Using music can be confusing. Whether you’re a film director, a content creator, or a producer for the screen, the stage, sound recordings, or web series, all music users like you now have access to a free platform to guide you through the process of integrating music to your projects, all thanks to the Professional Music Publishers Association (PMPA, and in French, APEM).

According to the association’s executive director, Jérôme Payette, PMPA’s new “Music Use Guide” fulfills a need that’s grown over the last few years, as platforms have undergone a democratization, and the number of small- and medium-sized content producers has exploded. The guide can also be used as a teaching tool for students, or the personnel of existing organizations.

“Our portal will simplify the use of music by indicating, among other things, how to clear the rights to a musical work,” says the PMPA’s coordinator of training and development, Yzabel BeauBien, who piloted the project. “It’s mainly geared toward professionals, but non-professionals will find it just as useful, because it de-mystifies copyright and the licensing process.

“If you’re looking for a specific song for your documentary, your podcast or an event, guide.apem.ca will assist you in securing what you are looking for.”

Created by APEM with the support of L’Institut national de l’image et du son and Fondation Musicaction, the guide lists all the various music uses, the rights holders, and the resources available, and includes a list of industry organizations.



SOCAN songwriters are invited to submit now for the fifth SOCAN Song House, taking place during the 2019 East Coast Music Awards: Festival & Conference, scheduled for May 1-2 in Charlottetown, P.E.I.

The 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2018 SOCAN Song House events were a resounding success. After the 2016 event, five participating songwriters undertook the inaugural ECMA Songwriters Tour, in February of 2017. The tour brought them to eight different soft-seater venues throughout the Atlantic region to showcase their own songs, as well as those written and co-written during the SOCAN Song House.

We’re excited to welcome renowned songwriter and producer Brian Howes, a winner of multiple JUNO Awards (including two for Producer of the Year), a Grammy Award with the band For King And Country, and the SOCAN International Achievement Award. Howes will lead the two-day interactive workshop, for which 12 songwriter participants from Atlantic Canada will be selected to participate – gaining valuable insight into the craft of writing a hit song. This initiative aims to help members improve their songwriting and reach new heights in their careers.

***SVP notez que tandis que Brian est Anglophone, l’AMCE et le SOCAN encourage les artistes Francophones de soumettre, étant entendu que la session aura lieu en anglais***

Songwriter participants must meet the following criteria:

  • The workshop will be best-suited to songwriters in pop and country genres.
  • Must be SOCAN members and ECMA members in good standing, based in Cape Breton, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, or Prince Edward Island.
  • Must be attending the 2019 ECMAs, and be available to participate Wednesday, May 1, and Thursday, May 2, 2019.
  • Willing to take their writing craft to the next level.

Submissions close on Wednesday, March 13, 2019 at 5:00 p.m. AST.

Complete the submission form here to be considered for the SOCAN Song House.

 



With his looming induction into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame, his upcoming EP Dreaming Time Again ready to go, and a subsequent tour booked, SOCAN caught up with our hugely successful member Corey Hart to talk about his songwriting process. Hart tells us about his autobiographical, bare-bones approach; why trying to write a hit can be “going down a rabbit hole”; and why he’s never co-written a song, thanks in part to his solo-songwriter influences.