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FYI

SOCAN Cancels March 30 Awards

SOCAN has made the decision to cancel the 2020 Awards amid COVID-19 concerns.

The following is a statement released Friday afternoon:

SOCAN Cancels March 30 Awards

By External Source

SOCAN has made the decision to cancel the 2020 Awards amid COVID-19 concerns.


The following is a statement released Friday afternoon:

Due to Ontario's chief medical officer issuing instructions to "avoid all non-essential travel outside of Canada" and the "immediate suspension" of all gatherings of more than 250 people because of the COVID-19 pandemic, SOCAN has made the difficult decision to cancel the 2020 SOCAN Awards, which had been scheduled to be held on March 30th in Toronto.

"We made this decision with great sadness, following guidelines recently set out and thinking first and foremost about what is best for our staff, our members, the Canadian music community and the public at large," said SOCAN CEO Eric Baptiste. "We look forward to celebrating the incredible achievements of Canada's most successful songwriters, composers and music publishers in an alternative way."

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The SOCAN Awards are a private celebration, but travel to and from the event and holding a gathering of several hundred people are clearly not advisable.

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Charlotte Day Wilson
Jessica Foley
Charlotte Day Wilson
Concerts

CNE 2026 Bell SOUNDSTAGE Lineup: Charlotte Day Wilson, JoJo, Finger Eleven and More

As part of its partnership with NXNE and a renewed focus on live music, CNE will also welcome a special soon-to-be revealed global headliner presented by Billboard Canada on Aug. 28.

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The beloved long-running fair, baptized The Ex by Torontonians, has unveiled the full list of artists who will be headlining the newly-named Bell SOUNDSTAGE at the Bandshell to celebrate the event's 147th edition. Canadian stars like Charlotte Day Wilson and Finger Eleven as well as international pop star JoJo have been added to this year's programming, which reflects a diverse mix of renowned names and rising stars across a multitude of genres including pop, hip-hop, Punjabi music and soca, among others. They join previously announced acts like Lights, Lupe Fiasco, Shaggy and more.

This year, the exhibition is partnering with Toronto music festival NXNE, to modernize its musical programming with chart-topping artists and newer acts, and revamping the Bandshell as the Bell SOUNDSTAGE. “Music is such a massive part of who we are,” Mark Holland, CEO of the CNE, told Billboard Canada in April during his Executive of the Week interview. "Connecting everybody to that is a democratic mission that we are really invested in."

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