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Music Canada Amplifies the Music Ecosystem at 2019 Symposium

Posted October 31, 2019 by Erica Meekes

On October 23, Music Canada held its annual Symposium event, highlighting the past year of work to create the conditions for a strong and dynamic music economy in Canada. The event brought together industry champions, thought leaders, artists and advocates to share milestones and to provide a look toward the future. The format of the event aligned with Music Canada’s Strategic Plan, a formal roadmap designed to achieve our goal of creating a marketplace in Canada where artists and the businesses who support them are fairly paid when their work is commercialized.

This year’s theme, Amplifying the Music Ecosystem, set the stage to deliver the results of Music Canada’s advocacy work over the past year. CEO and President Graham Henderson opened the event by sharing the impact of the organization’s recent report Closing the Value Gap, launched to a sold-out crowd at the Economic Club of Canada this summer. Henderson outlined how policymakers have come to recognize the existence of the Value Gap and the legislative changes that are needed to fix it. He reaffirmed Music Canada’s commitment, in light of the recent federal election, to working with the government to ensure necessary reforms are considered to address the Value Gap, and to uplift artists and creators.

Henderson welcomed Farah Mohamed as an Independent Director to Music Canada’s Board. An experienced social profit entrepreneur, Mohamed also serves as the Senior Vice President to the Toronto Region Board of Trade, and has held prior roles as the CEO of the Malala Fund and founder of G(irls)20. Along with Jennifer Sloan, who was elected Chair of the Board earlier this year, these additions complement the Board with their incredible experience and insight.

“Music Canada has an important role to play in representing an industry that plays a part in most, if not all, of Canadian’s lives,” said Farah Mohamed.“As an independent Director to Music Canada’s Board, I look forward to supporting their mandate as an agent of change and a thought leader within the music community. I’m excited to be able to work to engage all players across the music industry, from the private sector to government leaders, so that artists from coast to coast to coast and the industry is strong and vibrant for decades to come.”

NYU Professor Larry S. Miller, Director of the Music Business Program, and host of the popular Musonomics podcast, delivered a keynote address that shared new and compelling information from his recent report Same Heart. New Beat. How Record Labels Amplify Talent in the Modern Music Marketplace, which illustrates how record labels have reinvented themselves to thrive in the era of streaming music. Miller took part in a fireside chat with Graham Henderson and Miranda Mulholland, musician, label owner, music festival founder, and Chair of Music Canada’s Advisory Council. Together, they illustrated how the changing relationship with technology impacts the future sustainability of the industry.

The Symposium included a rousing performance by multi-instrumentalist country singer Emily Reid. Raised in Victoria, B.C., Reid moved to Nashville to study at the prestigious Belmont University, where she immersed herself in Nashville’s Music City culture. Reid signed with Universal Music Canada in 2018, releasing her major label debut EP, Wine, this past summer. She is currently on tour opening for Kip Moore on her home turf in British Columbia, opening shows in Duncan, Victoria, and Nanaimo.

A fireside chat with Music Canada Chief Operating Officer Jackie Dean, board members Jennifer Sloan and Farah Mohamed, and Susan Marjetti, award-winning journalist and Executive Director of CBC Radio and Audio continued the conversation on the importance of diversity and inclusivity measures across the industry.

Despite distinct backgrounds and experiences, each panelist talked about the power of music to unite people in order to tackle social causes, to overcome challenges, and to promote what makes Canada special at home and abroad.

Graham Henderson presented Gil Moore with this year’s Artist Advocate Award, which recognizes musicians and songwriters for their outstanding advocacy efforts to improve the livelihoods of music creators.

“I’m very proud to receive this award today,” said Gil Moore. “But awards are not the reason I became an artist advocate – I am an advocate for music because I have seen firsthand how it can change lives. I’ve seen that in my own career as a performer, I’ve seen it with fans who are so passionate about the artists they love, and I’ve seen it with our students at Metalworks, who get into this business and invest in their careers because they love music and they are driven to succeed in this industry. I’ve also seen the way that music can empower a community, create jobs, and drive economic growth – and that is worth advocating for. Thank you to Graham and Music Canada for this recognition, and your continued efforts to grow the music sector.”

“Gil Moore has put Mississauga’s music scene on the map. We are eternally grateful for his efforts and pride he has brought to our City,” said Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie. “Gil consistently champions the power of music for job creation and growth, and as a member of our Economic Development Advisory Board, he has been instrumental in the creation of the first full-time music industry position at City Hall focused on music sector development.”

Henderson also presented the President’s Award to Susan Marjetti to celebrate her work to support the industry and her deep passion for music that has had an enduring impact on the music ecosystem. “I’m deeply touched by this recognition. Like all of you, music has been such a big part of my life,” said 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.”

