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Music Monday @ Home shines a spotlight on the importance of equitable access to music education

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Today marks Music Monday, an annual event in which thousands of Canadians come together in song and in support of music education. Hosted by the Coalition for Music Education, Music Monday unites musicians in communities from coast to coast to make a powerful statement about the importance of equitable access to quality music education for all students. This year, the celebration will move online with Music Monday @ Home, allowing all Canadians to participate safely while practicing social distancing in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Each year on Music Monday, students, educators, and music makers from across the country participate in the collective singing of the Music Monday Anthem, an original song written by a Canadian artist. This year’s anthem is “Hymn to Freedom,” the iconic civil rights anthem by Oscar Peterson and Hariette Hamilton, in a new bilingual translation. Resources to perform the anthem, including sheet music, lyrics, and translations are available on the Coalition website.

“Music Monday celebrates the power of music, and the importance of music education. Equitable access to music education is important to Music Canada, which is why we have partnered with the Coalition for Music Education, the Canadian Music Educators Association, MusiCounts / CARAS, People For Education, and the Canadian Network Arts and Learning on a national study to assess the state of music education in every province and territory,” said Sarah Hashem, Vice President, Strategic Initiatives at Music Canada. “This research will help all stakeholders to better understand the state of K-12 Music Education from region to region, and to provide information to support its future growth and development.”

Music Monday @ Home begins at 9am EST, with a series of regional broadcasts, including live performances, messages from prominent Canadians, interactive activities for children of all ages, and more. To join in the celebration and add your voice, tune into the Coalition’s YouTube channel and Facebook page.

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Music Canada statement regarding JUNO Week 2020 Cancellation

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The JUNOS are a nationwide celebration of Canadian music. But they are far more than what Canadians see on a Sunday evening telecast once a year. JUNO Week provides opportunities for artists and the rest of the music community from every corner of the country to gather and connect, to perform, and to be honoured for their achievements.

“We at Music Canada fully support the action taken by our partners at the JUNOS. We understand how difficult this decision must have been but how necessary and prudent it was due to the risks posed by the COVID-19 pandemic,” says Graham Henderson, President and CEO of Music Canada. “We extend our heartfelt sympathy to everyone who has been affected by the cancellation. In particular our thoughts are with the artist community. They exist in an often precarious state and are at the heart of our industry. And we must not forget that the music community at large will feel the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic for a considerable period of time. We need to work together and take care of each other.”

“We at Music Canada affirm our commitment to the spirit of the JUNOS and we pledge to work hand in hand with our partners at CARAS to find a way forward,” added Henderson. “We can and will honour the 2020 JUNO Award nominees and Special Award Recipients.”

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Taylor Swift named 2019’s best-selling global recording artist by IFPI

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IFPI, the organization representing the recorded music industry worldwide, announced their Top 10 Global Recording Artist Chart yesterday. Taylor Swift has been recognized with the IFPI Global Recording Artist of the Year Award, as the world’s best-selling recording artist of 2019. The Award and the Top 10 chart is the only ranking to accurately measure music consumption across all formats (including streaming channels, digital and physical album and singles sales), and across all countries. It is weighted based on the relative value of each method of consumption.

Swift released her seventh studio album, Lover, in August 2019, which debuted at number one in more than 10 countries, including Canada. The album reached three million album-equivalent sales worldwide by the end of its first week of release.

“Taylor Swift is the epitome of a truly global star,” said Frances Moore, chief executive of IFPI. “She continues to grow as an artist and maintains an incredibly strong connection with her fanbase, whilst continuing to evolve her sound with each album. It is a pleasure to be able to present her with the Global Recording Artist of the Year award for the second time.”

Swift was previously recognized with the Award in 2014. She joins Drake as the only two artists to earn the recognition multiple times. The Canadian rapper topped the chart in 2016 and 2018. Drake placed 8th on this year’s chart, marking five consecutive years that he has been in the Top 10.

