SOCAN representatives created greater awareness of licensing, educated potential customers, and garnered customer leads at the 2008 Total Wedding Show, held Jan. 18-20 at the International Centre, in Mississauga, Ont.

Manning the SOCAN booth at the three-day trade show, SOCAN licensing representatives explained things to couples who wanted to get a better understanding of the licensing fee being charged to them when they booked their wedding reception festivities with a venue (such as a banquet hall, gallery, golf course or convention centre).

Generally, couples gained a clearer understanding of what SOCAN does, and why. Among the comments overheard at our booth:

• “I was unaware of the fact that a licence needed to be in place for the use of music anywhere, much less at a wedding reception.”
• “I never viewed music as being a product that needed to be compensated for its use, but you’ve made sense of the fact that it needs to be paid for. The creators deserve to be compensated for their work!”

SOCAN licensing representatives attending the show included Andrew Turnbull, Steve Didynuk, Gina Pollock, Lisa Portis, Rachael Richards, Craig Brockie and Leila Yassir.