In a particularly poignant moment, Graham Henderson, Warner Music President Steve Kane, and Universal Music President Jeffrey Remedios held a moving tribute to the late Deane Cameron, former President of EMI Music Canada and a true changemaker who had an indelible effect on our industry. Together, they announced that Music Canada, with the support of our member labels, has created a new MusiCounts scholarship in Cameron’s honour. Reflecting Deane’s long standing support for Indigenous communities and programs, $15,000 has been pledged to ensure that two to three Indigenous youth will receive a MusiCounts Scholarship in 2020. Shane Carter, President of Sony Music Canada, would also have been part of the announcement, but was travelling and unable to attend.

“We are here to treasure the memory of our absent friend, Deane Cameron,” said Henderson, after quoting Cicero and Thoreau. Both Kane and Remedios spoke passionately about Cameron’s passion for Canadian artists, and of his influence and mentorship on their own careers.

“I can’t think of a better way to honour our friend,” said Kane. “After Deane’s passing, there were a lot of fantastic stories about how he supported and inspired Canadian artists. Equally important was his role in inspiring and in nurturing business and executive talent. And I can say as I look over my shoulder, Jeffrey and I are living, breathing examples of that tutelage and that generosity. This scholarship embodies Deane’s generosity. He was generous with his time, with his wisdom. He challenged us, he taught us. And every day, we try to live up to the bar and example that he set for us.”

“He brought so many of us up in this business. Leading and guiding, but also nurturing us. Deane was my mentor and he was my biggest champion,” said Remedios.

“He taught me about making great records, and about breaking acts. He taught me about how to speak hard truths to artists – with respect, and compassion, and with care. I miss him, but he’s never far from my thoughts. I try to live up to the lessons and values that he instilled in me and so many others every day.”

Following the tribute, Miranda Mulholland performed “Ashokan Farewell” on violin in Cameron’s memory, providing a beautiful soundtrack to a moment of reflection.

Jennifer Sloan, Chair of the Music Canada Board of Directors, closed the event with a message on the importance of an industry united, and how collaboration is integral to continue to ensure that the wide range of voices can be amplified, as we strive to continue strengthening the music ecosystem.

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For more information, please contact:

Erica Meekes
Director of Public Relations and Events
emeekes@musiccanada.com
(416) 462-1485

Categories: News Release
Tags: Deane Cameron, Farah Mohamed, Gil Moore, Graham Henderson, Jackie Dean, Jeffrey Remedios, Jenn Sloan, Larry Miller, Miranda Mulholland, Steve Kane, Susan Marjetti, Symposium 2019

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Mind the (Value) Gap – Miranda Mulholland and Music Canada’s Graham Henderson appear on the Musonomics podcast

Posted October 22, 2019 by Quentin Burgess

On the latest episode of the popular podcast Musonomics, Music Canada President and CEO Graham Henderson, along with Miranda Mulholland, artist, label owner, festival founder and Chair of Music Canada’s Advisory Council, spoke with host Larry Miller about some of the major issues affecting the music industry today.

Musonomics is a twice-monthly podcast about the business of the music and culture industries. Hosted by Larry Miller and produced with support from the NYU Steinhardt Music Business Program, the program uses data, music and interviews with newsmakers and analysts to provide insight into what’s happening now — and what’s coming next in the world of music and beyond.

In the podcast, Miller explores data contained in IFPI’s recent ‘Music Listening 2019’ report, which provides a comprehensive overview of music consumption trends from around the world. As Miller notes, global music listening continues to rise, with respondents reporting their listening habits being up to 18 hours per week. Engagement with audio streaming services also remains strong, with 64% of all respondents using a streaming service in the past month.

Troublingly, the report also highlights the growing scale of listening via user-upload services – the greatest contributor to the Value Gap. Indeed, 77% of respondents reported using YouTube for music listening in the last music; globally, on-demand consumption via video streaming totalled 47%, dwarfing paid and ad-supported audio streaming services. The episode, entitled Mind the (Value) Gap, explores this very issue – a phenomenon that IFPI has called the biggest threat to the future sustainability of the music industry.

During the episode, Henderson touches on the origin of the issue, describing the Value Gap as the result of a failure of legislation to keep pace with the changes in technology. The impact of this phenomenon has created a widening gulf between the growing revenues that platforms and user-upload services like YouTube gain from the existence of music on their services, and the value returned to the artists and labels who created and developed this creative content.

Henderson also outlines how outdated exemptions such as broad safe-harbour laws have prevented copyright creators and owners from being able to ensure that their work is not being commercialized without their consent by digital and online services. Indeed, as Mulholland vividly describes during the episode, no group has been as adversely affected by the Value Gap as artists.

Mulholland goes on to speak about the realities of working as an artist working within a framework where it is almost impossible to obtain fair remuneration for the monetization of one’s work on online platforms such as YouTube. She outlines how exemptions within Canadian copyright legislation has created this system: where musicians are effectively subsidizing technology companies, while – at the same time – receiving royalty payouts that are too meagre to subsist on alone.

