2018 SOCAN Awards Stand Tall with Globally Celebrated Winners

Toronto – The success of Canada’s most accomplished songwriters, composers and music publishers is being celebrated at the 29th annual SOCAN Awards on June 18 in downtown Toronto. Canadian music legends from the last 50 years will come together to celebrate with contemporary Canadian producers, writers and publishers of rap, country, rock, film & television, jazz, electronic dance, folk-roots, pop, classical and virtually every other genre of music.

Honourees will include:

• Daniel Caesar – SOCAN Breakout Artist Award winner Daniel Caesar has made waves in Canada and beyond, including two mentions in Barack Obama’s favourite songs of 2017, for his Grammy-nominated, JUNO Award-winning debut album, Freudian.
• Burton Cummings – A founding member of legendary Canadian rock band The Guess Who, whose songwriting credits include “Stand Tall,” “American Woman,” “These Eyes,” “Break It To Them Gently,” and so many others, Burton Cummings will be honoured with the SOCAN Lifetime Achievement Award, one of the music industry’s greatest accolades.
• Frank Dukes – SOCAN Songwriter of the Year. The internationally acclaimed producer’s work has been heard on countless songs with some of the world’s biggest rap and pop talents, including Drake’s “Fake Love,” Post Malone’s “Congratulations,” Camila Cabello’s global sensation “Havana,” and hits by Rihanna, Kendrick Lamar and many others.
• Sarah McLachlan – In the fight for female artists to gain recognition as box office contenders, few artists have fought harder than Sarah McLachlan. She receives SOCAN’s Global Inspiration Award in recognition of her many contributions to the music industry, profound impact on music education for Canadian youth through the non-profit Sarah McLachlan School of Music, and significant acclaim as a songwriter.
• Our Lady Peace – The Toronto-based rock band best known for their unique sound on albums like 1997’s Clumsy receive the SOCAN National Achievement Award in recognition of their massive career contributions to alternative rock music and songwriting in Canada.

“Canada is home to an incredibly talented, diverse and rapidly expanding group of music creators and publishers and we’re thrilled to celebrate them at the SOCAN Awards in Toronto,” said SOCAN CEO Eric Baptiste. “We’re honouring the global impact of lifetime careers, celebrating new contributors to the music industry and recognizing the astute and rewarding work of music publishers.”

In addition to performances by the multiple Grammy Award-winning Sarah McLachlan and Canadian music legend Burton Cummings, “The SOCANs” are expected to include live performances by celebrated JUNO Award-winning duo Dear Rouge; screen composer Steph Copeland will lead a special orchestral performance featuring Brett Kissel (who will also host the show) and The Launch and Indigenous Music Award-winner Logan Staats.

SOCAN Achievement Award winners are determined collaboratively between the SOCAN Board of Directors’ Membership Committee and the leaders of SOCAN’s Membership department.

More than 50 awards will be presented at “The SOCANs” for success in songwriting, composing, film scoring and music publishing, based on SOCAN data compiled over the last calendar year.

SOCAN Achievement Award winners receive “The SOCAN” – the world’s first and only music industry trophy that’s also a musical instrument, incorporating five custom bronze crotales, tuned this year with notes from “Stand Tall” by Cummings.

The full list of this year’s SOCAN Award winners will be released on the evening of June 18, 2018.

Sponsors of the 2018 SOCAN Awards are Gowling WLG, Crowe Soberman, Yamaha Canada Music, Recording Artists’ Collecting Society (ACTRA RACS), Hargraft, Long & McQuade, Music Canada, Ontario Media Development Corporation and Actra Fraternal Benefit Society (AFBS). Official charity partners are the Unison Benevolent Fund and the SOCAN Foundation

The SOCAN Awards have been held since 1990 as an annual show in Toronto. The annual Gala de la SOCAN in Montréal, which celebrates and honours the work of SOCAN’s Francophone members, will take place in October of this year.

About SOCAN
SOCAN connects more than four-million music creators worldwide and more than a quarter-million businesses and individuals in Canada. More than 150,000 songwriters, composers and music publishers are its direct members, and more than 100,000 organizations are Licensed To Play music across Canada. With a concerted use of progressive technology and unique data as well as a commitment to lead the global transformation of music rights, with wholly-owned companies Audiam and MediaNet, SOCAN is dedicated to upholding the fundamental truths that music has value and music creators and publishers deserve fair compensation for their work.

Media contacts:
Proof Inc (for SOCAN): Danielle Morgan, (416) 969-2658, dmorgan@getproof.com
SOCAN: Nicole Van Severen, (416) 445-8700, ext. 3460, Nicole.VanSeveren@socan.com