Vancouver pop-rock duo Dear Rouge are clearly blessed when it comes to lucrative music contests. A few years ago, they won $102,700 in the Peak Performance Project, and now they've earned another $10,000 by taking home this year's SOCAN Songwriting Prize.
They won the award for their tune "I Heard I Had" from this year's Black to Gold LP. In addition to the money, they won a Martin guitar, a Yamaha keyboard, $500 in credit from Long & McQuade, 20 hours in the studio with producer Timothy Abraham, and vocal coaching.
They beat out fellow nominees Alvvays, Cold Specks, Del Bel, Kiesza, Lisa Leblanc, Lowell, Samantha Savage Smith, Shi Wisdom, and 2nd Son featuring Allie.
"Being honoured and recognized for songwriter craftsmanship is probably the greatest respect and appreciation a musician can receive," Dear Rouge member Danielle McTaggart said in a statement. "We're awestruck by every one of the nine other nominated songs, each of which could have been a worthy winner. Thanks to our fans for voting and to SOCAN for organizing this great contest, and for sticking up for the rights of songwriters like us."
The nominees were picked by a panel of music industry experts, with the ultimate winner decided by a public vote. Listen to "Heard I Had" below.
In addition to the English-language SOCAN Songwriting Prize, there's also a French-language Prix de la chanson SOCAN. This year, the French prize went to Antoine Corriveau for "Le nouveau vocabulaire."
This year was the 10th instalment of the SOCAN Songwriting Prize. Past English-language winners are Propagandhi, Abdominal, the Weakerthans, D-Sisive, Brasstronaut, Katie Moore, Kathleen Edwards, Mo Kenney and Alejandra Ribera.
They won the award for their tune "I Heard I Had" from this year's Black to Gold LP. In addition to the money, they won a Martin guitar, a Yamaha keyboard, $500 in credit from Long & McQuade, 20 hours in the studio with producer Timothy Abraham, and vocal coaching.
They beat out fellow nominees Alvvays, Cold Specks, Del Bel, Kiesza, Lisa Leblanc, Lowell, Samantha Savage Smith, Shi Wisdom, and 2nd Son featuring Allie.
"Being honoured and recognized for songwriter craftsmanship is probably the greatest respect and appreciation a musician can receive," Dear Rouge member Danielle McTaggart said in a statement. "We're awestruck by every one of the nine other nominated songs, each of which could have been a worthy winner. Thanks to our fans for voting and to SOCAN for organizing this great contest, and for sticking up for the rights of songwriters like us."
The nominees were picked by a panel of music industry experts, with the ultimate winner decided by a public vote. Listen to "Heard I Had" below.
In addition to the English-language SOCAN Songwriting Prize, there's also a French-language Prix de la chanson SOCAN. This year, the French prize went to Antoine Corriveau for "Le nouveau vocabulaire."
This year was the 10th instalment of the SOCAN Songwriting Prize. Past English-language winners are Propagandhi, Abdominal, the Weakerthans, D-Sisive, Brasstronaut, Katie Moore, Kathleen Edwards, Mo Kenney and Alejandra Ribera.