“The ‘top ten’ showcases some of the brightest and most talented artists from around the world, from newer stars, such as Billie Eilish and BTS, to legacy acts like The Beatles and Queen,” added Moore. “This range demonstrates how people’s love of music can be continually ignited by new and diverse artists and yet endures across decades. I congratulate all the artists in the chart.”

The full Top 10 list, which was counted down by the IFPI on social media, is available below.

Top 10 Global Recording Artists 2019

1 Taylor Swift
2 Ed Sheeran
3 Post Malone
4 Billie Eilish
5 Queen
6 Ariana Grande
7 BTS
8 Drake
9 Lady Gaga
10 The Beatles

Source: IFPI

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Miranda Mulholland named runner-up for the Globe and Mail’s Canadian Artist of 2019

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Music Canada extends our congratulations to Miranda Mulholland on being named a runner-up for The Globe and Mail’s Canadian artist of 2019!

In the article, John Doyle highlights Mulholland’s acclaimed solo album, By Appointment or Chance; the continued growth of the Muskoka Music Festival, which Muholland founded in 2017; and the galvanizing artist advocacy work she has conducted as examples of why Miranda was one of the most exciting Canadian artists of 2019.

In 2019, Mulholland was named a Global IP Champion by the Global IP Center, and spoke about artist advocacy at events in Canada and around the world, including the Folk Alliance International conference in Montreal, the World Intellectual Property Organization’s Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights in Geneva, at Midem and the MaMa Festival and Convention in France, and Canadian Music Week in Toronto.

The Globe named literary icon Margaret Atwood the Canadian Artist of 2019, recognizing the success of her highly anticipated book The Testaments, the success of the television adaptation of her classic novel, The Handmaid’s Tale, and Atwood’s book tour and philanthropic endeavors amidst a time of great personal loss following the passing of long-time partner Graeme Gibson. 

Joining Mulholland as runners-up for the Globe’s recognition include actor and director Philip Akin, film performer, writer, and director Deragh Campbell, artist and sculptor Brian Jungen, and masked country musician Orville Peck. 

Congratulations, Miranda! We are proud and grateful to have such a talented artist and strong advocate for creators as Chair of the Music Canada Advisory Council.

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Cowboy Junkies’ Margo Timmins calls out sexism in the music industry at Canadian Music Hall of Fame Ceremony

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At the inaugural Canadian Music Hall of Fame Ceremony Presented by Music Canada, which took place at the National Music Centre on October 27th, legendary alternative country group Cowboy Junkies were one of four inductees into the Hall of Fame. 

In her acceptance speech, Cowboy Junkies’  lead vocalist Margo Timmins used the band’s moment of celebration to put a spotlight on the issue of sexism in the music industry, and issue a call for change. 

“I know we would all like to think that a boys’ club does not exist in our industry, but just look around you,” said Timmins. “Even tonight, there are 10 inductees, and one woman. And with my count, after tonight, there will be around 100 men and 10 women in the Hall of Fame. That’s not right.”

Timmins took the opportunity to encourage those in attendance, many of whom are leaders in the Canadian music industry, to take action to correct this long-standing imbalance. 

“I know that there are many men and women in our industry who struggle every day to create change, and to you I give you my respect and my support,” continued Timmins. “But there are also many women and men who think that with time, things will become equal and all will be well eventually. And perhaps they’re right. But what I say to that is, if you are thinking in this way, you have to remember, as we wait, the next generation of talented and creative women will be asked or allowed to join our industry by going through the side door — the way that women have entered the world of men for centuries, and it’s just wrong. So all I ask is that you people who are here, who are so powerful, you lead our industry, to think about it. And that somehow we have to bring in more women. Allow our daughters to know that if they want to be riggers, sound engineers, lighting techs, they can do it and they can join us on the road.”

Watch Cowboy Junkies’ Margo Timmins powerful acceptance speech at the Canadian Music Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony.

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Music Canada Congratulates Ontario Chamber of Commerce OBAA 2019 Winners

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November 15, 2019, Toronto: Music Canada was honoured to attend the 2019 Ontario Chamber of Commerce gala as a finalist for the Ontario Business Achievement Award (OBAA) for Diversity and Inclusion. This award recognizes business excellence in supporting the creation of diverse and inclusive workplaces.