To hear the rest of this fascinating discussion, you can find the episode on Apple Podcasts, SoundCloud, and other major podcasting services.

Larry Miller will also be delivering a keynote address at Music Canada’s 2019 Symposium, taking place on Wednesday October 23rd. In his address, Miller will share insights from his 2019 report, Same Heart. New Beat. How Record Labels Amplify Talent in the Modern Music Marketplace, which examines the partnerships between record companies and artists. In particular, it outlines the evolution of label efforts to discover and market musical artists; how marketing plans differ and enhance opportunities for artists in a streaming world; the increasing role of data in label strategies; approaches undertaken by labels to build artist branding, and more. Miller will also reconnect with Mulholland and Henderson in a fireside chat following his keynote.

Categories: Industry News
Tags: Graham Henderson, Larry Miller, Miranda Mulholland, Musonomics, Value Gap

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The political power of music headlines the 2019 Global Forum at Canadian Music Week

Posted July 25, 2019 by Corey Poole

Across genres, continents, and generations, artists have harnessed the unique power of music to rally imaginations and propel ideas into action. This year’s Global Forum explored that theme and examined the role that music plays in political movements. The Soundtrack to Democracy: Music’s Political and Social Power brought the Canadian Music Week attendees both historical and contemporary examples of the power of music.

The event was kicked off by Miranda Mulholland explaining her own advocacy journey that has included her becoming one the world’s strongest advocates for creator’s rights. Mulholland, a musician, label owner and festival founder, discussed the moment she realized that she needed to add speaking up to her long list of duties. “Creators of music, literature, and visual arts have always been at the forefront of every revolution in which people fought to make our lives better. Music has provided the soundtrack for human rights movements around the world…When speaking to governments and policy makers, I tell them: We, musicians, have been there for you. Now we need your help.”

Watch Mulholland’s full remarks below:

Mulholland then introduced The Soundtrack to Democracy’s keynote speaker: musician, author and political activist Dave Randall. His book Sound System: the political power of music looks at examples from Beethoven to Beyoncé to the UK grime scene, and charts his journey to understand what makes music so powerful. Randall’s book can be purchased from Pluto Press.

Armed with a guitar and an extensive knowledge of the historical significance of music, Randall’s keynote was a musical journey through time.

Watch Randall’s full keynote below:

Following Randall’s keynote he joined two leading musicians from Canada who have used art to drive change – Lorraine Segato of The Parachute Club and ShoShona Kish of Digging Roots – for a panel discussion. Titled Rise Up: Using creativity to make change (a reference to The Parachute Club’s anthem for equality and shared power), the panel explored effective strategies artists have used to create and inspire change on issues close to their hearts.

Watch the full panel discussion moderated by Miranda Mulholland below:

Guests were then treated to a performance by members of the fast-rising rap group The Sorority, who in between songs encouraged those in town for Canadian Music Week to get out to see live music, support local musicians, and attend at least one show that put them out of their comfort zone. The Sorority are a powerful representation of solidarity and nonconformity, and their performance was the perfect punctuation to the event’s theme.

To conclude the event, Music Canada President and CEO Graham Henderson introduced the audience to a painting from 1830, “Liberty Leading the People,” by Eugène Delacroix to illustrate the effect to which art can be political speech. Henderson noted that in its time the painting “was considered so seditious and so dangerous that for about 50 years after it had been painted it was suppressed by the political superstructure and only appeared much later.” He connected the painting to the work of Ursula K Le Guin, Percy Bysshe Shelley, and journalist Paul Foot, tracing the ways that poets, artists and more recently musicians, can change the world.

Watch Henderson’s closing remarks below:

Recognizing the power of art to convey thoughts and emotions, Music Canada commissioned illustrator and graphic artist Rodrigo Bravo to chronicle the 2019 Global Forum in a series of images. The images, available for viewing below, capture some of the points made by each speaker in both text and design, and together form a recap of one of the most successful Global Forums to date.

Categories: Industry News
Tags: Canadian Music Week, Dave Randall, Global Forum, Lorraine Segato, Miranda Mulholland, Rodrigo Bravo, ShoShona Kish, The Sorority

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Music Canada and IAEL to present discussion on ‘Addressing the Value Gap’ at Midem

Posted May 27, 2019 by Quentin Burgess

Today, the term “Value Gap” – the disparity between the value of creative content accessed by consumers and the revenues returned to the people and businesses who create it – is an integral part of the lexicon in discussions of copyright law and creative content. And there is growing sentiment around the world that the time has come to correct the flaws underlying it. At this event, presented by Music Canada and the International Association of Entertainment Lawyers (IAEL), Music Canada President and CEO Graham Henderson will share highlights from an upcoming report that examines the developing recognition of the Value Gap and why policymakers should act with a sense of urgency to address it.

