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#EveryStage: How Music Canada’s Music Cities advocacy aims to make Canadian municipalities more music and musician friendly

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Last week Music Canada launched our JUNOS 2018 #EveryStage campaign, intended to highlight the ways our advocacy supports artists at every stage of their career, with a blog about our aim to secure equitable access to quality music education for all young Canadians.

We’re proud to return as a Platinum Partner of the 47th annual JUNOS, sponsoring both the Album of the Year category as well as the official kickoff to JUNO weekend, the Welcome Reception.

In the second installment of our four-part series leading up the 2018 JUNO Awards, we’ll explore Music Cities and Music Canada’s efforts to help make Canadian municipalities more music and musician-friendly. A Music City is a community of any size with a vibrant music economy.


Why it’s important

Vibrant and actively promoted local music ecosystems bring a wide array of benefits to both cities and the musicians inhabiting them. Economic growth, job creation, increased spending, greater tax revenues and cultural development are just a few examples.

“Live music is a growth industry in Ottawa. It shapes our identity and who we are as a city. In addition to the cultural benefits, a thriving music industry helps to level the playing field for our homegrown companies who are competing to attract talent from around the world.” – Jim Watson, Mayor of Ottawa


How we advocate

Music Canada’s world-renowned and globe-spanning research has identified several key strategies that cities both large and small can use to grow and strengthen their music economy. We work with municipal governments and regional partners to implement music and musician-friendly policies, establish music offices and advisory boards, as well as promote music tourism, audience development and access to the spaces and places where music is made.

Cities across Canada, including London, Vancouver, Hamilton, Calgary, Toronto, Barrie/Simcoe County, Halifax, Moncton, Ottawa, Windsor-Essex, Guelph and more have implemented or are exploring measures to maximize the impact, growth and support for their local music ecosystems, and Music Canada has been proud to provide support through our research and expertise in the development of these strategies.


Learn more

Our 2015 report The Mastering of a Music City represents a roadmap that communities of all sizes can follow to realize the full potential of their music economy. Truly global in scale, the report is the result of more than forty interviews with music community experts, government officials, and community leaders in more than twenty cities on every continent.

“This should remove barriers to performing and creating music. Ultimately the goal is to create a more sustainable music community where artists and professionals can enjoy successful careers.” – Graham Henderson, President and CEO of Music Canada

Our annual Music Cities Summit at Canadian Music Week brings policymakers, city planners and global music industry representatives together to discuss, learn and collaborate.

Chambers of commerce have an opportunity to carve out a leadership role in leveraging music as a driver of employment and economic growth. In 2016, Music Canada partnered with the Canadian Chamber of Commerce (CCC) to create a Music Cities Toolkit, designed to provide the CCC’s network of over 450 chambers of commerce and boards of trade, in all regions of the country, with a guide to activate the power of music in their city.

“The cities of Kitchener and Waterloo have long recognized that a comprehensive and coordinated approach for live music allows us to not only expand our existing events such as the Kitchener Blues Festival but also attract new business and retain talent. As this document confirms, Music Canada is a tremendous resource for all stakeholders in formulating a local strategy, particularly in bridging municipal, business and cultural sector interests. Through national and international experience they know what works for the benefit of the entire community.” –  Ian McLean, President & Chief Executive Officer, Greater Kitchener Waterloo Chamber of Commerce

Live Music Measures Up is the first comprehensive economic impact study of the live music industry in Ontario. It provides critical data and information to help guide decision-making within the sector, in government and other allied stakeholders.

“Measuring Live Music represents an historic, timely and monumental opportunity; one which will enable us to entrench the true value of the live music economy in the minds of our stakeholders, government and audiences alike. It’s inspiring to see the sector organize, work together and build on the momentum we can all feel – here in the Province and around the world – the kind that will help guarantee live music takes its rightful place as one of Ontario’s greatest natural resources.” – Erin Benjamin, Executive Director, Music Canada Live

         

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Music Canada launches #EveryStage campaign, focusing first on music education

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Music Canada is proud to return as a Platinum Partner of the 47th annual JUNO Awards in 2018, sponsoring both the Album of the Year category as well as the Welcome Reception, which is the official kickoff party to JUNOs weekend happening Friday, March 23rd in Vancouver.

