Canadian country group The Washboard Union were surprised with their first Canadian Gold award plaques by Warner Music Canada last week for the single “Shot Of Glory.” The Vancouver-based trio received the awards in Toronto during a listening session of their brand new album. Following the presentation, they took to their social media accounts to announce the news to their fans.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BfwA1TvhkoM/?taken-by=warnermusiccanada
Watch the video for “Shot Of Glory” below.
Toronto, Feb. 27, 2018: Music Canada today announced it is curating music through its new profile on Apple Music. The popular Gold/Platinum certification and awards program joins a growing roster of curators on the service, which includes a variety of media publications, lifestyle brands, festivals, and record labels, including Music Canada member organizations Universal Music Canada, Warner Music Canada, Sony Music Canada, 604 Records, Last Gang, and Cadence Music.
Music fans can follow the Gold/Platinum Canada curator channel through the Playlists section of Apple Music. Five unique playlists are available upon launch, including Gold In Canada which is updated every Thursday with 50 of the latest singles that have the coveted Gold certification, as well as 2017: Year-End Recap, which features more than 300 songs newly certified in 2017.
There are three new all-Canadian playlists available now on Apple Music:
Music Canada first began accepting on-demand streaming data towards Gold/Platinum certifications with the launch of the Single Award in 2016. In the summer of 2017, Music Canada updated the guidelines for the historic Album Award to begin including Stream Equivalent Albums (SEA) and Track Equivalent Albums (TEA).
Check out Music Canada’s Gold/Platinum playlists on Apple Music here.
Follow Gold/Platinum Canada on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram to stay up-to-date with the latest certification announcements, award plaque presentations and playlist additions.
For more information:
Bram Gonshor, Music Canada
bgonshor@musiccanada.com
(416) 967-7272 x 0
Photo Credit: Felix Cartal (Twitter)
Vancouver-based DJ and electronic producer Felix Cartal was surprised by Cadence Music Group with his first Canadian Gold Single Award plaque in Toronto this week for “Get What You Give,” his unique take on the 90’s New Radicals hit.
He shared his excitement for receiving the plaque with fans through Twitter and Instagram. Following his JUNO nominations, he tweeted:
Wow…. a gold record last night, and now two nominations at @TheJUNOAwards !!! best dance recording and producer of the year. absolutely speechless…. craziest 24 hours of my life right now. THANK YOU
— felix cartal (@felixcartal) February 6, 2018
Felix Cartal was a special guest at Tuesday’s 2018 JUNO Awards nomination press conference in Toronto, which found him with two nominations for the track in the Dance Recording of the Year and Producer of The Year categories.
View the video for “Get What You Give” below.
Photo Credit: Warner Music Canada
Ahead of her sold out show January 30 at Montreal’s MTELUS, British pop star Dua Lipa was presented with her first Canadian Gold and Platinum plaques for her breakout 2017 hits “New Rules” (Platinum) and “Blow Your Mind (Mwah)” (Gold) by Warner Music Canada.
The highly anticipated Montreal appearance was the English singer-songwriter’s first Canadian appearance of 2018 and the second Canadian show of her Norther American Self-Titled Tour, which brought her through Toronto last November. Lipa will return to Canada on February 16 for a sold out show at Vancouver’s Vogue Theatre.
Watch the video for “New Rules” below.
Canadian artists Brett Kissel (Warner Music Canada), Shania Twain (Universal Music Canada), and Ria Mae (Sony Music Canada) receiving their 2017 Gold/Platinum awards.
2017 was a tremendous year of growth for Music Canada’s historic Gold/Platinum program, which experienced a surge in Album and Single Award certifications from the addition of on-demand audio streams and a modernized application process.
In July 2017, Music Canada updated the album certification guidelines to accept TEAs (Track Equivalent Album) and SEAs (Stream Equivalent Album), which helped album certifications increase by more than 90% over 2016. The updated guidelines also led to a 110% increase in Canadian artist album certifications, with an over 80% increase in Canadian albums receiving their first Gold certifications. The highest certified Canadian album released in 2017 was Drake‘s Double Platinum album More Life, followed by Arcade Fire’s fifth studio album Everything Now and Shania Twain’s highly anticipated comeback album Now, which both earned Platinum status*.
Music Canada began accepting on-demand subscription service streams with the introduction of the Single Award in September 2016, which replaced the sales-based Digital Download Award first introduced in March 2006. In 2017, track certifications increased nearly 45% from 2016’s total. Several Canadian artists received their first Gold Single certifications in 2017 including Aaron Goodvin, Aaron Pritchett, Bahamas, Dan Davidson, Dani and Lizzy, Daniel Caesar, DVBBS, James Barker Band, Jazz Cartier, Jessie Reyez, Jonathan Roy, NAV, and Tebey.
Click here for a full list of 2017 Canadian artist certifications.
Seven Singles earned Canadian Diamond status, which is the highest annual total in the program’s forty-two year history. The highest certified Singles released in 2017 were Ed Sheeran’s “Shape Of You” and Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee’s “Despacito,” both of which earned Diamond certifications. Ed Sheeran had the most new Single certifications in 2017 with 16 songs earning their first Canadian certifications. His total is followed by rapper Post Malone, who had 8 songs earn their first Canadian certifications.
