BAYLA wins $20,000 Grand Prize in Canada’s Walk of Fame 2019 RBC Emerging Musician Program

Story by Howard Druckman | Tuesday November 12th, 2019

Canada’s Walk of Fame has announced Montréal-based indie-pop singer-songwriter BAYLA as the Grand Prize Winner of the 2019 Emerging Musician Program, sponsored by RBC, after submissions were received from more than 1,600 hopefuls from across Canada. BAYLA will receive a cash prize of $20,000, private studio recording time at Metalworks Studios, introductions to music industry executives, and album cover artwork design.

BAYLA was diagnosed with vocal cord dysfunction and told by doctors that she would never be able to sing. Despite that, her debut single “Turn It Around” reached Top 40 on Canadian radio charts, and peaked at No. 24 on the Billboard charts. She’s since opened shows for many popular artists, including Simple Plan, Lights, and Bif Naked. With an emphasis on self-acceptance and living life to the fullest, she says, “My music and journey as a singer-songwriter can hopefully remind listeners that they can do anything, especially if they’ve been told they can’t.”

The Second Prize Winner (with a cash prize of $6,000) is Shylo Sharity, and the three other finalists in the contest (with cash prizes of $4,000 each) are Clay and Friends, Dave Sampson, and The Sun Harmonic.

All of the winners gathered at The Great Hall in Toronto on Nov. 7, 2019, where they took part in industry mentorship sessions, and performed during the RBC Emerging Musician Showcase, which was free for the public to attend. They’re also invited to perform at Festival du Voyageur, in February 2020, as part of a new showcase in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

SOCAN is pleased to congratulate all of the winners!

Photo by Tiana Feng. Left to right/De gauche a droite: Eric Baptiste, Geneviève Côté, Nelson Minville, Michael McCarty.

Nelson Minville earns two SOCAN No. 1 Song Awards

Story by Howard Druckman | Wednesday November 13th, 2019

SOCAN was pleased and proud to present two No. 1 Song Awards to seasoned, professional Québecois lyricist and songwriter Nelson Minville, for his songs “Pour commencer,” performed by Alex Nevsky, and  “Pourquoi t’es restée,” performed by Marc Dupré.

Minville co-wrote “Pour commencer” with Fred St-Gelais, and the song is co-published by Éditions Musicor and Blu Dog Media. It scaled the peak of the Palmarès BDS on May 7, 2019.

“Pourquoi t’es restée”, co-written by Minville, Marc Dupré, and John Nathaniel, and co-published by Éditions Chansons du Suisse, Éditions Dama, and John Nathaniel Productions, reached the top of the Palmarès Correspondants on May 21, 2019.

SOCAN CEO Eric Baptiste, Chief Visual Arts & Québec Affairs Officer Geneviève Côté, and Chief Membership and Business Development Officer Michael McCarty presented the honours to Minville on Nov. 12, 2019, at the SOCAN offices in Toronto.

Entandem simplifies music licensing for thousands of Canadian businesses since July launch

Story by SOCAN | Tuesday November 12th, 2019

Canadian businesses are responding positively to a new company created to make the music licensing process more convenient. Since its launch in July 2019, Entandem, a joint venture between RE:SOUND and SOCAN, has simplified the music licensing process for a growing number of Canadian businesses – to date, a remarkable 3,300 – that use live and recorded music to help attract and keep customers, clients and employees.

So far, Entandem has collected more than $5-million in music-licensing revenue (in revenue collections from July 1, 2019 to Oct. 30, 2019), demonstrating its effectiveness in making it convenient for Canadian businesses to use music ethically, legally, and responsibly, while ensuring that the creators and owners of the music receive fair compensation for the use of their valuable work.

“The businesses we work with clearly appreciate the convenience of completing both RE:SOUND and SOCAN music licenses at once,” said Amadou Tall, Director, Entandem Licensing. “Not only is this great for business, it’s a positive development for rights holders. The fair royalties they have earned allow them to maintain and build their careers, and keep bringing us the music we love.”

By law, whether they use recorded or live music, Canadian businesses must pay for the music they use so that those who made the music can be fairly compensated. Just as restaurants pay food suppliers, and nightclubs pay for the liquor they serve to make their business better, music is an important, often vital, piece of the customer, client or employee’s overall experience.

The money collected from RE:SOUND and SOCAN music licenses through Entandem is distributed as royalties to songwriters, composers, music publishers, artists, and record labels.

Entandem simplifies the completion of both RE:SOUND and SOCAN licenses, previously managed separately by each organization, into a single, jointly-operated business comprising 35 full-time employees, whose work is an essential part of the Canadian music ecosystem. Entandem is headquartered in Toronto with a branch office in Montréal.

With Entandem, retailers, restaurants, nightclubs, fitness clubs and myriad other organizations that use music can complete their legally required music licenses in a single transaction.

Businesses seeking more information about the music licenses they may require can visit entandemlicensing.com.