Words+Interview: Sumona Roy
The brightest and talented of the Canadian music industry assembled to pay tribute to Canada’s best songwriters, composers, film and TV music scorers, lyricists and music publishers at The 27th Annual SOCAN Awards.
This year especially has been a banner year for the Canadian industry with SOCANreporting financial results of $307.8 million in total domestic and international royalties of more than 135,000 songwriter, composer and music publisher members.
As SOCAN CEO Eric Baptiste (and re-appointed Chair of CISAC) pointed out, “Canadian music creators topped many international music charts throughout 2015, and Canada’s songwriters, composers and music publishers continue to make a massive impact on domestic and world economies. We fully expect both our members and SOCAN to step even further ahead in 2016.”
SOCAN 2015 Financial Highlights:
- $276.2 million distributed to members in 2015 – a 14.7% increase over 2014.
- $62.7 million in foreign royalties identified, collected and distributed to SOCAN members whose music is played internationally on radio, television, online, on-stage and in other public performance uses – a 13.4% increase over 2014, and a 60.3% increase since 2007.
- Live music fans enabled SOCAN members to realize collectively more than $20 million for the first time in SOCAN’s history, with $21.1 million in live performance revenue brought in and distributed.
- Internet streaming revenues increased 24.4% over 2014, due to the strong growth of new and existing service providers, bringing in a total of $15.5 million for music created by SOCAN members.
- Corporate Net Expense Ratio of 9.2%, three points lower than 2014 and another record for SOCAN, among the lowest of any of the world’s major music rights organizations.
Emceed this year by best-selling author Dave Bidini (of The Rheostatics fame), SOCANpresented major achievement awards this year to Canadian music industry driving force Gary Slaight (Special Achievement Award); global phenomenon The Weeknd(International Achievement Award) and his frequent co-writer Ahmad “Belly” Balshe(Songwriters of the Year); chart-topping teen Alessia Cara (Breakout Award); and multi-platinum singer-songwriter Johnny Reid (National Achievement Award).
This year’s Cultural Impact Award was presented by Toronto Maple Leaf legend Doug Gilmour and Glass Tiger’s Alan Frew to Hockey Night in Canada theme composer Dolores Claman
Attending to receive their awards were Trevor Guthrie, who won the Dance Music Award for his song, “Summertime”; Jason Blaine and Deric Ruttan, who co-wrote Blaine’s hit song “Country Side,” which earned a SOCAN Country Music Award; Pop/Rock Music Award winners Francesco Yates, Jocelyn Alice, and Scott Helman, who won for “Better to be Loved,” “Jackpot,” and “Bungalow,” respectively; Oscar-winning film composer Mychael Danna andSan Andreas soundtrack composer Andrew Lockington, who both won for Achievements in Feature Film Music; Keith Power, who earned an International TV Series Music award for Hawaii Five-O; Ebony “WondaGurl” Oshunrinde and Bryan “Eestbound” Van Mierlo, who co-wrote the huge Travi$ Scott hit “Antidote,” which won an Urban Music Award, as did Drake’s “Hotline Bling,” co-written by Paul “Nineteen85” Jefferies; and Simon Wilcox, who won two Pop/Rock Awards, for co-writing both the Nick Jonas global hit “Jealous” and the aforementioned Scott Helman Canadian hit, “Bungalow.”
The evening also included memorable live performances from the sensational Shawn Hook, who sang his smash single “Sound of Your Heart”.
Lennon and Maisy Stella of the hit TV show Nashville also performed a medley of pop hits to a receptive lively crowd.
Crash Test Dummies frontman and creative force Brad Roberts, who performed “Mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm” and “Afternoons and Coffee Spoons,” two of his SOCAN Classics Award-winning songs of the evening; young, multi-instrumentalist and singer-songwriter Jordan Hart; and Reid, who sang a passionate version of his song, “What Love is All About.”