Leading up to this year’s annual celebration of Canada’s brightest stars in music, Music Canada will be highlighting the ways in which our advocacy supports Canadian artists at every stage of their career. In the coming weeks, we’ll be publishing a series of blogs detailing our research and advocacy efforts in four defined areas: music education, music cities, copyright, and celebrating success. To kick it off, we’ll start where most Canadians learn the fundamentals with music education.

One of the key recommendations in Music Canada’s Next Big Bang report, which identifies programs and policies designed to stimulate the development of Canada’s commercial music sector and to drive growth and job creation in the economy at large, is to enhance and invest in music education. The recommendation states:

Given the strong evidence that music education prepares workers who are more creative, better problem-solvers, and possess soft skills that are critical in the digital economy, as well as the correlation between music scenes and tech clusters, governments should invest more in music education and should consider music scenes as a tool for economic development.

This recommendation drives much of the advocacy undertaken by Music Canada to secure equitable access to quality music education for all young Canadians.

We are currently working with multiple provincial governments on various initiatives and strategies to meet this goal, and have been a long-time supporter of groups like MusiCounts and their efforts put more instruments into the hands of Canadian kids, as well as the Coalition for Music Education, promoting their efforts to improve the state of music education in Canada.

From a curriculum standpoint, music education falls under the mandate of provincial ministries, but municipalities also have a role to play in ensuring equitable access to music education for all Canadians. And the relationship is reciprocal, as music education also plays a role in the development of vibrant Music Cities.

As our 2015 landmark report, The Mastering of a Music City notes:

Music education is present in successful Music Cities. Generally, it is understood to include formal music training in the education system, as well as specialized programs at colleges and universities. Not only do these programs help develop future musicians, but they develop appreciation for music at a young age, seeding future audiences. The many other benefits of learning and playing music are well documented and wide-ranging. These include enhancing children’s neural activity, language development, test scores, IQ and learning abilities.

One way that municipalities can promote music education is through a phenomenal program that has been popping up in cities across Canada – music instrument lending libraries. Public library branches in Barrie, Kitchener, Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto and other cities now allow Canadians of any age to experiment with and learn new instruments free of charge.

We look forward to sharing more news in the near future on our work to promote and strengthen music education. Next in our series of blogs about how our advocacy supports artists at every stage of their career, we’ll dive deeper into Music Cities and how musicians can benefit from vibrant, actively promoted local music economies.

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Music Canada proud to return as sponsor of Album of the Year category at the 2018 JUNO Awards

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Earlier today the nominees for the 2018 JUNO Awards were revealed at a press conference at Toronto’s Great Hall. Music Canada is proud to return as sponsor of the Album of the Year category for the 47th annual JUNO Awards. The 2018 Album of the Year nominees are:

  • Everything Now – Arcade Fire (Sony)
  • Revival – Johnny Reid (Halo*Universal)
  • Nobody But Me – Michael Bublé (Warner)
  • Safe Haven – Ruth B (Sony)
  • Now – Shania Twain (Mercury*Universal)

“Congratulations to everyone involved in the making of these fantastic albums. We at Music Canada are incredibly proud to help recognize Canadian artists, their record label teams, and other individuals who have helped them reach the pinnacle of celebration and achievement in Canadian music,” says Graham Henderson, President and CEO of Music Canada.

“Whether celebrating success at the highest level through our support for institutions like the JUNO Awards and our Gold/Platinum program or fostering the next generation of artists through music education in Canadian schools, Music Canada’s advocacy supports artists at every stage of their career,” says Henderson. “Our Music Cities work aims to make cities more music and musician friendly, promoting sustainability and growth of music ecosystems at the municipal level. And through our federal copyright advocacy, we strive to ensure music creators are properly compensated whenever their work is commercialized by others.”

In addition to the Album of the Year, Music Canada will return as sponsor of the 2018 Welcome Reception for JUNOs weekend, happening Saturday, March 23 in Vancouver. The 47th annual JUNO Awards will be broadcast live on CBC beginning at 5pm PT and 8pm EST on Sunday, March 25. You can also watch the live steam on CBC Music’s Facebook page.

Ticket information for the 2018 JUNO Awards broadcast and other 2018 JUNO Awards events is available on the JUNOs website.

