SOCAN Awards Celebrate Great Canadian Songwriters, Composers, Film Scorers, Music Publishers

The Weeknd, Alessia Cara, Johnny Reid among the honoured

TORONTO, June 20, 2016 /CNW/ - The Sheraton Centre in Toronto was abuzz tonight as the Canadian music industry gathered to pay tribute to Canada's best songwriters, composers, film and TV music scorers, lyricists and music publishers at the 2016 SOCAN Awards.

Emceed this year by bestselling author Dave Bidini of the Rheostatics, and sponsored by Gowling WLG, KPMG, HMV, Long & McQuade, Music Canada, Ontario Media Development Corporation and RBC, the SOCAN Awards honour the accomplishments of the people who create Canadian music, recognizing them in a diverse cross-section of categories: Pop/Rock, Film & Television, Urban, Dance, Folk/Roots, Jazz, Country, Classical, and more.

SOCAN's presented major achievement awards this year to Hockey Night in Canada theme composer Dolores Claman (Cultural Impact Award); Canadian music industry driving force Gary Slaight (Special Achievement Award); global phenomenon The Weeknd (International Achievement Award) and his frequent co-writer Ahmad "Belly" Balshe (Songwriters of the Year); chart-topping teen Alessia Cara (Breakout Award); and multi-platinum singer-songwriter Johnny Reid (National Achievement Award).

The evening included memorable live performances from hit songwriter Shawn Hook, who sang his smash single "Sound of Your Heart"; celebrated singer-songwriter Matt Barber, who played a poignant version of Edward Bear's "Last Song"; young sensations Lennon and Maisy Stella of the hit TV show Nashville; Crash Test Dummies frontman and creative force Brad Roberts, who performed "Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm" and "Afternoons and Coffee Spoons," two of his SOCAN Classics Award-winning songs of the evening; young, multi-instrumentalist and singer-songwriter Jordan Hart; and Reid, who sang a passionate version of his song, "What Love is All About." Throughout the evening, attendees were greatly entertained by a live orchestra that highlighted the outstanding work of our film and television composers.

Attending to receive their awards were Trevor Guthrie, who won the Dance Music Award for his song, "Summertime"; Jason Blaine and Deric Ruttan, who co-wrote Blaine's hit song "Country Side," which earned a SOCAN Country Music Award; Pop/Rock Music Award winners Francesco Yates, Jocelyn Alice, and Scott Helman, who won for "Better to be Loved," "Jackpot," and "Bungalow," respectively; Oscar-winning film composer Mychael Danna and San Andreas soundtrack composer Andrew Lockington, who both won for Achievements in Feature Film Music; Keith Power, who earned an International TV Series Music award for Hawaii Five-O; Ebony "WondaGurl" Oshunrinde and Bryan "Eestbound" Van Mierlo, who co-wrote the huge Travi$ Scott hit "Antidote," which won an Urban Music Award, as did Drake's "Hotline Bling," co-written by Paul "Nineteen85" Jefferies; and Simon Wilcox, who won two Pop/Rock Awards, for co-writing both the Nick Jonas global hit "Jealous" and the aforementioned Scott Helman Canadian hit, "Bungalow."

"The people who write, compose and publish Canadian music are providing an essential service for our national culture, pride and economy," said SOCAN CEO Eric Baptiste. "Canadian songwriters and composers are making fantastic music that has made a massive impact, both domestically and throughout the world. Similarly, our music publisher members play a crucial role in expanding the market reach of that great Canadian music. We're pleased and proud to congratulate all of tonight's SOCAN Award recipients for their tremendous accomplishments."

SOCAN will also recognize outstanding Francophone music creators and publishers at an awards gala in September 2016 at Métropolis, in the heart of Montréal.

A complete list of winners follows.

