Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada

Last updated
Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada
Merger of Composers, Authors and Publishers Association of Canada, Performing Rights Organization of Canada
Headquarters Toronto, Ontario, Canada
President & Board Chair
Marc Ouellette
CEO
Jennifer Brown
Subsidiaries Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame
Website https://www.socan.com/

The Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada (SOCAN) is a Canadian nonprofit performance rights organization that represents the performing rights of more than 175,000 songwriters, composers and music publishers. [1] The organization collects license fees through a music licensing program approved by the Copyright Board of Canada. [2] [3]

Contents

The Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame and the SOCAN Foundation are divisions of SOCAN. [4] The Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame works to "honour and celebrate Canadian songwriters, and those who have dedicated their lives to the legacy of music, and to educate the public about their achievements" [5] , while the SOCAN Foundation provides awards, grant funding, and programs for Canadian musicians. [6]

Structure

SOCAN consists of a Board of Directors, an Executive Team, as well as five committees which support the Board of Directors. [7] The five committees include the Membership Committee, Reproduction Rights Committee, Risk and Audit Committee, Tariff, Licensing and Distribution Committee, and the Executive Governance Committee.

The current chair of the Board of Directors is Marc Ouellette. [8]

History

SOCAN is a result of a merger that took place in 1990 between the Composers, Authors and Publishers Association of Canada (CAPAC) and the Performing Rights Organization of Canada (PROCAN). [2]

In 2013, Front Row Insurance Brokers Inc. initiated an online musical instrument insurance program for members of various Canadian music associations, including SOCAN. [9]

In May 2016, SOCAN acquired the Seattle-based company Medianet Digital for an undisclosed amount; the organization planned to leverage the company's software and database of rights metadata to assist in the calculation and distribution of royalties for works on digital music streaming services. [10] In July 2016, SOCAN acquired Audiam, a U.S. startup created by TuneCore founder Jeff Price that specializes in managing the distribution of royalties for songs used on digital services such as YouTube, using a database of song recordings and metadata for identification. [11] [12]

In July 2018, SOCAN completed its acquisition of SODRAC, to expand their service offering to include mechanical/reproduction rights. [13]

In July 2019, SOCAN partnered with Re:Sound to launch Entandem, a single online portal to collect both copyright and neighbouring rights royalties. [14]

In September 2021, SOCAN participated in consulting the Government of Canada on the development of a copyright framework which addresses the rise of artificial intelligence. [15]

SOCAN Awards

Since 1990, SOCAN has hosted annual awards celebrating achievements made by Canadian songwriters, composers, and musicians. [16] Ceremonies are held in both Toronto and Montreal. [17] [18]

Award Categories

  • Achievement in Feature Film
  • Achievement in Made for TV Movie
  • Alternative Music
  • Anglophone Song
  • Audio-Visual Composer of the Year/Compositeur audio-visuel de l'annee
  • Chanson Revelation
  • Children's Music
  • Composer of the Year/Compositeur de l'annee
  • Country Music/Musique Country
  • Cultural Impact Award
  • Dance Music/Musique Danse
  • Domestic Animated TV Series Music
  • Domestic Film Music
  • Domestic Made for Television Film Music
  • Domestic Non-Animated Television Series Music
  • Domestic Television Music Award - Fictional Programming
  • Domestic Television Music Award - Non-Fiction Programming
  • Electronic Music
  • Film & Television Music Award
  • Folk/Roots Music
  • Global Inspiration Award
  • Gordon F. Henderson/Copyright
  • Hagood Hardy Award
  • International Achievement
  • International Film Music
  • International Folk Song
  • International Made for Television Film Music
  • International Song
  • International Television Music Award
  • International Television Series Music
  • Jan V. Matejcek New Classical Music
  • Lifetime Achievement
  • Lifetime Achievement (Film/TV)
  • Most Performed Foreign Song Award
  • Pop Music/Musique Pop
  • R&B Music/Musique R&B
  • Rap Music/Musique Rap
  • Rock Music/Musique Rock
  • National Achievement
  • News & Sports Television Programming Music
  • Online Streaming Award
  • Outstanding International Partner
  • Patron Of Music
  • SOCAN Breakout Award
  • SOCAN Classic
  • SOCAN Licensed to Play Award
  • SOCAN Salutes
  • Songwriter of the Year
  • Special Achievement
  • Urban Music
  • Wm Harold Moon

See also

References

  1. "FAQ". SOCAN. Retrieved 2025-09-09.
  2. 1 2 McIntosh, Andrew (August 29, 2013). The Canadian Encyclopedia. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved February 5, 2016.
  3. "SOCAN Celebrates 100th Year with a Record $512M in Royalties Distributed to Creators and Publishers | Billboard Canada". ca.billboard.com. Retrieved 2025-09-09.
  4. "About". SOCAN. Retrieved 2025-09-08.
  5. "Overview and History". Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame. Retrieved 2025-09-08.
  6. "About • SOCAN Foundation". SOCAN Foundation. Retrieved 2025-09-08.
  7. "Governance". SOCAN. Retrieved 2025-09-09.
  8. SOCAN. "SOCAN Members Elect 2025 Board Directors as 100th Anniversary Celebrations Continue". www.newswire.ca. Retrieved 2025-09-09.
  9. "Front Row Musical Instruments & Studio Liability Group Program | SOCAN".
  10. "SOCAN acquisition to help Canadian musicians collect royalties". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 19 August 2016.
  11. "Canada's SOCAN Acquires Digital Rights Firm Audiam". Billboard . Retrieved 19 August 2016.
  12. "Audiam Raises $2M to 'Get People Paid' for Use of their Music on YouTube". The Wall Street Journal . Retrieved 19 August 2016.
  13. "SOCAN completes acquisition of reproduction rights society SODRAC". Music Business Worldwide. 2018-07-31. Retrieved 2025-09-22 via Music Business Worldwide.
  14. "RE:SOUND and SOCAN Collaborate to Create Entandem". CISION Newswire . Retrieved 17 October 2022.
  15. Government of Canada, Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, Office of the Deputy Minister, Strategy and Innovation Policy Sector (2022-02-10). "Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada (SOCAN) (00563)". ised-isde.canada.ca. Archived from the original on 2025-04-26. Retrieved 2025-09-09.{{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  16. "Awards". SOCAN. Retrieved 2025-09-08.
  17. Press, David Friend The Canadian (2025-09-08). "Joni Mitchell, Drake among recipients at 2025 SOCAN songwriter of the year awards". Toronto Star. Retrieved 2025-09-08.
  18. "Charlotte Cardin, Kaytranada to be honoured at francophone SOCAN gala". CBC News . Apr 16, 2025.