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Webequie First Nation youth share their dreams and hopes in ‘Anishinaabe Dreams’ music video

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The ‘Anishinaabe Dreams’ music video by Webequie First Nations youth was officially released by DAREarts on January 25. The video begins with young people sharing their dreams to become a hockey player, a doctor and a baseball player. The youth then begin to sing “We know ourselves through our dreams. We know ourselves through this land where we’ve been.”

The video was produced by the national children’s charity DAREarts, which works with 9-19 year olds from schools in underserved communities to build courage, confidence and leadership skills. DAREarts (which stands for Discipline, Action, Responsibility and Excellence) began its Indigenous Program ten years ago in Webequie First Nation and has returned to the community every year.

Last year DAREarts undertook a special project called Spirit Bear which travelled through four remote communities – Marten Falls First Nation, Neskantaga First Nation, Attawapiskat First Nation and Webequie First Nation – and according to DAREarts “transformed into a metaphor for the circle between culture, history and youth.”

Watch the inspiring ‘Anishinaabe Dreams’ video below.

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New research from SOCAN provides more evidence for the value of Music Cities strategies

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The results of a new survey commissioned by SOCAN provide new evidence to support the development of Music City strategies, like those detailed in Music Canada’s landmark study, The Mastering of a Music City.

The SOCAN study titled Live Music & Urban Canadians confirms that most Canadians living in urban centres think it is important to live in a neighbourhood “with a vibrant local arts scene that includes live music” and support a portion of funds from new property developments going to community arts and culture developments.

Some details of the survey were initially shared in an opinion piece for the Toronto Star by SOCAN’s CEO Eric Baptiste titled Cities can create conditions for live music to thrive. The article was followed by another release expanding on the results of the survey and proposing ways that municipalities and music fans can support live music.

Results from SOCAN’s research include:

  • “Nearly two-thirds (63%) of urban Canadians agree that it is important to live in a neighbourhood with a vibrant arts scene that includes live music.”

Respondents with a university degree (71%) were more likely to agree with this sentiment versus those with a college (58%) or high school (49%) education. Urban residents in Atlantic Canada (74%) were also most in agreement versus residents in other parts of Canada, followed by Quebec (68%), British Columbia (67%), Ontario (63%), Saskatchewan and Manitoba (54%) and Alberta (50%).

  • “The vast majority (80%) of urban Canadians would support a portion of funds going to community arts & culture developments.”

SOCAN’s survey stated that “currently new property developers in some municipalities are required to put a portion of funds towards community development, city parks, etc,” and asked respondents whether they would support a portion of these funds being put towards arts & culture developments like live music venues and local theatres.

Urban Canadians who agreed that living in a neighbourhood with a vibrant arts and live music scene was important to them were significantly more likely to agree (91%) that development fees should support arts & culture developments than those who did not agree (62%).

  • “Roughly half (49%) of urban Canadians would enjoy owning and living in a condo that offered live music in the lobby.”

SOCAN’s survey noted that many condos in the US and Europe have restaurants and bars in their lobbies. Of the urban Canadians who responded that they would enjoy live music in their lobby, young Canadians aged 18-34 were most likely to agree (66%) and respondents living in Quebec were less likely to agree (39%) than Canadian outside of Quebec (55%).

As noted in The Mastering of a Music City, music can play a powerful role in city brand building, and also in attracting and retaining talent and investment in a city’s broader economy. In a world where talent is highly mobile, some cities are focusing on the vibrancy of their music and arts scene as a way to stand out from the competition. SOCAN’s research adds further evidence to support this observation.

Access to the spaces and places in which music can be made – from education to rehearsal to recording to performance – is also one of the seven key strategies to grow and strengthen a local music economy identified in The Mastering of a Music City.

But the relationship between residential buildings and these spaces, including live music venues, rehearsal spaces, and arts hubs, is one in which cities across the world are attempting to strike the right balance. New residential developments have, in some cases, been developed on properties formerly occupied by live venues or community arts hubs. Other venues have been threatened by rising rents, property values and taxes that do not consider the social value of these cultural spaces.

What tools are at a city’s disposal that might be, given SOCAN’s research, supported by urban Canadians?

401 Richmond, a live-work community arts hub in Toronto, was recently confronted with a property tax increase that threatened its closure. Recognizing the cultural significance of venues such as 401 Richmond, the Province of Ontario announced it was prepared to, in conjunction with the City, develop a new tax class for heritage properties.