“Music Canada is honoured to receive recognition as a finalist for the Diversity and Inclusion award from the Ontario Chamber of Commerce,” said Graham Henderson, Music Canada President and CEO. “As a leading voice in the music industry, we believe it’s important to take concrete actions to show our commitment to the principles that define us, and those principles include diversity and inclusivity. We also want to recognize the exceptional work of the award winner Danby Appliances, and all of the incredible OBAA nominees who are each helping to move the needle forward and enrich each of our workplaces, businesses and communities.”

Music Canada brings together the voices of its major record label members, Universal, Sony and Warner, to build a healthier and more robust music ecosystem throughout Canada. A thought-leader within the music ecosystem, Music Canada has taken concrete actions aimed at improving diversity and inclusivity within its governance and initiatives. 

Recent accomplishments by Music Canada include amending its bylaws to allow for two additional seats on its Board, which were filled by independent directors. A Board Diversity Policy was also instituted, which aims for Board composition of at least 40% women. And in 2019, Music Canada created an Advisory Council, comprised of 15 exceptional and passionate individuals from a diverse cross-section of music industry stakeholders with a variety of skills and experience. The Council and Music Canada’s consulting artist advocates continue to provide candid perspectives and insights which shape the organization and its activities. 

In addition, Music Canada seeks opportunities to work with other organizations to promote inclusivity in the music ecosystem. As a partner in the “Allies in Action” event at the 2019 JUNOS Awards, Music Canada showcased initiatives and programs within the music industry that make positive change in relation to diversity, inclusion and safe workplaces.

“Canada is home to some of the best music in the world. It’s truly a privilege that we get to advocate on behalf of the musicians and businesses who create that great music,” said Henderson. “And we believe that it is important that the diversity of the music ecosystem is reflected in our organization and our initiatives. That belief, together with the support of our innovative members, Universal, Sony and Warner, and the efforts of our exceptional staff, is the heart of our success.”

“This recognition is incredibly meaningful, but our work is not done,” said Jackie Dean, Music Canada Chief Operating Officer. “We will continue to advocate for greater representation on boards of directors in our industry and to create opportunities for artists, including those from underrepresented groups, to speak to their experiences.”

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Erica Meekes
Music Canada
emeekes@musiccanada.com
(416) 462-1485

 

About Music Canada
Music Canada is a non-profit trade organization that represents the major record companies in Canada:  Sony Music Entertainment Canada, Universal Music Canada and Warner Music Canada. Music Canada also works with some of the leading independent record labels and distributors, recording studios, live music venues, concert promoters, managers and artists in the promotion and development of the music cluster.

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Music Canada announces new Strategic Initiatives portfolio to support every stage of the Canadian commercial music ecosystem

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Music Canada is pleased to announce the creation of a new business unit known as Strategic Initiatives. This new division includes a portfolio of initiatives that are designed to better support the music ecosystem. The move follows a strategic restructuring of our organization designed to increase the positive and measurable impact that Music Canada can have on the entire Canadian music industry. These changes are part of Music Canada’s commitment to be an agent of change with respect to business and social issues impacting the music community today. 

In recent months, Music Canada discontinued operations of its affiliate non-profit Music Canada Cares and transitioned Sarah Hashem, the organization’s former Managing Director, to establish and lead the Strategic Initiatives portfolio at Music Canada. 

Through its Three R’s Music Program, Music Canada Cares improved equitable access to quality music education.The program improved the inventory of musical instruments and access to quality music education in Ontario’s publicly funded schools with the supply of refurbished and recycled music instruments. 

A total of 3,120 instruments were collected at Music Canada Cares community drives across the province. The donated instruments were then refurbished and repaired, and distributed to Ontario’s publicly funded schools, prioritizing underserved communities, particularly at-risk, Indigenous and other underrepresented communities. 

A total of 166 schools received refurbished instruments, or grants to repair their existing instrument inventory to fully functioning condition. Many of the repairs were conducted at local repair shops, driving economic activity within the local community. Through these community drives and local repairs, the program helped strengthen connections between the school music programs and their broader community, and helped strengthen public support for music education. 

