Also this week: SOCAN acquires the Canadian Musical Reproduction Rights Agency (CMRRA).
The SOCAN Polaris Song Prize has revealed its second-ever short list.
This year’s edition features songs by Angine de Poitrine, Charlotte Cornfield, PUP, Patrick Watson & Martha Wainwright and Charlotte Day Wilson, featuring Saya Gray.
In partnership with the performing rights organization Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada (SOCAN), the winner of the Prize will receive $10,000 split between the song’s Canadian performers and the credited Canadian songwriter(s).
The recipient will be revealed alongside the Polaris Music Prize and the Slaight Family Polaris Heritage Prize at the concert and award ceremony at Massey Hall on Sept. 22, hosted by musician and broadcaster Odario Williams.
“Sometimes, a song is so powerful it stands on its own and demands to be heard, and the SOCAN Polaris Song Prize Short List honours five such unforgettable Canadian songs,” said Jennifer Brown , CEO of SOCAN.
The short list selections were whittled down from a 20-song long list that included tracks from Begonia, Les Louanges, Aquakultre, Rochelle Jordan and more.
Of the five short-listed artists, two have secured their spot on the Polaris Music Prize album short list : Angine de Poitrine’s Vol. II , and Charlotte Cornfield’s Hurts Like Hell .
Since its inception, both the long list and the short list have been curated and voted on by a 205-person Canada-wide Polaris Music Prize jury, spanning music critics, academics, journalists and other relevant industry members. In its inaugural edition , the prize was awarded to Mustafa’s “Gaza is Calling.”
In an interview about the Polaris organization’s recent changes, executive director Amber Still told Billboard Canada that the SOCAN Polaris Song Prize was created to acknowledge “a whole new group of artists” who weren’t necessarily releasing full albums or bodies of work.
It’s the organization’s first new award since the Slaight Family Polaris Heritage Prize, introduced in 2015 to award albums released before the Polaris Music Prize launched in the mid 2000s. Past winners include Alanis Morrisette, Peaches and Beverly Glenn-Copeland — the latter two of whom are on this year’s Polaris Music Prize album short list, with their respective albums No Lube So Rude and Laughter In Summer .
Two Canadian music rights organizations are coming together to bring the distribution of performance and mechanical royalties under one umbrella.
SOCAN is acquiring the Canadian Musical Reproduction Rights Agency (CMRRA).
The Canadian company dedicated to the administration of performance rights is set to purchase the CMRRA, which has handled the distribution of reproduction rights in Canada for over five decades. SOCAN has made an agreement for acquisition from current owner, neighbouring rights company SoundExchange. The CMRRA, which celebrated its 50th anniversary last year, was purchased by SoundExchange in 2017.
“Bringing CMRRA and SOCAN together is an investment in the future of Canadian music. United, we’ll strengthen rights administration for publishers, songwriters and composers.” Jennifer Brown , CEO of SOCAN, tells Billboard Canada . “We’re grateful for SoundExchange’s leadership, and we’re excited to work with CMRRA to shape the next chapter of how music rights are supported and delivered.”
Both SOCAN and the CMRRA are key players in the licensing and rights distribution fields, helping t…