SOCAN (the Society of Composers, Authors & Music Publishers of Canada) has announced the resignation of Eric Baptiste as the company’s chief executive officer, effective immediately.
Jennifer Brown, Senior Vice President Operation & Reproduction Rights, has been appointed to the role of Interim CEO during the formal process of identifying a permanent CEO.
“We thank Eric Baptiste for his leadership over the past 10 years,” said Marc Ouellette, President & Chair of SOCAN’s Board of Directors. “During this time, SOCAN has seen growth and has maintained its presence as a leader in serving music creators and publishers in Canada and around the world.”
With the end of the current CEO contract approaching, Eric thought it was time to move on and a mutual decision was reached with the Board to end his tenure now.
Jennifer Brown has been on SOCAN’s executive team for nearly 10 years. She was previously Vice President of the company’s Licensing department and has worked with the company for more than two decades.
SOCAN will continue to serve its members as a not-for-profit organization, as well as its initiatives in rights management, licensing, advocacy, and support for the music and entertainment industry.
The decision is purely coincidental to the current COVID-19 crisis, and the Board of Directors has full faith in SOCAN’s executive management team. The organization continues to operate at full capacity.
SOCAN is a rights management organization that connects more than four-million music creators worldwide and more than a quarter-million businesses and individuals in Canada. More than 160,000 songwriters, composers, music publishers and visual artists are its direct members, and more than 100,000 organizations are Licensed To Play music across Canada. With a concerted use of progressive technology and unique data as well as a commitment to lead the global transformation of rights management, with wholly-owned companies Dataclef and MediaNet, and Entandem (co-owned with RE:SOUND), SOCAN is dedicated to upholding the fundamental truths that music and visual arts have value and creators and publishers deserve fair compensation for their work. For more information: www.socan.com
