On June 20th Orchestras Canada welcomed Julien Boumard Coallier, Grants Manager at the SOCAN Foundation to present a webinar on the offerings of the SOCAN Foundation with a focus on the Work Commissioning Assistance Grant. Julian provided important and digestible insights into the application process and eligibility for these funding opportunities to help our members get the most out of the SOCAN Foundation offerings.
Meet the SOCAN Foundation
The SOCAN Foundation’s mission is to foster, sustain and promote the creation of Canadian music. They strive to expand an environment where Canadian music and its creation are encouraged and to ensure the public has an enhanced understanding of the value of music. What sets the SOCAN Foundation apart from other organizations is that they offer programming that specifically funds and empowers Canadian composers.
Grants Offered by the SOCAN Foundation for Individuals
Julien first presented the grants available to individual creators, music producers and composers. These included:
- Professional Development Assistance Program
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- This grant is available to individuals who are looking to fund participation in professional development programs and opportunities. Examples of opportunities include lessons, workshops or conferences and these activities can be self-directed! This grant is available every two years and to be eligible candidates must have received two royalty payments each year for the past three calendar years.
- Deadline: Ongoing
- Travel Assistance Program
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- This grant is available to individuals who are traveling to career building or defining events and activities and require financial assistance to do so. You may not be receiving compensation to qualify for this grant and the activity or event cannot be self-directed. Examples of eligible opportunities include showcases, awards presentations and workshops.
- Deadline: Ongoing, reviewed four times per year.
- SOCAN Foundation Career Development Grant
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- This grant is temporarily suspended.
Grants Offered by the SOCAN Foundation for Organizations
Next Julien described the granting opportunities available to organizations, including:
- Canadian Music Assistance
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- This grant provided financial assistance to organizations producing music presentations, education activities and publication activities that highlight and present Canadian compositions and composers. Funding can range from $1,000-$3,000 and will be received after the submission of final reports
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- Deadline: September 15th, 2023
- Annual operations assistance
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- This grant is awarded by invitation to organizations with a proven history with the SOCAN Foundation and within the Canadian music industry. Currently the foundation funds nine organizations within this program who are typically large organizations with large memberships.
The Work Commissioning Assistance Grant
The final grant Julien presented was the Work Commissioning Assistance Grant which is available to both individuals and organizations. This grant funds the commissioning of Canadian composers in that the SOCAN Foundation will match funds paid by organization between $1,000 to $3,000 to compensate composers for their work. While larger budgets can include Federal, Provincial or Municipal funding, the funds paid by organizations must come exclusively from the private sector. Composers commissioned must be SOCAN members and will receive granted funds directly. Organizations may apply annually for this grant, but composers may only participate once every two years.
Within the application candidates must include performance dates, and an agreement between organization and composer that includes the following:
- The SOCAN writer member(s) retains copyright of the commissioned work;
- The projected commissioning fee;
- The projected date (month, year) of completion of the work;
- The projected date (month, year) of first public performance;
- The funding being matched by the SOCAN Foundation is not derived from public funding;
- The applicant will inform the SOCAN Foundation of delivery of the completed work that includes the commissioned work’s SOCAN Identification number;
- The acknowledgment that the Work Commissioning Assistance Grant will be paid directly by the SOCAN Foundation to the SOCAN member(s) being commissioned.
Candidates may only submit once per deadline and will receive funds after submitting their final reports. The next deadline for this grant is September 15th, 2023.
Additional Awards and Programs
Awards:
- TD Indigenous Songwriter Award
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- An award of $10,000 given to a songwriter of Indigenous decent. Songwriters may submit one original work before the deadline as well as a brief biography and photo.
- Deadline: October 15th, 2023
- SiriusXM Black Canadian Music Award
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- An award given in partnership with SiriusXM to celebrate Black Canadian music creators. Works submitted can be from any genre and must be the original creation of the candidate. Up to five awards of $10,000 are granted to finalists. Submissions must include a brief biography and photo.
- Deadline: July 31st, 2023
- Bandzoogle Her Music Award
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- An award given sponsored by Bandzoogle in celebration of female-identifying Canadian musicians. There are two winners per year who receive a grand prize of up to $5,000. Submissions may be from any genre of music.
- Deadline: October 15th, 2023
- SOCAN Foundation Awards for Young Composers
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- An award that recognizes Canadian composers 30 years of age and under in five catagories. Four prizes will be awarded in each category; first prize of $3,000, second prize of $2,250, third prize of $1,500, the Young Composers prize to applicants 21 and under of $1,500 and a potential Grand Prize of $5,000.
- Categories: The Large Ensemble Awards, The Chamber Ensemble Awards, The Solo and Duet Awards, The Electroacoustic Awards, and The Choral Awards
- Deadline: July 15th, 2023
- SOCAN Foundation Awards for Emerging Screen Composers
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- An award that recognizes Canadian screen composers 30 years of age and under in four categories. Two prizes will be awarded in each category; first prize of $3,000, second prize of $2,250 and a potential Grand Prize of $5,000.
- Categories: Best Original Theme (opening or closing), Best Original Score — Fiction, Best Original Score — Animated, and Best Original Score — Non-Fiction
- Deadline: June 1st, 2023
- SOCAN Foundation Awards for Young Canadian Songwriters
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- An award given in partnership with SiriusXM to celebrate emerging Canadian songwriters. Submissions must be original music from a genre of popular music written by songwriters aged 21 and younger. Five prizes of $5,000 will be awarded to finalists.
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- Deadline: July 31st, 2023
Programs:
- Screen Music Laboratory for Emerging Composers
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- This program has recently been renamed the SOCAN Foundation/NYOC Emerging Composers’ Mentorship Program. Three recipients of the SOCAN Foundation Award for Young Composers in the Large Ensemble category are selected to participate in the program and are invited to attend an NYOC rehearsal of their original work.
- Equity X Production Mentorship Program
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- This program is available in both French and English to individuals who identify as minority genders who are looking to learn more about music production with Logic or Ableton.
- TD Incubator for Creative Entrepreneurship
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- The program provides emerging and independent music creators with a $3,000 kickstarter grant, workshops for professional development and mentorship from an industry professional. The program’s goals are to provide the tools to make music creators see what they’re doing as a business venture and able to manage their career.
We would like to offer one final thank you to Julien for coming to speak with us on this topic! It was so wonderful to learn about all the excellent programs offered by the SOCAN Foundation, specifically how the Work Commissioning Assistance Grant can empower collaborations between Canadian orchestras and composers. To learn more and any of these programs please check out the slide deck and recording of our session at https://oc.ca/en/resource/meet-the-socan-foundation-learn-about-their-programs/ or on the SOCAN Foundation website at https://www.socanfoundation.ca/ .