2016 SOCAN Awards Winners List
INTERNATIONAL ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye
NATIONAL ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Johnny Reid
SPECIAL ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Gary Slaight
CULTURAL IMPACT AWARD
Dolores Claman
Hockey Night in Canada theme
SONGWRITERS OF THE YEAR
Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye
Ahmad “Belly” Balshe
DANCE MUSIC AWARD
“Summertime”
Performed by Trevor Guthrie
Trevor Guthrie
Thomas “Tawgs” Salter
Simon Wilcox
Michael Wise
EMI Blackwood Music Canada
Sony/ATV Music Publishing Ltd.
POP/ROCK MUSIC AWARDS
“Sugar”
Performed by Maroon 5
Henry “Cirkut” Walter
Mike Posner (ASCAP)
Adam Levine (BMI)
Lukasz “Dr. Luke” Gottwald (AMRA)
Jacob Kasher Hindlin (AMRA)
Joshua “Ammo” Coleman (ASCAP)
Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd. Canada
“Jealous”
Performed by Nick Jonas
Simon Wilcox
Nick Jonas (BMI)
“Sir” Nolan Lambroza (BMI)
Peer International Canada Ltd.
Fun Cooker
peermusic Canada
“Something Big”
Performed by Shawn Mendes
Shawn Mendes
Scott Friedman (BMI)
Ido Zmishlany (BMI)
Mendes Music
Universal Music Publishing Canada
“Sound of Your Heart”
Performed by Shawn Hook
Shawn Hook
Todd Clark
Stephen “Koz” Kozmeniuk
Hyvetown Music Publishing
Arcade Songs
EMI Blackwood Music Canada Ltd.
Nyan King Music Ltd.
“Can’t Feel My Face”
Performed by The Weeknd
Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye Peter Svensson (STIM)
Max Martin (STIM)
Ali Payami (STIM)
Savan Kotecha (ASCAP)
SONGS Music Publishing
“The Hills”
Performed by The Weeknd
Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye Ahmad “Belly” Balshe
Carlo “Illangelo” Montagnese
Emmanuel “Million Dollar Mano” Nickerson (ASCAP)
Tom Raybould (PRS)
Warner Chappell Music Canada Ltd.
Sony/ATV Music Publishing Canada
CP Music Group Inc.
SONGS Music Publishing
“Hotline Bling”
Performed by Drake
Drake
Paul “Nineteen85” Jefferies
Timmy Thomas (BMI)
EMI April Music Canada Ltd
Nyan King Music Ltd.
“Earned It”
Performed by The Weeknd
Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye Ahmad “Belly” Balshe
Stephan Moccio
Jason “DaHeala” Quenneville
CP Music Group Inc.
Sing Little Penguin
SONGS Music Publishing
Universal Music Publishing Canada
Warner Chappell Music Canada Ltd.
“Better to Be Loved”
Performed by Francesco Yates
Francesco Yates
Robin Hannibal (ASCAP)
Matt Morris (BMI)
“Jackpot”
Performed by Jocelyn Alice
Jocelyn Alice
Hello Moth
“Bungalow”
Performed by Scott Helman
Scott Helman
Ron Lopata
Thomas “Tawgs” Salter
Simon Wilcox
Fun Cooker
Sony/ATV Music Publishing Canada
peermusic Canada
“Here”
Performed by Alessia Cara
Alessia Cara
Robert Gerongco
Samuel Gerongco
Terence Lam
Andrew “Pop” Wansel (BMI)
Warren “Oak” Felder (BMI)
Sebastian Kole (BMI)
Isaac Hayes (BMI)
Warner Chappell Music Canada Ltd.
Sony ATV Songs
COUNTRY MUSIC AWARDS
“Make You Mine”
Performed by High Valley
Brad Rempel
Ben Stennis (BMI)
Seth Mosley (SESAC)
“Country Side”
Performed by Jason Blaine
Jason Blaine
Deric Ruttan
Warner Chappell Music Canada Ltd.
“Raised by a Good Time”
Performed by Steven Lee Olsen
Steven Lee Olsen
Cary Barlowe (SESAC)
Chris Stevens (BMI)
Warner Chappell Music Canada Ltd.
“Upside Down”
Performed by Dean Brody
Dean Brody
Scurvy Dog Music Inc.
