CIAM Elections 2026 - Marc Ouellette
SOCAN
Dear colleagues,
For more than 35 years, I have earned my living as a composer, arranger, conductor and producer. For the past 17 years, I have also served on SOCAN's Board of Directors, including eight years as Chair. These two perspectives - the creator at work and the governor accountable to creators - shape my candidacy for the CIAM Executive Committee.
Since 2019, I have represented SOCAN at CISAC meetings in Europe, Latin America, Asia and North America. Across regions and repertoires, I have encountered different realities but the same central need: creators must retain agency over their work and share fairly in the value it generates.
This is especially urgent as artificial intelligence transforms music. Innovation can expand creativity and markets, but only if it respects human authorship. We need meaningful transparency, authorisation by rights holders, reliable attribution and fair remuneration. My specialised training in AI, ethics and governance, together with my work as a composer and CMO chair, has prepared me to help CIAM address these questions practically and credibly.
As an Executive Committee member, I would focus on three contributions. First, strengthening CIAM's global voice so that creators remain central to copyright, AI and digital-market policy. Second, promoting strong, transparent and creator-led collective management, including better data and international cooperation so that royalties reach the right creators. Third, expanding education and exchange among regions so that emerging markets and younger creators can benefit from proven governance, advocacy and professional practices without losing their cultural identity.
I believe leadership begins with listening. As a chair, my role has been to create the conditions for candid debate, bring different interests toward workable decisions and hold institutions accountable for results. I would bring that same collaborative discipline to CIAM.
The music ecosystem begins with the act of creation. Its institutions, laws and technologies must continue to serve that human source. I would be honoured to work with you on the Executive Committee to advance a fair, sustainable and genuinely global future for music creators.
Thank you for your consideration.
BIOGRAPHY
Marc Ouellette, ICD.D, is a Canadian composer, conductor, producer and creator-rights leader. He has served on SOCAN's Board of Directors since 2009 and as Chair since 2018, overseeing strategy, risk, financial performance and governance at one of the world's leading collective management organisations. He previously chaired other local industry associations and collectives in Canada such as SPACQ, SODRAC and the SOCAN Foundation.
An award-winning composer, Ouellette has worked for more than 35 years across film and television, symphonic productions, recordings, national public events and international performances. Since 2019, he has represented SOCAN at CISAC gatherings in Europe, Latin America, Asia and North America.
He holds a Bachelor of Music in Composition from McGill University, the ICD.D designation from the Institute of Corporate Directors and the Artificial Intelligence Governance Professional certification. He has also completed executive studies in artificial intelligence at Oxford and in AI ethics at the London School of Economics. He works in French and English.