Courtyard of The Senate, the event has become the go-to reception on Parliament Hill, where federal officials learn more about SOCAN, and enjoy music from our members.

This year Rose Cousins represented our English-speaking membership, while Andréanne A. Malette played on behalf of our Francophone community of music creators. Each performed several songs, and acknowledged the importance of SOCAN to their careers, and to those of our almost 150,000 members.
Among the SOCAN representatives who met with decision-making officials were SOCAN CEO Eric Baptiste; President and Chair of SOCAN’s Board of Directors Stan Meissner; SOCAN executives Andrew Berthoff, Geneviève Côté and Gilles Daigle; SOCAN team members Stephanie Falco and Craig Horton,; and SOCAN Board members Rosaire Archambault, Partick Curley, Glenn Morley, Marc Ouellette, Earl Rosen, and Gilles Valiquette.

The event focused on the cultural and economic impact of SOCAN members in the domestic market, and provided SOCAN with an important forum to emphasize the value that our songwriters, composers, #ComposersWhoScore, and music publishers bring to the global economy as well. The reception also allowed us to present our policy positions in an informal setting, to a wide range of politicians, decision-makers, and their advisors.

Andréanne A. Malette

Andréanne A. Malette (Photo: Dave Chan)

“We’re pleased to see that the federal government has announced, in its 2018 budget, that it will invest $5 million in the Copyright Board of Canada over next few years,” said SOCAN CEO Eric Baptiste. “We hope that these funds, dedicated to reforming the board, will lead to reduced delays in its decision-making. SOCAN is also pleased to see the House Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology embarking on a significant review of the Copyright Act, as well as the participation of the Canadian Heritage Standing Committee, who will also take part in the review. Our creator and publisher members are anxious to see progress on our much-needed copyright reform.”

Thanks at least in part to SOCAN’s formal meetings and informal conversations with her, Minister Joly has repeatedly made reference to the importance of music creators in her spoken and written comments. At the reception, she once again acknowledged the value of our members’ music and the important role that SOCAN plays in the music ecosystem.

Parliamentary Secretary of Canadian Heritage Sean Casey, Conservative Heritage Critic Peter Van Loan, NDP Heritage Critic Pierre Nantel, and Liberal Senator Terry Mercer also spoke of the important work that SOCAN does.

SOCAN’s efforts to communicate with our federal government, and the three major political parties, continue to pay off for our members.