SOCAN honoured with Music Publishers Canada Industry Builder Award.
TORONTO, May 28, 2025 /CNW/ - SOCAN has announced the results of its 2025 Board of Directors election, following a voting period that ran from April 30 through May 21, concluding after the organization's Annual General Meeting (AGM). Votes were cast by eligible SOCAN songwriter, composer, and music publisher members to elect directors for the 2025-2028 term.
Held both online and in Toronto, this year's AGM marked SOCAN's 100th anniversary and featured a state-of-affairs address from SOCAN leadership, alongside a compelling panel on artificial intelligence with Léo Boisvert of the Mila - Quebec Artificial Intelligence Institute. Chair of the Board Marc Ouellette and CEO Jennifer Brown shared updates on SOCAN's record-breaking financial results and highlighted strategic priorities for the year ahead.
As part of the reception, SOCAN was honoured by Music Publishers Canada with the Industry Builder Award. Presented annually as a custom-designed paddle painted by songwriter Tom Wilson, this year's award featured the lyrics to "O Canada" on the back, a tribute to SOCAN's impact on the Canadian music publishing industry.
"At SOCAN, we often speak about the value of true partnerships, and our relationship with Music Publishers Canada exemplifies that," said Jennifer Brown, CEO SOCAN. "To be recognized with a Tom Wilson paddle, a symbol of building and strengthening Canada's music publishing community, is an incredible honour, and we are truly grateful."
In 2025, there were three writer director positions, and three publisher director positions up for election consistent with an annual board election cycle, where six director positions are up for election each year.
The following people were elected for three-year terms.
Representing SOCAN Music Writer Members (alphabetically by last name):
- Darren Fung (west) (audiovisual) *
- Greg Johnston (east)
- Marc Ouellette (Québec) (Francophone) *
Representing SOCAN Music Publisher Members (alphabetically by company name):
- Cheryl Link (east) peermusic Canada Inc. *
- David Quilico (east) Sony Music Publishing Canada
- Jean-François Denis (Québec) (Francophone) YMX Media *
* Incumbent
"Congratulations and a welcome to our newly elected board directors," said Brown. "Your leadership, experience, and diverse perspectives will be essential as SOCAN continues to grow, innovate, and serve our members and the broader creative community. The management team looks forward to working closely with the entire 2025-2026 Board, confident that together we will chart a bold and meaningful path forward."
The SOCAN Board of Directors is composed entirely of songwriters, composers, and music publishers - the very individuals SOCAN exists to represent. There are 18 seats total – nine writer directors and nine publisher directors, with regional, cultural, and audiovisual representation.
2025-2026 SOCAN Board of Directors continuing their terms:
Representing SOCAN Music Writer Members:
- Lesley Barber (east) (audiovisual)
- David Bussières (Québec) (Francophone)
- Troy Kokol (west)
- Laurence Lafond-Beaulne (Québec) (Francophone)
- Stan Meissner (east)
- Sarah Slean (east)
Representing SOCAN Music Publisher Members:
- Jennifer Beavis (east) BMG Rights Management Canada
- Mark Jowett (west) Nettwerk Music Group
- Jason Klein (east) Anthem Entertainment
- Daniel Lafrance (Québec) (Francophone) Éditorial Avenue
- Jennifer Mitchell (east) Casablanca Media Publishing
- Diane Pinet (Québec) (Francophone) Bloc-Notes Music Publishing
The 2025-2026 SOCAN board of directors will hold its first meeting in June and elect the president of the board and other officers.
You can find SOCAN's 2024 annual report on 2024 Annual Report.
About SOCAN
For 100 years, SOCAN has been Canada's largest member-owned music rights organization, resolutely upholding the fundamental truth that music has value. SOCAN collects license fees for the public performance and reproduction of music, matches them to rights holders, and distributes them as royalties to music creators and publishers in Canada and around the world. With a century of expertise and innovation, SOCAN continues to advocate fair compensation for the work of its nearly 200,000 songwriter, composer, and music publisher members. Learn more at www.socan.com.
SOURCE SOCAN
Media contacts: Nicole Van Severen [email protected]
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