About SOCAN
SOCAN is a member-based organization that represents the Canadian performing rights of more than four-million Canadian and international music creators and publishers. SOCAN is proud to play a leading role in supporting the long-term success of its more than 135,000 Canadian members, and the Canadian music industry overall. SOCAN licenses more than 130,000 businesses in Canada, and distributes royalties to its members and music rights organizations around the world. SOCAN also distributes royalties to its members for the use of their music internationally in collaboration with its peer societies. www.socan.ca

2016 SOCAN Awards – Toronto –  Winners List

INTERNATIONAL ACHIEVEMENT AWARD Abel "The Weeknd" Tesfaye NATIONAL ACHIEVEMENT AWARD Johnny Reid   SPECIAL ACHIEVEMENT AWARD Gary Slaight CULTURAL IMPACT AWARD Dolores Claman Hockey Night in Canada theme   SONGWRITERS OF THE YEAR Abel "The Weeknd" Tesfaye Ahmad "Belly" Balshe   DANCE MUSIC AWARD "Summertime" Performed by Trevor Guthrie  Trevor Guthrie Thomas "Tawgs" Salter Simon Wilcox Michael Wise EMI Blackwood Music Canada Sony/ATV Music Publishing Ltd. POP/ROCK MUSIC AWARDS "Sugar" Performed by Maroon 5 Henry "Cirkut" Walter Mike Posner (ASCAP) Adam Levine (BMI) Lukasz "Dr. Luke" Gottwald (AMRA) Jacob Kasher Hindlin (AMRA) Joshua "Ammo" Coleman (ASCAP) Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd. Canada "Jealous" Performed by Nick Jonas Simon Wilcox Nick Jonas (BMI) "Sir" Nolan Lambroza (BMI) Peer International Canada Ltd. Fun Cooker peermusic Canada COUNTRY MUSIC AWARDS "Make You Mine" Performed by High Valley Brad Rempel Ben Stennis (BMI) Seth Mosley (SESAC)   "Country Side" Performed by Jason Blaine Jason Blaine Deric Ruttan Warner Chappell Music Canada Ltd.                                     "Raised by a Good Time" Performed by Steven Lee Olsen Steven Lee Olsen Cary Barlowe (SESAC) Chris Stevens (BMI) Warner Chappell Music Canada Ltd.   "Upside Down" Performed by Dean Brody Dean Brody Scurvy Dog Music Inc. URBAN MUSIC AWARDS "Hotline Bling" Performed by Drake Drake Paul "Nineteen85" Jefferies Timmy Thomas (BMI) EMI April Music Canada Ltd Nyan King Music Ltd. "Antidote" Performed by Travi$ Scott Ebony "WondaGurl" Oshunrinde Bryan "Eestbound" Van Mierlo Jacques Webster (BMI) Thomas Brenneck (BMI) David Guy (ASCAP) Leon Michels (BMI) Nicholas Movshon (BMI) Homer Steinweiss (BMI) BMG Rights Management Canada Inc.     2015 SOCAN CLASSIC MUSIC AWARDS "This Beat Goes On/Switchin' To Glide" Performed by The Kings David "David Diamond" Broadbent John "Mister Zero" Picard Red Brick Music Publishing                                                 "Let Go the Line" Performed by Max Webster Terry Watkinson ole                                                 "Your Daddy Don't Know" Performed by Toronto Geoffrey Iwamoto Michael Roth Sony ATV Tunes                                                 "Afternoons & Coffeespoons" "Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm" Performed by Crash Test Dummies Brad Roberts Universal Music Publishing Canada

"Something Big" Performed by Shawn Mendes Shawn Mendes Scott Friedman (BMI) Ido Zmishlany (BMI) Mendes Music Universal Music Publishing Canada   "Sound of Your Heart" Performed by Shawn Hook Shawn Hook Todd Clark Stephen "Koz" Kozmeniuk Hyvetown Music Publishing Arcade Songs EMI Blackwood Music Canada Ltd. Nyan King Music Ltd. "Can't Feel My Face" Performed by The Weeknd Abel "The Weeknd" Tesfaye Peter Svensson (STIM) Max Martin (STIM) Ali Payami (STIM) Savan Kotecha (ASCAP) SONGS Music Publishing "The Hills" Performed by The Weeknd Abel "The Weeknd" Tesfaye Ahmad "Belly" Balshe Carlo "Illangelo" Montagnese Emmanuel "Million Dollar Mano" Nickerson (ASCAP) Tom Raybould (PRS) Warner Chappell Music Canada Ltd. Sony/ATV Music Publishing Canada CP Music Group Inc. SONGS Music Publishing "Hotline Bling" Performed by Drake Drake Paul "Nineteen85" Jefferies Timmy Thomas (BMI) EMI April Music Canada Ltd Nyan King Music Ltd.   DOMESTIC TV MUSIC AWARDS - FICTION   Republic of Doyle James McGrath McLevin Music Inc. Take The Shot Productions Inc. Murdoch Mysteries Robert Carli Shaftesbury Sony/ATV Music Publishing Canada   DOMESTIC TV MUSIC AWARDS – NON-FICTION Museum Secrets Eric Cadesky Nicholas Dyer Cadesky Dyer Music Publishing   Dragons' Den Andrew Cash Josh Finlayson Elmarush Songs   DOMESTIC TV MUSIC AWARDS – ANIMATED Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood James Chapple Graeme Cornies David Kelly Brian Pickett   Johnny Test Ian LeFeuvre Ari Posner Chris Tait Cjar Music Publishing ole ACHIEVEMENTS IN FEATURE FILM MUSIC San Andreas Andrew Lockington Universal Music Publishing Canada   Transcendence Mychael Danna Fintage Publishing Canada Alcon Sleeping Giant   ONLINE STREAMING MUSIC AWARD "Sugar" Performed by Maroon 5 Henry "Cirkut" Walter Mike Posner (ASCAP) Adam Levine (BMI) Lukasz "Dr. Luke" Gottwald (AMRA) Jacob Kasher Hindlin (AMRA) Joshua "Ammo" Coleman (ASCAP) Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd. Canada

