19th Annual SOCAN AWARDS

SOCAN (The Society of Composers Authors and Music Publishers of Canada) held its 19th annual SOCAN Awards Gala at the Carlu in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on November 17, 2008. The whose who of Canada's music industry came in recognition of some of Canada's most talented songwriters, composers, lyricists and music publishers at this SOCAN Awards Gala. It was hosted by film and television composer Rob Carli, country singer/songwriter George Canyon and hip-hop artist Abdominal. Abdominal who advocated cycling in his SOCAN award-winning "Pedal Pusher" single, promoted physical fitness at this Gala by doing jumping jacks - TorontoArtsandEvents wonders how many got the message? The gala kicked off with a performance by The Weakerthans, including their winning 2008 SOCAN ECHO Song writing Prize number, "Night Windows. Ron Hynes performed in a solo outing and in a duet with George Canyon of Hynes' "Sonny's Dream." Chantal Kreviazuk, Tom Cochrane, John K. Samson, Ron Hynes and Tal Bachman staged a media conference before the show, where it was revealed that Kreviazuk will have a new album out through MapleMusic in spring 2009.

SOCAN award recipients included:

Lifetime Achievement Award - country music composer, producer and recording artist Ray Griff
International Achievement Award - Nickelback, the second consecutive year
National Achievement Award - Ron Hynes

Special Achievement Award - Oscar Peterson

The Pop Music Awards category was dominated this year by Nelly Furtado (two awards), Avril Lavigne (three awards), and Chantal Kreviazuk, with Michael Bublé, Daniel Powter and David Usher taking the remaining honours.

Twenty-five songs were given SOCAN classic status for achieving 100,000 spins on Canadian radio stations. They are:

Tal Bachman — "She's So High"
Leonard Cohen — "Ain't No Cure For Love"
Amanda Marshall — "First We Take Manhattan" (written by Leonard Cohen)
Amanda Marshall — "Believe In You"
Amanda Marshall — "Love Lift Me"
Amanda Marshall — "Everybody's Got A Story"
Amanda Marshall — "Sitting On Top Of The World"
Leonard Cohen — "Suzanne"
Men Without Hats — "Pop Goes The World"
Men Without Hats — "Safety Dance"
98 Degrees — "I Do (Cherish You)" (written by Dan Hill and Keith Stegall)
Dan Hill — "Carmelia"
Dan Hill — "Never Thought"
K.D. Lang — "Constant Craving"
Frozen Ghost — "Dream Come True"
Sheriff — "When I'm With You"
Barenaked Ladies — "Jane"
Barenaked Ladies — "It's All Been Done"
Barenaked Ladies — "Pinch Me"
Barenaked Ladies — "If I Had A Million Dollars"
Barenaked Ladies — "Falling For The First Time"
Barenaked Ladies — "One Week"
Crash Test Dummies — "Superman's Song"
Bachman Turner Overdrive — "Blue Collar"
Bachman Turner Overdrive — "Roll On Down The Highway"
All of the SOCAN 2008 Award winners can be found at www.socan.ca by clicking on this page.

About SOCAN

As authorized by the Copyright Act of Canada, SOCAN (The Society of Composers Authors and Music Publishers of Canada) is the Canadian copyright collective for the communication and performance of musical works. It was created in 1990 with the merger of Canada's two previous performing rights organizations; namely, The Composers, Authors and Publishers Association of Canada and The Performing Rights Organization of Canada. It administers these rights on behalf of its members (composers, lyricists, songwriters and their publishers) and those of affiliated international organizations by licensing the use of their music in Canada. The fees collected by SOCAN are distributed as royalties to its members and to affiliated organizations throughout the world. It also distribute royalties received from those organizations to our members for the use of their music worldwide. SOCAN has offices in Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Edmonton and Dartmouth and for more information, please click here.

The SOCAN Awards were truly an inspiration to all those in the music industry. Check back here for next year's SOCAN Awards!