SOCAN Awards Gala in Montréal: a Spectacular and Poignant 30th Anniversary Show

Many of the best songwriters, screen composers, music publishers and major players of the music ecosystem gathered at La Tohu in Montréal to celebrate the 30th anniversary edition of the SOCAN Awards Gala, where more than 50 trophies were presented to honour Québec’s creative talent.

Masterfully hosted by Pierre-Yves Lord, the gala opened with the presentation of four new SOCAN Classics¹ to Luc Plamondon, making him the first SOCAN member to achieve an incredible 40 SOCAN Classic Awards. Unable to attend due to engagements in Paris, he was saluted with breathtaking performances by Bruno Pelletier, France D’Amour and Martin Giroux who sang three of those classics from the musical Notre-Dame de Paris, “Belle,” “Le temps des cathédrales,” and “Vivre.”

Several Special Achievement Awards were presented during the evening, including the SOCAN Cultural Impact Award for the tremendous song “Je ne suis qu’une chanson,” written in 1979 by Diane Juster for Ginette Reno, who insisted on giving the award herself to Juster after an amazing performance of the song by Mélissa Bédard.

The exceptional composer and pianist André Gagnon received the SOCAN Lifetime Achievement Award, while Gilles Valiquette received the SOCAN Special Achievement Award for the major role he played in defending the rights of creators, notably through his 26 years of service on the SOCAN Board of Directors.

Michel Rivard, Andréanne A. Malette and Richard Séguin paid Valiquette homage by singing four of his most beloved songs, “La vie en rose,” “Met un peu de soleil,” “Quelle belle journée,” and “Je suis cool,” while a myriad of artists saluted him on the venue’s big screens.

Among the other major awards handed out throughout the evening were the SOCAN Songwriter of the Year given to Cœur de pirate, the new Non-Performing Songwriter of the Year award given to Steve Marin, creator of many 2 Frères hits, the SOCAN Screen Composer of the Year award given to the highly creative duo and couple James Gelfand & Louise Tremblay, and the SOCAN International Award, presented to Montréal’s producer duo Banx & Ranx.

The SOCAN Publisher of the Year award went to David Murphy et Cie for his contribution to the success of many talented songwriters and his positive influence in the music ecosystem.

“This 30th edition of the SOCAN Awards Gala was a snapshot of nearly 35,000 Québec-based members (out of a total of more than 160,000): touching, creative, and incredibly talented,” said SOCAN CEO Eric Baptiste. “For 30 years, SOCAN has worked tirelessly to make sure that our members are paid fair and square for their music and will continue to do so every day with passion, vigilance and enthusiasm, inspired by our members. More than ever, SOCAN is proud to play a leading role in the vibrant Québec music ecosystem and is passionate about its continuing success.”

Magnificent Performances

This year’s gala harked back to musical memories from the last three decades with the participation of ex-MusiquePlus VJs Sonia Benezra, Anne-Marie Withenshaw and Mike Gauthier and surprise performances by Johanne Blouin (“Dors Caroline”), Anick Jean (who sang the SOCAN Classics “Mimi” by Lili Fatale and Bran Van 3000‘s “Drinking in L.A.,” as well as Jean Leloup, who received three SOCAN Classic awards for “1990,” “Isabelle,” and “Cookie” and sang his magnificent song “L’oiseau-vitre” to the delight of the packed room.

Extraordinary singer Luce Dufault and the SOCAN Gala’s musical director Antoine Gratton sang Harmonium‘s “Comme un sage” and “Dixie,” respectively, during the induction of the four songwriters of this legendary band – Serge Fiori, Michel Normandeau, Louis Valois and Serge Locat – into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame, held for the first time during the SOCAN Gala.

The winners of the 2019 SOCAN Songwriting Prize (French), Tizzo, Shreez, and Soft performed their hit “On fouette,” which won them the $10,000 cash prize attached to the popular public-vote contest last summer.

Something for Everyone

In the music category awards, the Hagood Hardy went to AfrotroniX; the Prix Jan V. Matejcek Award for new classical music went to Keiko Devaux; the Country Music award went to the new phenom Matt Lang; the Electronic Music award was given to Montréal’s ambassador of the electronic scene, Marie Davidson; and there was a tie for the Hip-Hop/Rap award, which went to both incredibly popular FouKi and Alaclair Ensemble.

Popular Music and Screen Composition

A total of 10 Popular Music Awards were handed out to the songwriters and publishers of the most heard Francophone songs of 2018: “Fille de personne II,” by Hubert Lenoir; “Toutes les femmes savent danser,” by Loud, Ajust, Ruffsound, Realmind, Tim Buron & Pierre-Luc Rioux; “Prémonition,” by Cœur de pirate; “À hauteur d’hommes,” by Vincent Vallières & François Plante; “Ici et ailleurs,” by Andréanne A. Malette; “Desert Song,” by Ludovick Bourgeois & Fred St-Gelais; “Lies (v.f.),” by Domeno, Zagata & Richard Beynon; “Best I’ll never have (v.f.),” by Brandon Mig, John Nathaniel & Marianne Cossette-Bacon; “La nuit gronde,” sung by Kaïn and written by Steve Veilleux; and “Au sommet,” sung by 2 Frères and written by Steve Marin. The Anglophone Popular Music Award went to Charlotte Cardin and Jason Brando O’Farrell Ciciola for their song “Main Girl.”

The gala also saluted the incredible talent of screen composers and publishers. Among the evening’s winners were SOCAN Awards Gala regular, Anthony Rozankovic, and his publishers, Cinéflix Média Inc., and Anthem Entertainment, each receiving the Music for Television (International) award and the Television Music award – Fictional Programming for Mayday. Screen composers Jean-Phi Goncalves (Le tricheur), Scott Price (Les Gags) and Rudy Toussaint (How It’s Made) all walked away with trophies for a third consecutive year. Raymond Fabi received the award in the Youth Programming category for “Arthur,” and Anik Jean won her first Film Music award for her work in the movie “Bon Cop Bad Cop 2.”

SOCAN Licensed to Play Award

The vital contribution of the businesses and organizations licensed by SOCAN to use music ethically and legally was highlighted by awarding the Festival Western de St-Tite the SOCAN Licensed to Play Award, saluting not only the event’s incredible platform for the artists from Québec and Canada who play during the event, but also the excellent collaboration the event maintains with SOCAN’s Licensing department.

About SOCAN
SOCAN is a rights management organization that connects more than four-million music creators worldwide and more than a quarter-million businesses and individuals in Canada. Nearly 160,000 songwriters, composers, music publishers and visual artists 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 rights management, with wholly-owned companies Audiam, Dataclef and MediaNet, and co-owners with RE:SOUND of music licensing organization Entandem, SOCAN is dedicated to upholding the fundamental truths that music and visual arts have value and creators and publishers deserve fair compensation for their work. For more information: www.socan.com