A helping hand: The SOCAN Foundation’s International Showcasing Program

By David McPherson, Summer 2009

Imagine performing in the birthplace of Elvis and, over the course of five days, guitar-picking virtuoso Albert Lee and guitar god James Burton — who once played with the King — both come to see you play. Sounds like a rock ’n’ roll fantasy, doesn’t it? This past February, though, that’s exactly what Manitoba singer-songwriter Alana Levandoski experienced at the 2009 Folk Alliance Conference in Memphis, Tenn. “It was a successful endeavour not soon to be forgotten,” she says. “There were many notable industry folks there, including key people from The Granata Agency. I met and instantly loved the Swedish sister band Baskery and it looks like we will be touring together abroad.”

Thanks in part to the SOCAN Foundation’s International Showcasing Program, Levandoski also brought her band along. The program helps individual singer-songwriters and bands offset travel costs to showcase at certain international conferences. To be eligible, artists or bands must have an official invitation from one of the seven “sanctioned” conferences covered through the program. “If bands are driving to a conference in a van, $700 to $1,000 can be a big help,” says Rick MacMillan, manager of the SOCAN Foundation. Dozens of other SOCAN members who showcased at the Folk Alliance Conference benefited from SOCAN Foundation support, including The Creaking Tree String Quartet, Madison Violet and Ken Whiteley.

The Foundation receives many applications for this program and funds more than 100 artists each year for the seven “sanctioned” events. It has a set budget for each event, which works out to an average of $150 to $200 per person in a band to a maximum of $1,000 per act.

It’s important not to confuse the SOCAN Foundation with SOCAN. The Foundation was established in 1992 with a mission to foster Canadian music creation; it is a different company within SOCAN, with its own budget and its own board of directors. Apart from the International Showcasing Program, the SOCAN Foundation offers support for composer residencies, publications, education initiatives, classical-music concert series, and folk and jazz festivals. The majority of these grants are to groups or organizations. “We don’t fund individual projects,” MacMillan says. “If a songwriter releases a new CD and is looking for funding, we always steer them to FACTOR. Our end goal is that every grant approved for support by our board must benefit as many Canadian music creators as possible, either directly or indirectly.”

Potential applicants can download application forms for the International Showcasing Program and other programs at www.socanfoundation.ca. While there, check out the useful links to find other funding organizations.

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