At the "Life of a Song" panel, presented by SOCAN: (Left to right) Robb Reiner of Anvil, SOCAN's Rodney Murphy, Steve "Lips" Kudlow of Anvil, David Hayman of Vapor Music and Cheryl Link of peermusic Canada. (Photo: Irene Zeltway)

SOCAN sponsored the Songwriters' Summit, presented two panels, took part in four others, and sponsored the Canadian Radio Music Awards' Song of the Year honours during the Canadian Music Week (CMW) 2011 conference, held March 9-13 at The Fairmont Royal York Hotel in Toronto.

At the Summit, SOCAN presented the "Life of a Song" panel, examining how Anvil's 1982 rock anthem "Metal on Metal" has provided an ongoing revenue stream for the band since then. In front of a packed room of CMW delegates, SOCAN's Rodney Murphy talked with Steve "Lips" Kudlow and Robb Reiner of Anvil, about how "Metal on Metal" has consistently served the band, and is now making them more money than ever.

SOCAN's Terry O'Brien moderated a SOCAN-presented seminar called "Know Your Alphabet – a Songwriter’s Introduction to Cha-Ching $," in which various Canadian music organizations explained how they collect royalties on behalf of their members. Panelists included representatives from Re: Sound (neighbouring rights); the CMRRA (mechanical rights); ACTRA (performers' rights); and, in the U.S., Sound Exchange (online rights).

At the "Global Publishing Symposium: The Last Dependable Dollar," SOCAN CEO Eric Baptiste pointed out that performing rights societies’ worldwide collections and distributions have doubled in size in the last decade. "The business model works," said Baptiste. "We just need to bring it to the digital world. The future of the music business belongs to the publishers, and they have to be prepared to play roles that have until now been played by record companies in the developement and nurturing of talent." Baptiste, who until 2010 was based in Paris, also moderated a seminar called "Focus on France: Pas seulement pour un public francophone."

At a session called "Bill C-32: Copyright or Copyfight?," SOCAN General Counsel Paul Spurgeon said that whether this year or next, before or after a national election, a copyright bill will pass, whether it's Bill C-32 or some other legislation. "The issues will not go away," Spurgeon told a nearly-full room of delegates. "The bill is very complicated, but nothing has really changed. We still need to protect you." (For more informaton on Bill C-32, click here.) Spurgeon also spoke at another panel the same day, "Commerce in the Digital World: The New World of Music Licensing."

Also during CMW, at the Canadian Radio Music Awards, "Wavin' Flag" won the SOCAN-sponsored Song of the Year honours. "Wavin' Flag" was recorded by Young Artists For Haiti, and written by K’Naan, Jean Daval, Peter Hernandez and Philip Lawrence.