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Gold/Platinum (163)

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Lukas Graham presented with Gold/Platinum award plaques in Toronto

Lukas Graham recieving their Gold/Platinum awards in Toronto. (Photo courtesy of Warner Music Canada)

Grammy-nominated Danish group Lukas Graham were in Toronto Wednesday amidst their North American tour for a highly anticipated show at REBEL (formerly Sound Academy). As the band pointed out during their performance, the show was the second largest in North America during this tour.

Prior to taking the stage, the group, fronted by lead songwriter Lukas Graham Forchhammer, were presented with a 6X Platinum plaque by Warner Music Canada for their breakout hit “7 Years.” The group was also presented with a Gold plaque for “Mama Said.” Both tracks can be found on Lukas Graham’s self-titled 2015 sophomore album.

The video for “Mama Said” can be viewed below.

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2016 Gold/Platinum Year-End Review

2016 was an exciting year for Music Canada’s Gold/Platinum Certification Program. On September 12, we unveiled the new Single Award, which accepts on-demand subscription service streams for the first time in the program’s history. The award replaces the Digital Download and CD Single awards, combining the digital and physical track sales with on-demand streams at a rate of 150:1. Brett Kissel was presented with the first Single Award at the 2016 CCMA Awards in London, ON, when he was surprised on stage with a plaque for “Airwaves.”

Click here for a full list of the 2016 album and track certifications.

We also unveiled new logos and branding for the program, which can be found on our award plaques and in our certification announcements on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. The new branding has allowed us to further interact with artists and their fans, who often share our announcement banners to to their followers. A new online certification portal was also introduced for our member labels, and we expect to reveal non-member certifications and award plaque orders through this portal in early 2017.

As a result of the new guidelines, we experienced a drastic increase in the total number of track certifications from 2015. Combining 2016’s Digital Download and Single awards, there were 495 track certifications in 2016 – a 75% increase from the 283 track certifications in 2015. 119 track certifications were from Canadian artists, a 72% increase from the 69 Canadian track certifications in 2015.

As well, we witnessed a new generation of artists receive their first Canadian certifications, including A Thousand Horses, Alan Walker, Alx Veliz, Andy Grammer, Chris Lane, D.R.A.M., Dan + Shay, Flume, Frenship, Gnash, Jon Pardi, Jonas Blue, Kelsea Ballerini, Kiiara, Klingande, Maren Morris, Miike Snow, Mike Perry, Niall Horan, Snakehips, Sonreal, Tinashe, Tory Lanez, Zara Larsson, Zay Hilfigerrr & Zayion Mccall, and Zeds Dead.

Mark Ronson had the highest certified track of 2016 with the Diamond certification of his Bruno Mars collaboration “Uptown Funk.” Adele‘s track “Someone Like You,” along with Pharell Williams‘ “Happy” and Hozier‘s “Take Me To Church” received the second highest certifications at 8X Platinum. The highest Canadian track certifications belonged to Justin Bieber with his tracks “Love Yourself” and “Sorry” reaching 7X Platinum.

The highest certification for a track released in 2016 belongs to Sia for “Cheap Thrills.” The Chainsmokers landed two Six Times Platinum certifications for their 2016 tracks “Closer” and “Don’t Let Me Down”. Country singer Blake Shelton earned seven Gold certifications, the most of any artist in 2016.

 

There were 75 album certifications in 2016, down from 133 in 2015. 26 of these album certifications were from Canadian artists, down from 51 in 2015.

Adele had the highest certified album with the Diamond certification of 25, while Justin Bieber‘s Purpose was the highest certified Canadian album at Quadruple Platinum. Celine Dion‘s Double Platinum certification for Encore un soir was the highest certification for an album, both international and Canadian, released in 2016. Drake‘s Views, 2 Freres’ Nouse autres, and Michael Buble’Nobody But Me were the second highest Canadian album certifications, each earning Platinum status.

Canadian artist Danny Fernandes received the final Physical Single certification for his “Dear Life” CD single. 5000 physical CD singles were sold across National Basketball League of Canada arenas benefiting World Vision Canada/Artist Collective. Francophone artist Yoan‘s live concert DVD Live Au Centre Videotron was the only video released in 2016 to be certified, and it earned a Platinum certification.

Some of 2016’s Canadian Gold/Platinum certified artists were presented with awards plaques and a collection of photos of these artists can be viewed below:

 

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Kiiara receives Platinum plaque in Toronto

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Kiiara with Warner Music’s John Delaney (left) and Julia Hummel (right)

American singer Kiiara was one of 2016’s breakout stars with the success of her single “Gold,” off her debut EP low kii savage.