Drake is the only Canadian artist to receive a Diamond track certification this year for his 2016 smash hit “One Dance,” while legendary Canadian rock band The Tragically Hip are the sole act to receive a Diamond album certification for their 1991 album Road Apples. Drake’s Double Platinum single “Signs” was the highest certified Single by a Canadian artist released in 2017, followed by the Platinum-certified tracks “Reminding Me” by Shawn Hook featuring Vanessa Hudgens, and “Figures” by Jessie Reyez.
Adele received two Diamond certifications for “Hello” and “Rolling In The Deep,” as well as a Nine Times Platinum Single for “Someone Like You.” Macklemore, who also earned certifications for 2017 hits “Glorious” (Platinum) and “Good Old Days” (Gold), received a Diamond certification for his 2012 Ryan Lewis collaboration “Thrift Shop.” The Chainsmokers received their first Canadian Diamond award for “Closer,” along with 5 Singles earning their first Canadian certifications.
In addition to a growing following on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, Music Canada expanded the Gold/Platinum program’s reach through the launch of the Gold In Canada playlist on Spotify and Google Play. The playlist updates every Thursday with the latest tracks across all genres to earn the coveted Gold certification. In 2018, Music Canada will unveil a series of new playlists highlighting Canadian music’s past and current history.
Our 2017 Year-End Recap playlist, which contains nearly 300 songs newly certified in 2017 in Canada, is now available on Spotify (below) and Google Play. Visit our Facebook page for a full collection of 2017 award plaque presentation photos.
*01/04/17: An earlier version of this blog omitted Drake’s More Life.
Photo Credit: Warner Music Canada
2017 was a breakout year for New York rapper Cardi B, who made waves this summer with her smash single “Bodak Yellow (Money Moves).”
Prior to her performance at the 2017 iHeartRadio Jingle Ball Friday at Toronto’s Air Canada Centre, Cardi B was surprised with her first Canadian award plaque by Warner Music Canada, commemorating the trap anthem’s Double Platinum status in Canada.
Cardi B shared the news with her fans on her Instagram account, and the photo has already received over one million likes. Earlier this summer, the former Love & Hip Hop reality TV star surprised Toronto hip hop fans when she took stage at Drake’s OVO Fest to perform the track.
During Friday’s Jingle Ball, Cardi B also performed the track “Lick” from her 2017 album Gangsta Bitch Music Vol. 2.
L to R: David Waxman, Mark Dennis (Managing Director, Sony Music Sweden), Gunnar Greve (CEO, MER Musikk), Asim “Awesome” Awan, Björn Barnekow (President, Bad Taste Empire)
During ADE17 (Amsterdam Dance Event) in October, Asim “Awesome” Awan (Co-President, Ultra Music Canada) and David Waxman (Senior Vice President, Ultra Music) presented electronic musician Alan Walker’s management with a custom award plaque for his Canadian Single Award certifications. The plaque commemorates Walker’s certified tracks “Faded (4x Platinum),” “Sing Me To Sleep (Gold),” and “Alone (Gold),” which were all certified in September 2017.
The music video for “Faded” can be viewed below.
Photo: Warner Music Canada
Seattle, WA rapper Macklemore was in Toronto last week for the sole Canadian date of his North American Gemini Tour. Prior to his show at REBEL, Macklemore was presented with a custom Diamond plaque by Warner Music Canada for “Thrift Shop,” his 2013 Grammy-winning breakthrough hit with Ryan Lewis from their Platinum-certified album The Heist. “Thrift Shop” was the seventh track to be certified Diamond in Canada and the sixth since Music Canada launched the new Single Award, which combines on-demand audio streams and digital track sales.
The rapper was also surprised with a Platinum plaque for his track “Glorious,” from his 2017 album Gemini. Since receiving the award, Macklemore has also earned a Gold certification for his Kesha collaboration, “Good Old Days.”
https://twitter.com/GoldPlatCA/status/931578607687921665
Photo credit: Sony Music Canada
Montreal-based indie rockers Arcade Fire closed the North American leg of Infinite Content tour, which found the band perform in-the-round at more than two dozen arenas across the continent, with two shows last weekend at Toronto’s Air Canada Centre. Prior to the shows, the band were surprised with Platinum award plaques for their fifth studio album, Everything Now, by Sony Music Canada.
Everything Now is the bands fourth Canadian Platinum certification, joining their landmark 2003 debut Funeral, 2010’s Double Platinum album The Suburbs, and 2013’s Triple Platinum two-disc set Reflektor.
The video for the album’s title track can be viewed below.
Universal Music Canada staff pose with Niall Horan at Massey Hall
On Wednesday, November 1, pop sensation Niall Horan paid his Toronto die-hards a special visit for an intimate show at Massey Hall in support of his debut solo album, Flicker. Prior to the highly anticipated performance, Horan was surprised with a Gold plaque for the album by Universal Music Canada, which also commemorates his Double Platinum singles “Slow Hands” and “This Town.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/BbAp83NHxRT/
Following the presentation, the former One Direction member went on to perform tracks off his latest album for the excited Toronto crowd, including a cover of the 1D hit “Fool’s Gold.” As a member of the pop group, Horan earned four Canadian Gold Album Award certifications, with Take Me Home and Up All Night both earning Triple Platinum status.
The Irish singer-songwriter will return to Toronto next year for a show at Budweiser Stage on September 5, 2018.
Watch the lyric video for “Slow Hands” from the Gold-certified album Flicker below.
Music Canada