"Earned It" Performed by The Weeknd Abel "The Weeknd" Tesfaye Ahmad "Belly" Balshe Stephan Moccio Jason "DaHeala" Quenneville CP Music Group Inc. Sing Little Penguin SONGS Music Publishing Universal Music Publishing Canada Warner Chappell Music Canada Ltd.   "Better to Be Loved" Performed by Francesco Yates Francesco Yates Robin Hannibal (ASCAP) Matt Morris (BMI)   "Jackpot" Performed by Jocelyn Alice Jocelyn Alice Hello Moth   "Bungalow" Performed by Scott Helman Scott Helman Ron Lopata Thomas "Tawgs" Salter Simon Wilcox Fun Cooker Sony/ATV Music Publishing Canada peermusic Canada             "Here" Performed by Alessia Cara Alessia Cara Robert Gerongco Samuel Gerongco Terence Lam Andrew "Pop" Wansel (BMI) Warren "Oak" Felder (BMI) Sebastian Kole (BMI) Isaac Hayes (BMI) Warner Chappell Music Canada Ltd. Sony ATV Songs   ACHIEVEMENTS IN MADE-FOR-TV FILM MUSIC Honor Student Christopher Nickel Première Bobine Musique Music Revenue Data   William Shatner Presents: Chaos on the Bridge Catalin Marin   INTERNATIONAL FEATURE FILM MUSIC AWARDS Pompeii Clinton Shorter   Journey 2: The Mysterious Island Andrew Lockington INTERNATIONAL TV SERIES MUSIC AWARDS Paw Patrol James Chapple Graeme Cornies David Kelly Brian Pickett Hawaii Five-O Keith Power   INTERNATIONAL SONG AWARD "The Hills" Performed by The Weeknd Abel "The Weeknd" Tesfaye Ahmad "Belly" Balshe Carlo "Illangelo" Montagnese Emmanuel "Million Dollar Mano" Nickerson (ASCAP) Tom Raybould (PRS) Warner Chappell Music Canada Ltd. Sony/ATV Music Publishing Canada CP Music Group Inc. SONGS Music Publishing   MOST PERFORMED FOREIGN SONG AWARD "Uptown Funk" Performed by Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars   FOLK / ROOTS MUSIC AWARD Amelia Curran LICENSED TO PLAY AWARD Canadian Music Week   BREAKOUT AWARDS Alessia Cara Tobias Jesso Jr.   HAGOOD HARDY AWARD Robi Botos   JAN V. MATEJCEK NEW CLASSICAL MUSIC AWARD Dinuk Wijeratne

SOURCE SOCAN

Image with caption: "Livin' it up at the SOCAN Awards 2016. Left to right: Lennon & Maisy Stella, Eestbound (Bryan Van Mierlo), SOCAN CEO Eric Baptiste, and Kardinal Offishall (Photo: Grant W Martin Photography) (CNW Group/SOCAN)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20160620_C6902_PHOTO_EN_718440.jpg

Touchwood Public Relations (for SOCAN): Jennifer Rashwan, [phone] ext. 205, [email protected]; SOCAN: Michael Critchley, [phone], ext. 3784, [email protected]