2015 SOCAN AGM - pt 3

More than 250 SOCAN members gathered in Toronto’s Glenn Gould Studio to attend the organization’s 2015 annual general meeting. The review of SOCAN’s major achievements in 2014 was also streamed live online in English and French to many more members who could not attend in-person.

SOCAN CEO Eric Baptiste shared SOCAN’s record financial results for the year, including total revenue of $299.5-million; more than $55-million of that in international revenue; $21.3-million collected from Internet streaming, up from $3.4-million in 2013, a 525% increase; and a new record low expense ratio of 9.5 percent, the first time this ratio has fallen below 10 percent. Baptiste said that SOCAN “is an amazingly dynamic organization, and we’re very proud of our fantastic members.”

SOCAN President Stan Meissner reported that the organization now numbers more than 130,000 members. He also discussed Copyright Board of Canada’s rulings on Tariff 22.D regarding audio-visual works on the Internet, which have had a positive impact for SOCAN members. Meissner explained that SOCAN transformed its Montreal office in 2014, preparing to move to its new premises in early 2015, and in some re-organization and staffing changes.

And he talked about new developments at the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame, including a new content-rich website, national education program, and Covered Classics song inductions. Said Meissner of SOCAN, “We continue to shine as a leading rights organization.”

For a more thorough accounting of SOCAN’s activities in 2014, see our full Annual Report. Watch this website for a video report on the AGM soon.

Baptiste described how SOCAN’s embraces transparency, by allowing members to “drill down” in their royalty statements to see exactly when and where their music was played; by providing an online royalty calculator; and by providing an online unidentified performances list, among other initiatives. SOCAN’s new board of directors was announced, and outgoing directors Jim Vallance and Neville Quinlan were thanked for their years of service, while incoming directors Safwan Javed and Robert Ott were welcomed to the board.

The question period included queries about the use and investment of funds being held for unidentified performances; why SOCAN has no real role in dispute resolution among co-writers; why income from online streaming services is so low; how SOCAN works to avoid music metatags being missed in radio tracking, by using strong audio fingerprint recognition services; how SOCAN works to license unlicensed venues; and why obtaining royalties from China is often challenging for SOCAN.

SOCAN Chief Membership & Business Development Officer Michael McCarty conducted a brief interview with SOCAN member Hawksley Workman, who was genuine, thoughtful and amusing in his responses to McCarty’s questions. Workman – who replaced ailing Serena Ryder at the last minute -- discussed the relationship between his work as a drummer and a songwriter (“It’s always the drummer’s fault,” he joked); why he enjoys collaborating (“I get bored really quick”); working as an actor, playwright, songwriter and producer (“In the Canadian music business you have to be good at a couple of things”); the importance of being genuine and trusting your instinct (“If I can’t write the big hit, at least I can be myself”); and what he would advise young members (“The music has got to be great”).

After the meeting, attending members enjoyed a reception where they could ask SOCAN staff and executives further questions and otherwise network amongst themselves.