Toronto City Councillor Joe Cressy then brought a successful motion to council to formally begin the process of establishing “Toronto’s new Culture and Creative property tax sub-class.”

Another tool adopted by cities like Melbourne, San Francisco, Montreal and London is the Agent of Change principle in land use planning. The Mastering of a Music City describes the principle as such:

“The Agent of Change Principle determines which party is required to adopt noise mitigation measures in situations of mixed land use. If the ‘agent of change’ is a new apartment building that is being built near a pre-existing music venue, the apartment building is responsible for sound attenuation. On the other hand, if the music venue is undergoing renovations and therefore is the ‘agent of change’ in the neighbourhood, it is responsible for noise mitigation.”

In Toronto, while various measures are under consideration and review, the City’s Film & Entertainment Industries’ Music Unit can now add comments to applications circulated by the Planning Division for any new development within 120 metres of an existing live music venue so that staff can identify any potential conflicts and make recommendations.

These and other policies, like reviewing noise bylaws, can go a long way in allowing live music venues and residential properties to coexist, facilitating the conditions for the vibrant arts and cultural communities that SOCAN’s research has shown are important to nearly two-thirds of urban Canadians.

This research comes as regions across Canada, including London, Vancouver, Hamilton, Windsor-Essex, Moncton, Ottawa, Barrie-Simcoe County, and more have implemented or are considering strategies to better support and grow their music ecosystems. SOCAN’s new findings provide even more evidence for the value in municipal strategies that create the environment for music ecosystems to flourish.

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Leading Canadian copyright lawyer says “support for Canada’s content creators is imperative” in Globe and Mail op-ed

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Barry Sookman, one of Canada’s leading copyright lawyers, wrote an op-ed published in The Globe and Mail on January 18, addressing two of the major challenges facing the cultural industries in Canada: pirate streaming and the Value Gap. The piece was later posted in its full, unedited length on Sookman’s personal website.

Sookman says that “our outdated legal frameworks” are a significant contributing cause of these challenges. He references Music Canada’s 2017 report The Value Gap: Its Origins, Impacts and a Made-In-Canada Approach, which shows that “the market value of music in Canada is still a fraction of what it once was, and equitable remuneration for access to music remains elusive.”

The report defines the Value Gap as the “significant disparity between the value of creative content that is accessed and enjoyed by consumers, and the revenues that are returned to the people and businesses who create it.”

As Sookman points out, the Value Gap is not only a problem for music creators. He says that most of Canada’s leading cultural industries are also affected, including journalism, television and film.

A coalition of author and publisher groups have documented the harm caused by the Value Gap to their sector, and in 2017 launched the I Value Canadian Stories campaign to urge Canadian lawmakers to “restore balance between the need to compensate our creators for educational copying and the need to promote access to quality content.” The campaign website notes that royalties to creators and publishers for copying of their works have declined by 80% since 2013.

Sookman concludes that, given the magnitude of this problem and the threat to Canada’s cultural industries, the issue, as well as practical solutions, “deserve the attention and support of Canadians.”

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A series of recommendations from Toronto Music Advisory Council are one step closer to policy after Economic Development Committee approval

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Members of Toronto’s Economic Development Committee passed a suite of Toronto Music Advisory Council (TMAC) recommendations today aimed at providing better support for the city’s live music venues, and facilitating the collection of data for an international study on night time economies.

Toronto’s Economic Development Committee is composed of councillors Fragedakis, Grimes, Hart, Holland, Kelly and Thompson (Chair), many of whom spoke passionately about the value of music and culture to the city’s identity and well-being, as well as music’s significant contribution to the local economy.

“Life without music, life without culture, would be no life,” said Committee Chair Michael Thompson, Councilor for Ward 37 (Scarborough Centre) and former TMAC Co-Chair.

Spencer Sutherland, current Co-Chair of TMAC, owner of Toronto music venue Nocturne and Chairman of the Queen West Business Improvement Area, gave a deputation at the meeting thanking the Committee and Council for its support thus far, and speaking to the progress TMAC has made to reach these recommendations.

Many of the recommendations were specifically created to address the challenges that live music venues face, like rising property taxes, as well as licensing and other logistical challenges. A sense of urgency to address the situation for venues came to a fever pitch in 2017.