The 21-year-old Wilmington, Illinois native was in Toronto on Tuesday for a highly anticipated show at The Hoxton. Prior to her performance, Warner Music Canada presented Kiiara with a Platinum Single Award plaque for “Gold.”

Tuesday’s show marked Kiiara’s first performance in Toronto and the second Canadian show of her career, with her first happening November 8 at Vancouver’s Imperial.

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UK duo Snakehips receive Platinum plaques in Toronto

snakehipsplatPrior to their show at Toronto’s Danforth Music Hall on Friday, British electronic duo Snakehips were presented with Platinum plaques by Sony Music Canada for their single “All My Friends,” which features Tinashe and Chance The Rapper.

The group thanked their Canadian fans through social media, sharing a photo of themselves holding their plaques. Snakehips made two Canadian stops during their North American tour, which included a stop in Montreal Thursday night at Fairmount Theatre.

“All My Friends” was certified as a Platinum Single on October 26, 2016. The new Single Award, which was unveiled in September, combines on-demand streams with paid digital downloads for the first time in the program’s history.

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Music Canada AGM 2016: Year in review

At Music Canada’s 2016 AGM, our Executive Vice President, Amy Terrill, provided an update on what was a busy year for the organization. Music Cities are a red-hot topic worldwide. Municipalities and regions continue to look to the power of music to grow their economies, attract tourists and skilled workers, and increase quality of life.

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An interesting trend of the past year was the “growing understanding that Music City development is an important component of community economic development,” said Terrill, describing how our Music Cities work is being embraced by the International Economic Development Council, national and Ontario BIA associations, and other international associations, such as the UCLG, a congress of global and regional leaders.

Since launching The Mastering of a Music City at Midem in 2015, Graham Henderson and Amy Terrill have been invited to speak on the research and best practices described in the report in numerous cities around the globe, and the list continues to grow.

In the past year, chambers of commerce were defined as a particularly powerful ally in the Music Cities movement. As the voice of business in their communities, chambers have the opportunity to carve out a leadership role in leveraging music as a driver of employment and economic growth, beyond its long-acknowledged cultural and social benefits. At the Canadian Chamber of Commerce’s AGM in September of 2016, Music Canada launched the Music Cities Toolkit, a custom designed guide for chambers to activate the power of music in their city.

Amy established “best practice” as the theme of her remarks, noting Music Canada’s continued efforts to identify, meet and share best practices in Music Cities research, and in all of the work we do.

Matt Masters, a Calgary-based songwriter, event producer, and new Program Leader of the Alberta Music Cities Initiative provided a video update on Music Cities progress in the province, and Andy McLean of the East Coast Music Association (ECMA) shared updates from the Atlantic region and the newly formed partnership between Music Canada and the ECMA.

The past year also included the launch of Music Canada’s new Single Award, which incorporates streaming data into Gold/Platinum certifications for the first time in Canada. Later in the program, Alx Veliz was presented with his first Canadian Gold plaque for his breakout hit “Dancing Kizomba,” before performing three songs for the crowd.

You can watch the full video of Music Canada’s Year in Review below.

For more photos from the Annual General Meeting, visit our photo album on Facebook.

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Alx Veliz receives Gold Single plaque for “Dancing Kizomba” at Music Canada AGM

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During Music Canada’s 2016 Annual General Meeting on Tuesday, Toronto-based singer, songwriter, and producer Alx Veliz was presented with his first Canadian Gold plaque for the single “Dancing Kizomba.” The plaque for the breakout hit, which has also been recorded in Spanish and certified Gold in Spain, was presented to Veliz by Universal Music Canada President & CEO Jeffrey Remedios.

“Dancing Kizomba” was officially announced Gold in the first wave of Single certifications in September, when Music Canada revealed updates to its Gold/Platinum program to now include on-demand streams for track certifications.

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Following the plaque presentation, Veliz performed three songs from his 2016 debut EP Love Has No Language, including “Heroes & Villains,” “Dancing Kizomba,” and his latest single “U+Me.”

 

 

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Chris Lane receives first Canadian award plaque at CCMAs

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Photo courtesy of Universal Music Canada

American country singer Chris Lane earned his first Canadian Gold award plaque last weekend in London, ON during the Canadian Country Music Association Awards/Country Music Week celebrations. The 2016 CCMA Award presenter was surprised with an award plaque for his track “Fix” during an interview with CMT Canada, when host Paul McGuire unveiled the plaque to Lane on camera.