“While Music Canada Cares was successful in delivering exceptional results to students across Ontario’s public schools, we believe our greatest opportunity is to integrate our industry leadership role within the Music Canada daily operations and shift our focus from service delivery to long-term structural improvements to music education and other key issues,” says Graham Henderson, Music Canada’s President and CEO. 

“We have developed a comprehensive strategy to support the Canadian music ecosystem at every stage,” says Sarah Hashem, Vice President of Strategic Initiatives at Music Canada. “Our initiatives will be classified in relation to 4 key pillars: Create, Develop, Elevate and Celebrate.” 

Under the Create banner, Music Canada continues our commitment to music education with the  sponsorship of a national music education study. The study, which is being led by the Coalition for Music Education, in partnership with Music Canada, the Canadian Music Educators’ Association, MusiCounts / CARAS, People for Education, and the Canadian Network for Arts and Learning, is projected to be released in summer 2020. The study will provide a picture of the state of music education across Canada, and help us determine our future projects in this area. 

Our Develop pillar includes Music Canada’s dedicated initiative to artist-entrepreneurs, which will enable artists’ business success. This initiative includes a partnership with CONNECT Music Licensing to study artists’ business needs, which will help guide the development of our programs. 

Our world-renowned Music Cities strategy work will continue under our Elevate pillar. Music Canada has been a global leader in Music Cities research and advocacy for nearly a decade. Our work in this area will move forward with an inclusion lens, and through work with partners like the Canadian Chambers of Commerce. 

The Celebrate pillar includes our Gold/Platinum certification program, which celebrates milestone sales of music in Canada.  With over 20,000 albums, singles, digital downloads, ringtones, and music videos certified since its launch in 1975, the Music Canada’s Gold/Platinum program provides a unique historical timeline of popular music in Canada. This pillar also captures the other ways Music Canada celebrates music’s contributions to Canada’s cultural identity, such as through partnerships with organizations such as the JUNO Awards and the Canadian Music Hall of Fame.

By integrating strategic initiatives in its core operations, Music Canada is creating a structure that enables it to achieve long-lasting and sustainable benefits that apply to the entire music community. 

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Music Canada Advisory Council Members Set An Example for Industry Leadership and Collaboration

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Gathering insights and perspectives from across the music community is a crucial part of Music Canada’s mission of inspiring Canadians to truly appreciate the power and value of music. To further our ability to act as an agent of change and thought leader in the music community, Music Canada has created an Advisory Council. Announced in March 2019, and reporting directly to the President & CEO, the Advisory Council is comprised of 14 exceptional and passionate individuals representing various constituencies in the music industry. The group is a cross section of leaders reflecting diversity in thoughts, gender and ethnicity among many other attributes.

On September 12th, the Music Canada Advisory Council held their third meeting in Toronto. Chaired by artist, record label owner, and music festival founder Miranda Mulholland, the meeting was designed to facilitate dialogue around issues impacting the music sector today, and to exchange ideas on potential solutions. Topics discussed included the important role of artist advocacy and the value of working with all political parties to advance policies that support Canadian creators.

Music Canada’s Sarah Hashem led the Advisory Council into a strategic positioning exercise to help map out the music ecosystem. The exercise highlighted difference of opinions in defining the parameters of the music industry and its far-reaching influence into other sectors ranging from technology to education. Council members committed to building an illustration reflecting their shared views of the music ecosystem. The work will continue in subsequent meetings.

“While the council’s work has just begun, we are already seeing the great value in industry leadership and collaboration,” says Miranda Mulholland. “The council creates opportunities for the exchange of ideas – not only between council members and Music Canada and vice versa – it also creates opportunities for council members to speak directly to each other, creating valuable discourse as we work together towards the common goal of strengthening the Canadian music ecosystem.”

