SOCAN Unveils World's First Music Industry Trophy / Musical Instrument

"The SOCAN" to be presented to special achievement winners at June 16th SOCAN Awards

TORONTO, May 29, 2014 /PRNewswire/ - Is it a musical instrument? Is it a work of art? Is it a music industry trophy? In fact, it's all of those things and more, as SOCAN - the Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada - unveiled the first known music industry trophy that is as much prestigious award as it is a true musical instrument.

Created in partnership with New Brunswick-based percussion instrument maker SABIAN and Society Awards of New York, "The SOCAN" will be presented to the special achievement recipients at the 25th anniversary SOCAN Awards on June 16, 2014, at the Westin Harbour Castle in Toronto.

The SOCAN trophy integrates five SABIAN crotales, tuned percussion instruments consisting of small disks made by hand with SABIAN's proprietary, centuries-old bronze formula. The five SABIAN crotales produce five notes (G-C-G-E-C), working this year with the C-major scale, reflecting the prominent middle-C in SOCAN. The five crotales integrate into an elegant, artistic trophy design, with three straight gold-plated steel rods holding the instruments, and an elegantly curved gold band supporting the instrument, suggestive of the S in SOCAN. A striker for the crotales is also part of the musical trophy, which can also be laid horizontally when played.

Academy Award^®-winning composer (Life of Pi) and SOCAN member Mychael Danna, when he visited the organization's offices in early May to assess The SOCAN, said: "The SOCAN is iconic and appropriate: a music instrument for a music award. It's going to go not on a trophy shelf, but in my studio, miked and played on a future composition."

Society Awards, a company that has designed and produced trophies for some of the world's most prestigious events, including the Golden Globes, the MTV Awards, and the Grammy Awards, was immediately struck when introduced to the singular vision to combine musical instrument with glittering trophy. "The SOCAN is awesome," said David Moritz, CEO of Society Awards. "SOCAN had a great vision and it worked. This is a musical-sculpture-trophy; it's everything SOCAN wanted. It's inspiring."

The vision for the musical-instrument-trophy started with SOCAN and the ensemble collaboration with Society Awards and SABIAN ultimately produced the final design. The SOCAN trophy will be presented at every SOCAN Awards event going forward to individual SOCAN members as special achievement awards for their impressive career accomplishments.

"SOCAN's collaboration with Society Awards and SABIAN has resulted in SOCAN delivering another first for the music industry," said SOCAN CEO Eric Baptiste. "Songwriting and composition achievements with a trophy that makes melodies. Receiving a SOCAN is a crowning accomplishment for music creators."

While the 2014 SOCAN trophy works with notes in C-major, in future years it will be "tuned" by a prominent SOCAN member, who will personally select his or her five notes to be produced by SABIAN's crotales. "Le SOCAN" will be presented also at SOCAN's annual gala in Montreal for special achievement in Francophone music creation, this year on December 2nd.

About the SOCAN Awards
The SOCAN Awards are one of the Canadian music industry's most prestigious events. The annual gala, held in both Toronto and Montreal, celebrates song-writing, composing and music publishing by our English and French members alike. Since 1990 - the inaugural year of the SOCAN Awards - the Canadian music industry has gathered to pay tribute to the top-performed songs from the previous year by SOCAN members; honour exceptional film and television music; recognize iconic songs that have reached the 100,000 airplay mark (25,000 for French songs) on domestic radio; and present individual SOCAN members with special achievement awards for their impressive career accomplishments. Over the years, more than 4,000 awards have been presented in various categories to songwriters, composers and music publishers whose music has garnered a great deal of success in Canada and abroad.

About SOCAN
SOCAN is a member-based organization that represents the Canadian performing rights of more than three-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 120,000 Canadian members, and the Canadian music industry overall. SOCAN licenses more than 125,000 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

SOURCE SOCAN

Image with caption: ""The SOCAN", the industry's first musical instrument trophy, will be presented to special achievement winners in Toronto and Montréal. (CNW Group/SOCAN)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20140529_C7428_PHOTO_EN_40852.jpg