“We Met on a Monday” Video: Sage Harris’s “Best Kept Secret”

Story by Howard Druckman | Thursday July 9th, 2020

In response to the self-isolation of the COVID-19 pandemic, SOCAN took its Song Camp Mondays online in mid-April. These Virtual Song Camp Monday sessions – each one a full-day co-writing session connecting three SOCAN members at a time – has brought together participants from around the world via online meeting platforms, from the comfort of their own homes and/or home studios. To report on the phenomenon, we’re launching a new video interview series, “We Met on a Monday,” telling the stories of those SOCAN-facilitated collaborations.

First in the series are Sage Harris (the artist), Benita (the co-writer), and Jay Century (the producer), who worked together in a Virtual Song Camp Monday session to co-write “Best Kept Secret,” a song to be featured on Sage’s upcoming album, slated for release in August or September of 2020.

If you’re a SOCAN member interested in participating in a Virtual Song Camp Monday, please submit your application via the online form, here.

Photo by francoconnexion.com

A Practical Guide to developing shows in Western Canada

Story by Marie-Michèle Bouchard | Monday July 13th, 2020

Franconnexion.info and La musique francophone de l’Ouest canadien have published a practical guide for developing and booking shows in the provinces and territories of Western Canada. The guide offers anecdotes, experiences, tips, contacts, and resources to help people in the cultural sector navigate this vast territory.

Subjects covered to help readers market a show or tour include:

  • A portrait of Western Canada
  • Media coverage and promoting your shows in Western Canada
  • Planning and administration
  • The market for Francophone shows
  • The Anglophone market
  • A Checklist for how to prepare a tour of Western Canada

You can download the guide (in French only) here.

Photo by Zoom. Clockwise from top left/Dans le sens horaire à partir du haut à gauche : Jennifer Brown, Greg MacEachern, Julie Dabrousin, Steven Guilbeault, Geneviève Côté, Andrea Kokonis. Present but not not pictured/Présent mais pas illustré : Fred Lagrandeur, Brendan Parsley

SOCAN Interim CEO Jennifer Brown meets with Minister of Canadian Heritage Steven Guilbeault

Story by SOCAN | Thursday July 9th, 2020

SOCAN Interim CEO Jennifer Brown met with Minister of Canadian Heritage Steven Guilbeault via teleconference today to provide data and raise concerns on behalf of our more than 160,000 members.

“It was a pleasure to speak with Minister Guilbeault about the issues that SOCAN and our members are facing,” said Brown. “As a defender and protector of Canadian rights, SOCAN has enjoyed a successful relationship with the Canadian government, and we will continue to share information to help advance the best outcomes for Canadian culture and artists – and our members.”

Brown explained her new role, and provided an overview of SOCAN for Minister Guilbeault. She thanked him for the government’s confirmation, in April, that royalty payments won’t prevent music creators and publishers from qualifying for benefits under the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB).

Minister Guilbeault and Brown also discussed our members’ declines in revenue from concerts and traditional media in the face of the self-isolation required under the COVID-19 pandemic. She explained that while digital revenues have increased, it’s not enough to replace or significantly offset those declines, and that SOCAN has been working with industry associations to find solutions.

Also at the meeting were SOCAN’s Chief Visual Arts & Quebec Affairs officer Geneviève Côté, and SOCAN’s Chief Legal Officer & General Counsel Andrea Kokonis.

SOCAN thanks Minister Guilbeault for taking the time to meet with SOCAN, and for listening to what we have to say.