URBAN MUSIC AWARDS
“Hotline Bling”
Performed by Drake
Drake
Paul “Nineteen85” Jefferies
Timmy Thomas (BMI)
EMI April Music Canada Ltd
Nyan King Music Ltd.
“Antidote”
Performed by Travi$ Scott
Ebony “WondaGurl” Oshunrinde
Bryan “Eestbound” Van Mierlo
Jacques Webster (BMI)
Thomas Brenneck (BMI)
David Guy (ASCAP)
Leon Michels (BMI)
Nicholas Movshon (BMI)
Homer Steinweiss (BMI)
BMG Rights Management Canada Inc.
2015 SOCAN CLASSIC MUSIC AWARDS
“This Beat Goes On/Switchin’ To Glide”
Performed by The Kings
David “David Diamond” Broadbent
John “Mister Zero” Picard
Red Brick Music Publishing
“Let Go the Line”
Performed by Max Webster
Terry Watkinson
ole
“Your Daddy Don’t Know”
Performed by Toronto
Geoffrey Iwamoto
Michael Roth
Sony ATV Tunes
“Afternoons & Coffeespoons” & “Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm”
Performed by Crash Test Dummies
Brad Roberts
Universal Music Publishing Canada
DOMESTIC TV MUSIC AWARDS – FICTION
Republic of Doyle
James McGrath
McLevin Music Inc.
Take The Shot Productions Inc.
Murdoch Mysteries
Robert Carli
Shaftesbury
Sony/ATV Music Publishing Canada
DOMESTIC TV MUSIC AWARDS – NON-FICTION
Museum Secrets
Eric Cadesky
Nicholas Dyer
Cadesky Dyer Music Publishing
Dragons’ Den
Andrew Cash
Josh Finlayson
Elmarush Songs
DOMESTIC TV MUSIC AWARDS – ANIMATED
Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood
James Chapple
Graeme Cornies
David Kelly
Brian Pickett
Johnny Test
Ian LeFeuvre
Ari Posner
Chris Tait
Cjar Music Publishing
ole
ACHIEVEMENTS IN FEATURE FILM MUSIC
San Andreas
Andrew Lockington
Universal Music Publishing Canada
Transcendence
Mychael Danna
Fintage Publishing Canada
Alcon Sleeping Giant
ONLINE STREAMING MUSIC AWARD
“Sugar”
Performed by Maroon 5
Henry “Cirkut” Walter
Mike Posner (ASCAP)
Adam Levine (BMI)
Lukasz “Dr. Luke” Gottwald (AMRA)
Jacob Kasher Hindlin (AMRA)
Joshua “Ammo” Coleman (ASCAP)
Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd. Canada
ACHIEVEMENTS IN MADE-FOR-TV FILM MUSIC
Honor Student
Christopher Nickel
Première Bobine Musique
Music Revenue Data
William Shatner Presents: Chaos on the Bridge
Catalin Marin
INTERNATIONAL FEATURE FILM MUSIC AWARDS
Pompeii
Clinton Shorter
Journey 2: The Mysterious Island
Andrew Lockington
INTERNATIONAL TV SERIES MUSIC AWARDS
Paw Patrol
James Chapple
Graeme Cornies
David Kelly
Brian Pickett
Hawaii Five-O
Keith Power
INTERNATIONAL SONG AWARD
“The Hills”
Performed by The Weeknd
Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye Ahmad “Belly” Balshe
Carlo “Illangelo” Montagnese
Emmanuel “Million Dollar Mano” Nickerson (ASCAP)
Tom Raybould (PRS)
Warner Chappell Music Canada Ltd.
Sony/ATV Music Publishing Canada
CP Music Group Inc.
SONGS Music Publishing
MOST PERFORMED FOREIGN SONG AWARD
“Uptown Funk”
Performed by Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars
FOLK / ROOTS MUSIC AWARD
Amelia Curran
LICENSED TO PLAY AWARD
Canadian Music Week
BREAKOUT AWARDS
Alessia Cara
Tobias Jesso Jr.
HAGOOD HARDY AWARD
Robi Botos
JAN V. MATEJCEK NEW CLASSICAL MUSIC AWARD
Dinuk Wijeratne
Images courtesy of bkonthescene
