SOCAN Foundation announces recipients of inaugural Black Canadian Music Award presented by SiriusXM

This first prize rewards black creators of music of all genres across Canada

TORONTO , Jan. 11 2021 / CNW / -. The Foundation is proud to announce today the winners of the first edition of the Prize Black music presented by SiriusXM Canada , an award created to reward and celebrate artistic merit of music creators from Black communities. The five recipients will each receive a prize valued at $ 5,000 through a partnership with SiriusXM Canada.

Over 300 entries from across the country covering a wide variety of musical styles were submitted for the 2020 Prize .

“Congratulations to all of the recipients for their extraordinary talent as a musical creator,” said SOCAN Foundation Director Charlie Wall-Andrews . “The pieces submitted illustrate the fundamental contribution of Black communities to music and culture in Canada , while contributing significantly to social and economic inclusion. “

The recipients were selected by a jury and advisory committee made up of prominent artists and music industry leaders from the Black community, with committee chair DJ Agile. In addition, four of the five recipients are first generation Canadians.

“SiriusXM congratulates the five winners of this first Prize Canadian Black Music. Said Paul Cunningham , senior vice president of sales and marketing at SiriusXM Canada. “We were blown away by the remarkable talent and songs submitted by Black music makers across the country. “

The SOCAN Foundation, in partnership with SiriusXM Canada, will virtually celebrate the recipients with a series of short videos and photos on its Instagram page @socanfdn from January 12 to 14.

Created in September 2020, the Canadian Black Music Prize aims to recognize and celebrate music creators from Black communities. This award is in line with the SOCAN Foundation’s goal of developing programs that promote equity and inclusion, while reflecting the diversity of the communities in which we live.

The five recipients are: TOBi, Naya Ali , RAAHiiM, Hunnah and Dylan Sinclair . To learn more about them and the members of the jury, click here .

For more information on the SOCAN Foundation, go to fondationsocan.ca.

About the competition

The creation of this award was made in response to the high-profile racial tensions that raged in early 2020 and the issue surrounding systemic racism in our societies. It is a way for the SOCAN Foundation to recognize and denounce the injustices perpetuated in history while celebrating the talent of Black Canadian music creators.. What do we mean by black music? For the SOCAN Foundation, the term “black music” is meant to be inclusive and represents music created, produced or inspired by the black population, by people of African descent, including African musical traditions and African popular music as well as genres music from the African diaspora, including Afro-Caribbean, Afro-Latin, Afro-Brazilian and African-American music. This definition and the broad guidelines for the award were developed by a small group of advisors from the Black music community in collaboration with the SOCAN Foundation team.

About the SOCAN Foundation

Founded in 1992, the SOCAN Foundation is dedicated to the promotion of musical creation and to a better understanding of the role of music creators in today’s society. The SOCAN Foundation is part of the SOCAN Group of Organizations and is governed by its own Board of Directors, which is made up of composers, songwriters and music publishers and reflects the variety of concert and popular music and geographic diversity. and linguistics of Canada . To learn more about the SOCAN Foundation and SOCAN, visit www.fondationsocan.ca and www.socan.com . 

About SiriusXM Canada

SiriusXM Canada Inc., doing business as SiriusXM Canada, is the country’s leading audio entertainment company. SiriusXM creates and delivers commercial-free music, premier live sports commentary and events, humor, news, exclusive entertainment and talk shows. SiriusXM is available in all major automotive brands’ vehicles, on smartphones and other connected devices, and online at siriusxm.ca/en/.

SiriusXM Canada has been named one of Canada’s Best Managed Companies for 11 consecutive years and is currently a Platinum Club member.

Join SiriusXM Canada on Facebook at facebook.com/siriusxmfranco, on Twitter at @siriusxmfranco, on Instagram at @siriusxmfranco and on YouTube at youtube.com/siriusxmfranco.

SOURCE SOCAN Foundation