“As you might recall at the same time last year our city was facing an unprecedented crisis of music venues closing at an alarming rate of one per week,” said Sutherland. “Thankfully, so far this year we have seen none of that.”

Later in the meeting Josh Colle, Councillor for Ward 15 (Eglinton-Lawrence) and TMAC Co-Chair, said the story that is not often told is about venues opening or re-opening, such as Hugh’s Room and The Hideout. Colle praised the work of TMAC, and specifically the venue sustainability working group, which he said “really lit a fire” under councillors to act to provide better protection and support for live music.

The agenda item up for consideration was titled “Night-time Economy – Collection of Data and Protection of Live Music Venues,” and recommendations made to the Committee by the TMAC were divided into two categories.

The first related to an international study of the night time economy being conducted by the Responsible Hospitality Institute examining effective and sustainable models for night time economy management.  TMAC requested that the General Manager, Economic Development and Culture, in collaboration with the Director, Office of Emergency Management and the Executive Director, Municipal Licensing and Standards, facilitate the collection of accurate data by the Toronto Association of Business Improvement Areas (TABIA) to contribute to the international study.

Cities around the globe are examining various policies to best support their night time economies, and some cities, such as Amsterdam and New York, have appointed a Night Mayor to represent the businesses and cultures that thrive outside of the nine-to-five. In a 2016 Huffington Post blog, Music Canada’s Executive Vice President Amy Terrill asked “Does Toronto need a Night Mayor?”

Councillor Thompson noted that Toronto is paying attention to initiatives in other cities, including New York and London, and felt the City could do more to maximize the potential of its night time economy. “There are many things that are taking place and in a city like ours – it never sleeps,” Thompson told the Committee. “People sleep at individual times but the city itself is always alive and vibrant.”

The second recommendation from TMAC was all about live music and was made up of a suite of nine recommendations included in a previously requested report on protecting live music venues in Toronto. The General Manager, Economic Development and Culture, was asked to consider the following:

  1. Create tax benefits for local live music venues.
  2. Initiate and expand music pilot programs including ideas for artist tour bus parking, musician load in/out zones and artist poster zones.
  3. Create a music venue certification program.
  4. Amend zoning and licensing to protect existing venues and encourage new ones including a clarification of what business license music venues require.
  5. Create a panel, consisting of a member of the Film and Entertainment Office, members of the Live Working Group, and senior members of planning, building and licensing, with regard to providing advice to individuals and/or organizations wishing to establish new and/or grow existing live music venues.
  6. Review Municipal Licensing Regulations governing parks, green spaces, and city owned outdoor venues.
  7. Support Night-time Economy initiatives with The Toronto Association of Business Improvement Areas (TABIA) and Responsible Hospitality Institute (RHI).
  8. Financial support for an economic impact study of local live music venues.
  9. Financial support for a local Music Passport event series.

All recommendations in the agenda item passed with the support of the Economic Development Committee and will now be brought to Toronto City Council at a yet to be determined date.

“I hope that these suggestions are embraced and supported by Committee and then by Council,” commented Councillor Colle. “I hope we see the continuation of what I think is – well, what the challenge is – the healthiest and most robust Music City in the world.”

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Brian Robertson, long-time President of the Canadian Recording Industry Association, appointed to the Order of Canada

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On December 29, 2017, Her Excellency the Right Honourable Julie Payette, the Governor General of Canada, announced 125 new appointments to the Order of Canada.

Among those appointments is Brian Robertson, former long-time President of CRIA (The Canadian Recording Industry Association), which became Music Canada in July of 2011.

“We at Music Canada would like to offer our sincere congratulations to all of the new appointees to the Order of Canada,” says Graham Henderson, President and CEO of Music Canada. “And specifically to Mr. Robertson, I would like to congratulate and thank him for his 30 years of service at CRIA, as well as his passion for the Canadian music industry and celebrating our country’s incredibly talented and diverse performing artists.”

Brian Robertson served as President of CRIA from 1974 to 2004. During his tenure at the organization, he is also credited as one of the founders of the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS), which administers the JUNO Awards, where he also served as President from 1978 to 1983, and as Executive Producer of the nationally televised JUNOs broadcast for eight years.

