Describe your background and industry experience, and explain how it will help you contribute to the SOCAN Board of Directors?
I have had the great joy of being in the music industry for twenty years. The first ten as a member of a touring band and the last ten as a professional songwriter. I am also a teacher and Canadian historian. My musical journey has allowed me to assist songwriters in publishing negotiations, tour manage for artists, help organize songwriting camps and be an involved activist and advocate for the songwriter community. I am very proud to have worked with CreatiVets, an organization that uses songwriting to help military veterans cope with PTSD. Some of my music successes include nominations by the BC Country Music Association and Canadian Country Music Association for songwriter of the year, Tony Stevens’ top ten hit “Whiskey in Colorado,” a song on the 2025 Juno-nominated rock album “Vices” by JJ Wilde along with over one hundred co-written released tracks. As a historian I am a published author who has written on and spoken about the history of Canadian culture and music via many different platforms including classrooms, public forums, popular podcasts, the CBC, as well as numerous publications. I am also the founder and co-host of the songwriting podcast Everybody Sucks, and popular history podcast Curious Canadian History. My diverse and wide-ranging expertise as a historian, teacher and songwriter has given me a unique perspective on the industry; it’s shape historically but also ideas of where it needs to go in the future. I am an experienced public speaker: lecturing as a university instructor on subjects related to Canadian culture and speaking on many different media platforms. Because of this I am comfortable discussing and advocating for music-related issues in all environments. I look forward to applying my passion for advocacy and using my diverse skill set to work for all SOCAN members. Â
In your opinion, what issues will be most important to SOCAN members over the next three years?
There are two fundamental pressing issues that SOCAN members will face over the next three years. The first is navigating rules and regulations about the use of AI in the making and distribution of music. It is imperative that SOCAN work with the Canadian government and partner organizations to foster and create a music landscape that protects songwriters/publishers/performers from the use of AI to infringe upon their intellectual property. At the same time, we must face that AI is going to be a part of the musical landscape going forward and SOCAN is in a strong position to ensure protections are in place but also to educate and help carve a feasible path forward with this new technology.
The second issue is the continued fight for royalties from streaming services. Recent data shows that one million streams of a song on Spotify pays out $460. This is simply unacceptable. While great strides have been made in the past few years the fight has clearly only just begun. Organizations like SOCAN must continue to actively lead the fight while also ensuring that our members are given expanded education opportunities to better understand their rights within this complicated landscape.