Sponsored by Gowlings, KPMG, RBC and HMV, and hosted by CMT Canada's Paul McGuire, the SOCAN Awards recognize the lifetime and more recent achievements of Canada's music creators, honoured in a host of categories, including Pop/Rock, Dance, Urban, Country, Jazz, Folk/Roots, Classical, and Film & Television.
Recipients of SOCAN's major achievement awards this year were the legendary Randy Bachman (Lifetime Achievement), Dallas Green (National Achievement), MAGIC! (International Achievement), music industry pioneer Bernie Finkelstein (Special Achievement), and "Born to be Wild" songwriter Mars Bonfire, who accepted SOCAN's first-ever Cultural Impact Award. All accepted their honours in person, as did R&B chart-toppers The Weeknd and Belly, rising country stars Brett Kissel and Tim Hicks, and film and TV composers Keith Power and Andrew Lockington, among many others.