Mr. Robertson is also the co-creator of the Governor General’s Performing Arts Awards, which acknowledges lifetimes of achievement in the performing arts and showcases the top Canadian performing artists in both official languages. Robertson also served as President of the Audio-Video Licensing Agency (now CONNECT Music Licensing), governor of the Corporation of Roy Thomson Hall and Massey Hall, was a member of the Dean’s Committee at the University of Toronto, Faculty of Music, and honourary chair of the Regent Park inner-city music school.

His dedication to the arts in Canada extends far beyond music. Mr. Robertson is regarded as one of Canada’s most prolific television, theatre and special events producers. In addition to his JUNOs broadcast achievements, he served as Executive Producer for the CBC’s Royal Canadian Air Farce, co-produced the nationally televised Golden Jubilee Gala for Queen Elizabeth II at Roy Thomson Hall in 2002, and has acted as executive producer of numerous theatrical productions in Canada.

Other music-related appointments announced on December 29 include Jann Arden, Valerie Tryon, Jay Switzer, William Shatner, Alain Caron, Oliver Gannon and Gordon Stobbe. FYI Music News has published a brief run-down of the musical accomplishments of the new appointees.

The Order of Canada is one of the country’s highest civilian honours, recognizing “outstanding achievement, dedication to the community and service to the nation.” Congratulations to all of the new appointees!

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Applications for the PASSPORT: Music Export Summit are now open

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Canadian self-managed artists, artist managers, and music company entrepreneurs active in artist management have until December 15, 2017, to apply for the PASSPORT: Music Export Summit, a new program designed to prepare export-ready artists and entrepreneurs with training in business skills and artistic product development.

The program will begin with parallel East and West summits. The Music Export Summit West will take place in Winnipeg from February 21-25, 2018, and will also include a stream for Indigenous artists and companies. The Music Export Summit East will take place in Halifax from February 28 to March 4, 2018.

The PASSPORT website provides the following training overview:

  1. Importance and value of export for the Canadian music industry
  2. The challenges and opportunities of the global release landscape
  3. Market intelligence and specifics for target markets (UK, EU, USA)
  4. Developing an export marketing plan

Selected participants from these initial sessions will be chosen to attend a follow-up Masterclass event from April 8-12, 2018, at the National Music Centre in Calgary, in which they will conduct follow-ups on their export plans and create media assets for international marketing. The Masterclass will also include streamed live performances.

The eligibility guidelines on the PASSPORT website state that “Submissions will be accepted from export-ready artists and artist managers who are preparing for market development and export activities. Participants will have made initial inroads into international markets or are preparing for their first international showcase festival or tour in the coming 6-18 months. Participants will have taken part in foundational business training through their provincial music industry association, Canada’s Music Incubator, or regional music conferences, and have experience with basic administrative and music marketing tasks.”

The PASSPORT: Music Export Summit is produced by Manitoba Music in partnership with Music Nova Scotia, Canada’s Music Incubator, and the National Music Centre, and the project is funded in part by FACTOR, the Government of Canada and Canada’s private radio broadcasters.

For more information on eligibility, scheduling, and to apply, visit the PASSPORT: Music Export Summit website.

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Music PEI has announced the nominees for the 2018 Music PEI Awards

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Earlier this week, Music PEI announced the nominees for the 2018 Music PEI Awards, to be presented during Credit Union Music PEI Week (January 25-28, 2018).

The Music PEI Awards Party, where the majority of the awards will be presented, is taking place Sunday, January 28 at the Rodd Charlottetown Hotel Ballroom (75 Kent St, Charlottetown).

The nominees and other PEI artists will be showcased at multiple events during Credit Union Music PEI Week, including the SOCAN Songwriter of the Year Concert, Music Mosaic and the Closing Concert, as well as events on January 26 and 27 at Baba’s Lounge, Hunter’s Ale House, The Pour House, The Old Triangle, and Fishbones Oyster Bar. Performer details for these events will be announced in December.

“I would encourage everyone to come out to support our local artists as we celebrate their success and achievements,” said Jennifer Campbell, President of Music PEI in a release. “The awards are often an important stepping stone as our artists develop their careers and public support is crucial to that development.”

Prince Edward Island musicians The East Pointers, Ashley Condon, and the duo of Dennis Ellsworth & Kinley Dowling lead this year’s nominees, each with nominations in six categories.

