SOCAN new CEO Jennifer Brown plans to continue to modernise the rights society

By Emmanuel Legrand

The board of directors of SOCAN has appointed Jennifer Brown as Chief Executive Officer of the Canadian rights society. Brown served as interim CEO since April 2020, following the departure of CEO Eric Baptiste.

  SOCAN is Canada's largest music and visual arts rights organisation. With her elevation to CEO, Brown becomes the first woman in the job, as well as the first to be appointed to the role from within the company. 

  "Jennifer Brown's work at SOCAN is exemplary, her leadership abilities are remarkable, and her passion for the interests of our members and stakeholders is unsurpassed," said Marc Ouellette, President of SOCAN's board of directors. "It is a great pleasure to see her rise to a role that she earned through decades of constant commitment and persistent determination to do what is right for our more than 175,000 members and nearly 300 employees." 

Improve licensing collection efforts

  Brown joined SOCAN in 1995 as a representative in the company's Membership department. She was promoted to Senior Vice President of Operations & Reproduction Rights in 2018.  

  In a statement, the company said Brown's accomplishments include "establishing SOCAN Reproduction Rights presence, guiding the company's Licensing department to record-setting results, establishing SOCAN’s cost-effective and strategic re-structuring, and the introduction of new and innovative customer-facing tools, all of which have resulted in improved licensing collection efforts and increased royalties distributed to SOCAN's songwriter, composer and music publisher members."

Relying on fair royalties

  "I know what it's like to rely on fair royalties through hard work and I’ve seen songwriting as a career first-hand," said Brown, whose father led Canadian band The Family Brown. "I will continue to work to make SOCAN the organisation that our members and licensed organisations so richly deserve." 

  SOCAN leadership team was recently strengthened with the appointments of Jean-Christian Céré as Chief Membership Officer, and Vanessa Thomas as Vice-President, Member & Industry Relations.

> SOCAN's Board of Directors has been elected by the organisation's membership, based on votes cast by SOCAN members (music creators, publishers) from April 12 to April 30, 2021. 

  The 18 seats on the SOCAN Board of Directors – nine writer members and nine publisher members –have been filled for a three-year term and will be officially presented at the 2021 SOCAN Annual General Meeting, to be held online on July 13, 2021.

  Representing SOCAN Music Writer Members (* incumbent): David Bussières*, Victor Davies, Damhnait Doyle*, Rhonda Head Ed Henderson*, Stan Meissner*, Glenn Morley*, Marc Ouellette*, and Diane Tell*.

  Representing SOCAN Music Publisher Members: Diane Pinet (Bloc-Notes Music Publishing), Jennifer Beavis (BMG Rights Management Canada), Jennifer Mitchell (Casablanca Media Publishing)*, Daniel Lafrance (Éditorial Avenue), Mark Jowett (Nettwerk Music Group), Cheryl Link (peermusic Canada)*, Gary Furniss (Sony Music Publishing Canada)*, Patrick Curley (Third Side Music)*, and Vivian Barclay (Warner/Chappell Music Canada)*.

  Following SOCAN’s annual general meeting, the new board of directors will hold its first meeting, and elect the President of the Board and other officers.