Lane is the second artist to receive a Single Award plaque, which combines on-demand streams and digital downloads towards track certifications for the first time in the program’s history.

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Brett Kissel presented with first Music Canada Single Award plaque in London

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Kissel posing with Warner Music Canada staff and Gold plaque for “Airwaves” (Photo credit: Grant W. Martin Photography)

During Country Music Week in London, ON last weekend, Canadian country star Brett Kissel was presented with a Gold Single Award plaque for his hit “Airwaves.” Kissel is the first recipient of Music Canada’s new Single Award, which includes streams towards track certifications for the first time in the program’s history.

The 2016 CCMA Male Artist of the Year was surprised with the plaque on stage during his performance at CCMA Huron County FanFest by Warner Music Canada President Steve Kane. Upon being present with the award, Kissel immediately thanked his fans in the crowd for helping to make the award possible.

“Airwaves” is Kissel’s third Canadian Gold certification, with “Started With A Song” certified earlier this this year, and “3-2-1” certified in 2015. Beginning in January, Kissel will kick off his “Ice, Snow & 30 Below” tour across Ontario and Eastern Canada. Tour dates can be viewed below:

January 12, 2017               Sault St. Marie, ON          Kiwanis Community Theater Centre

January 13, 2017               Sudbury, ON                      Fraser Auditorium

January 14, 2017               Hamilton, ON                     Dofasco Centre for the Arts

January 16, 2017               Brampton, ON                   Rose Theatre

January 17, 2017               Windsor, ON                      Chrysler Theatre

January 18, 2017               Guelph, ON                        River Run Centre

January 20, 2017               Barrie, ON                           Georgian Theatre

January 21, 2017               Belleville, ON                     Empire Theatre

January 22, 2017               Toronto, ON                       Danforth Music Hall

January 23, 2017               Ottawa, ON                        Algonquin Commons Theatre

January 26, 2017               Liverpool, NS                     Astore Theatre

January 27, 2017               Windsor, NS                       Mermail Imperial Performing Arts Centre

January 28, 2017               New Glasgow, NS            Glasgow Square Theatre

January 29, 2017               Port Hawkesbury, NS     Port Hawkesbury Civic Centre

February 1, 2017               Moncton, NB                     Capitol Theatre

February 2, 2017               Fredericton, NB                Fredericton Playhouse

February 3, 2017               Summerside, PE               Harbourfront Theatre

February 4, 2017               Georgetown, PE               Kings Playhouse

 

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Dierks Bentley receives Gold plaque in Toronto during surprise club visit

Photo courtesy of CMT Canada

Photo courtesy of CMT Canada

Ontario country music festival Boots & Hearts celebrated its fifth anniversary over the weekend, with over 40,000 fans taking in some of the biggest acts in country like Blake Shelton, Tim McGraw, Sam Hunt, and many more. On the Thursday night before the festival, one of the weekend’s headliners joined Boots & Hearts 2015 Emerging Artist winners and 2016 festival performers James Barker Band during their warm-up show at Toronto’s Boots & Bourbon Saloon.

Following a performance of their hit “Lawn Chair Lazy,” the band began playing the opening chords to Dierks Bentley’s “Somewhere On A Beach.” In front of a packed crowd, Bentley emerged from the side of the stage to perform his hit with the group, as well as his Platinum-certified hit “Drunk On A Plane,” and Gold-certified “I Hold On.”

During the intimate performance, Bentley received a surprise himself, as Universal Music Canada presented him with a Gold plaque on stage for “Somewhere On A Beach.” The following night, Bentley closed out the first night of Boots & Hearts.

Photos of the evening can be viewed at CMT Canada.

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The Chainsmokers presented with Double Platinum awards at VELD Music Festival

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American DJ duo The Chainsmokers were presented with Canadian award plaques this weekend prior to their massive set at Toronto’s VELD Music Festival. The unique custom plaques commemorate the Double Platinum certifications of the summer anthems “Roses (ft. Rozes),” and “Don’t Let Me Down (ft. Daya).”

The duo shared the news with their fans via Twitter, thanking Sony Music Canada for their efforts. The duo also thanked their Canadian fans for their energy during their performance with a unique video that provides a glimpse at their view from the VELD main stage.

The Chainsmokers will return to Canada this weekend for a performance at Montreal’s ÎleSoniq festival on Friday, August 5, before continuing on an international tour for the remainder of 2016.

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