“As we’ve come to expect…the nominees for the 2018 Music PEI Awards include well known Island artists who perform regularly here on Prince Edward Island and many of whom tour the world,” said Doug Bridges, Marketing and Communications Officer with the Provincial Credit Union. “At the same time the nominees include a number of emerging artists, and we look forward to supporting them and watching their careers develop in the years to come.”

About half of the awards are decided by member voting and half are decided by a jury.

Here is the full list of 2018 Music PEI Awards nominees:

Album of the Year
● Catherine MacLellan “If It’s Alright With You – The Songs of Gene MacLellan”
● The East Pointers “What We Leave Behind”
● Dennis Ellsworth & Kinley Dowling “Everyone Needs to Chill Out”
● Liam Corcoran “Nevahland”
● Ashley Condon “Can You Hear Me”

Country Recording of the Year
● Danny Drouin “It’s Been A Long Week”
● Marcella Richard “Marcella Richard Sings Roy MacCaull”
● Small Town Jokurs “Our Little Piece of Heaven”

Female Solo Recording of the Year
● Alicia Toner “I Learned The Hard Way”
● Ashley Condon “Can You Hear Me”
● Catherine MacLellan “If It’s Alright With You – The Songs of Gene MacLellan”
● Marcella Richard “Marcella Richard Sings Roy MacCaull”

Group Recording of the Year
● Amanda Jackson Band “Fire in the Blue”
● Dennis Ellsworth & Kinley Dowling “Everyone Needs to Chill Out”
● The East Pointers “What We Leave Behind”
● Stabbing Joy “Loved It More Than You Could Ever Know”
● Small Town Jokurs “Our Little Piece of Heaven”

New Artist of the Year
● Alicia Toner I Learned The Hard Way
● Dennis Ellsworth & Kinley Dowling Everyone Needs To Chill Out
● Amanda Jackson Band Fire In The Blue
● Aaron Hastelow Aaron Hastelow
● Stabbing Joy Loved It More Than You Could Ever Know

Male Solo Recording of the Year
● Liam Corcoran Nevahland
● Rick Sparkes Dirty, Little Love Songs
● Element & Broadbent Safe Spaces
● Danny Drouin It’s Been a Long Week
● Aaron Hastelow Aaron Hastelow

Pop Recording of the Year
● Aaron Hastelow “Aaron Hastelow”
● Liam Corcoran “Nevahland”
● Stabbing Joy “Loved It More Than You Could Ever Know ”

Urban Recording of the Year
● Amanda Jackson Band “Fire in the Blue”
● Element & Broadbent “Safe Spaces”
● Norm Strangely “Owlephant”

Roots Contemporary Recording of the Year
● Catherine MacLellan If It’s Alright With You – The Songs of Gene MacLellan
● The East Pointers What We Leave Behind
● Ashley Condon Can You Hear Me
● Alicia Toner I Learned The Hard Way
● Dennis Ellsworth & Kinley Dowling Everyone Needs To Chill Out

SOCAN Songwriter of the Year
● Dennis Ellsworth & Kinley Dowling “Panorama High”
● Nick Doneff “Old Dog”
● Ashley Condon “Oh MY Love”
● Alicia Toner “Back to Fine”
● Liam Corcoran “Tick Tock”

Song of the Year
• The East Pointers “Two Weeks”
• Nick Doneff “Old Dog”
• Ashley Condon “Oh My Love”
• Dennis Ellsworth & Kinley Dowling “Panorama High”
• Liam Corcoran “Tick Tock”
• Calm Baretta “Chilly Bones”

Entertainer of the Year (Publicly Voted Award hosted on the Bell Aliant Website)
● The East Pointers
● Dylan Menzie
● Ashley Condon
● Catherine MacLellan
● The Royal North

Event of the Year
● Cavendish Beach Music Festival
● Mont-Carmel Summer Concert Series
● PEI Mutual Festival of Small Halls

Producer of the Year
● Andrew A Melzer
● Jon Matthews
● Brent Chaisson

Touring Artist of the Year
● Catherine MacLellan
● Dylan Menzie
● The East Pointers

Video of the Year
● Alicia Toner “I Learned the Hard Way”
● Nick Doneff “Old Dog”
● Norm Strangely “Autismatic”
● Rick Sparkes “Western Wind”

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