Music Canada’s Chief Operating Officer Jackie Dean advised that Music Canada has contracted experts to build a skills matrix and perform a gap analysis for the Advisory Council. Jackie has been leading an industry wide Equity, Diversity and Inclusion initiative, a commitment that has earned Music Canada recognition at the Ontario Business Achievement Awards this year. The skills matrix will be used to identify skills needed on the council when appointing new members and will ensure that the composition of the Council continues to reflect the music community’s diversity in order to reflect the Canadian Music Industry at large.. 

“The insights shared by the Advisory Council in this meeting underscored the incredible value of hearing from diverse perspectives from across the music sector,” said Graham Henderson, President and CEO of Music Canada. “The council members are helping us develop a more thorough picture of the music ecosystem and providing us continuous feedback on our strategic initiatives activities.” 

The next meeting of the Advisory Council will take place in December 2019.

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Music Canada and Member Labels Announce MusiCounts Scholarship in honour of Deane Cameron

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Earlier this year, the music industry lost Deane Cameron, former President of EMI Music Canada and a true changemaker who had an indelible effect on our industry. In memory of Deane, Music Canada, with the support of our member labels Warner, Sony, and Universal, is proud to announce a new MusiCounts scholarship in his honour. 

The scholarship will give aspiring professionals the connections, skills, and resources needed to jump start their career in music. The Scholarship is intended for young professionals who are completing post-secondary studies in the areas of music performance, music business, or music production, and who plan to enter the workforce within the next 12 months. 

The announcement was made today at Music Canada’s 2019 Symposium, by Steve Kane, President of Warner Music Canada, and Jeffrey Remedios, President of Universal Music Canada. Shane Carter, President of Sony Music Canada, would also have been part of the announcement, but was unable to attend due to travel. 

Reflecting Deane’s long standing support for Indigenous communities and programs, $15,000 has been pledged to the MusiCounts Scholarship Program, which will ensure that two to three Indigenous youth will receive a MusiCounts Scholarship in 2020. MusiCounts’ new partnership with Indspire will allow MusiCounts to identify Indigenous youth in Canada who will benefit most from this unique scholarship program. 

“Deane Cameron was a titan of our industry – a passionate and proud supporter of Canadian music, a staunch advocate for creators, and an inspirational leader,” says Graham Henderson, President and CEO of Music Canada. “He was a mentor for so many in the music business, and an esteemed member of our board for 24 years. Through the support of our members – Sony, Universal, and Warner – we honour his enduring legacy though this scholarship.”

For full details on MusiCounts’ Scholarship programs, visit https://musicounts.ca/programs-overview/scholarships/.

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Susan Marjetti recognized with Music Canada’s President’s Award

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Music Canada is proud to present Susan Marjetti, Executive Director of CBC Radio and Audio, with the Music Canada President’s Award. This award is given to an individual outside the confines of the recorded music label community who has exhibited a deep passion for music, and who has had an enduring impact on the wider industry.

Marjetti’s role at CBC includes oversight of CBC Music, CBC Talk, CBC Podcasts, and most recently, the new CBC Listen, which is a consolidated digital audio offering that includes all of CBC’s audio content from music playlists to podcasts. All of these platforms are doing incredible work to amplify the talent of great Canadian artists.

She has spent nearly four decades working in radio stations, from small to complex organizations, in various parts of Canada. Prior to taking over the reins at the network, Susan managed CBC Toronto and the Ontario region where she, and her team, worked to make the public broadcaster more relevant to these fast-paced cities, and an ever-changing province.

“I’m deeply touched by this recognition. Like all of you, music has been such a big part of my life,” says Susan Marjetti. “Music has the power to connect us. To reflect us. To engage and entertain us. It matters deeply. And Canada just wouldn’t be the same without our music and the people who make it. At CBC Music, we aspire to celebrate and honour that every day.”

Susan’s leadership in diversity and inclusion has also been recognized numerous times, including recognition with a Harry Jerome Award, Ryerson’s Wall of Fame, and the Rosalie Award.

The award was presented today at Music Canada’s 2019 Symposium. Marjetti is the fourth recipient of the Music Canada’s President’s Award; previous recipients include Mark Garner, Cory Crossman and Chris Campbell, and Josh Colle.

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