Music Canada’s 2017 report, The Value Gap: Its Origins, Impacts and a Made-in-Canada Approach, played a foundational role in shifting views on the Value Gap. Since its publication two years ago, a great deal has occurred to advance understanding of the issue. This includes new economic analysis that has definitively evaluated the size of the Value Gap and identified its sources, and Parliamentary hearings in Canada in which the Value Gap dominated the proceedings and where numerous stakeholders presented an overwhelming body of evidence demonstrating its impacts.

Henderson will summarize key insights from the upcoming report, including how record labels continue to play a vitally important role in the music ecosystem through their investments in A&R and marketing, and their commitment to licensing new and innovative digital music services. He will also describe how a lack of transparency on the part of user-upload services like YouTube, as to how much copyright content they exploit and how much compensation is paid to creators, makes it harder to address the Value Gap. The detrimental impact of this lack of transparency is further exacerbated by a broken copyright framework caused by overly broad and ill-defined safe harbours, which have allowed these platforms to commercialize music for massive profits, while passing a mere pittance onto creators.

The voices of artists have been central to validating the Value Gap and illuminating its detrimental effects. One artist in particular, Canadian musician and record label owner Miranda Mulholland, has played a key role. With great clarity and passion, Mulholland has persuasively conveyed how exemptions in out-of-date copyright legislation have impaired her career, and how artists can play a central role in establishing a sustainable and functioning marketplace.

In her return to MIDEM, Mulholland will recap her path to advocacy. She will outline how fellow creators can help establish a sustainable and functioning marketplace, describing her own journey as an artist advocate. Mulholland will also take the stage with Andrew Penner, her musical partner in the band Harrow Fair, to perform their unique blend of folk, country and garage rock music.

Jeff Liebenson, President of the International Association of Entertainment Lawyers (IAEL), will conclude the event by previewing IAEL’s upcoming book, “Keeping it Honest: Transparency in the Entertainment Industry” ahead of its official launch following the session.

Speakers:

Graham Henderson – President and CEO, Music Canada
Miranda Mulholland – Musician, President of Roaring Girl Records, and Music Festival Founder
Jeff Liebenson, Liebenson Law, President of the International Association of Entertainment Lawyers (IAEL)

Performance by: Harrow Fair

Categories: Advocacy
Tags: Artist Advocacy, Graham Henderson, IAEL, Jeff Liebenson, Midem, Miranda Mulholland

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2019 Global Forum at Canadian Music Week to focus on the political power of music

Posted April 29, 2019 by Corey Poole

The Global Forum at Canadian Music Week is an annual thought leadership event that Music Canada has been programming for more than a decade. It brings together 150 Canadian and international music industry figures, artists, journalists and political decision makers to explore some of the most important topics in the industry, and society at large. The forum also celebrates and recognizes individuals and organizations who are working to improve the music industry, and those using music to make the world a better place. In the past two years, the Global Forum has focused on the power of music for Indigenous peoples in Canada, and highlighted work being done to bring more accountability and inclusivity to the music industry.

2019’s Global Forum, titled The Soundtrack to Democracy: Music’s political and social power, will take place on Thursday, May 9. Across genres, continents, and generations, artists have harnessed the unique power of music to rally imaginations and propel ideas into action. The 2019 forum will explore why the winds of change so often blow from the lips of artists, and how musicians can most effectively create social and political change with their art.

The event will begin with a keynote from musician, author and activist Dave Randall, whose book Sound System: The Political Power of Music is described as “a book of raves, riots and revolution.” In the book, Randall finds political inspiration across the musical spectrum and poses the question: “how can we make music serve the interests of the many, rather than the few?”

Following his keynote, Randall will join two leading musicians from Canada who have used art to drive change – Lorraine Segato of The Parachute Club and ShoShona Kish of Digging Roots – for a panel discussion moderated by Miranda Mulholland. Titled Rise Up: Using creativity to make change (a reference to The Parachute Club’s 80s anthem for equality and shared power) the panel will explore effective strategies artists have used to create and inspire change on issues close to their hearts. In addition to moderating the panel, Muholland will host the event and share opening remarks at the 2019 Global Forum.

Guests at the forum will also participate in table discussions about their own experiences and feelings towards the political power of music, and be treated to a performance by the supremely talented hip-hop group The Sorority.

You can learn more about the speakers at the 2019 Global Forum below.

Dave Randall

Dave Randall is a musician, writer and political activist. He has contributed to Grammy Award winning albums by Dido and toured the world playing guitar with Faithless, Sinead O’Connor, Emiliana Torrini and others. He has released his own critically acclaimed albums under the artist names Slovo and Randall, and composed music for screen and stage. His book Sound System: The Political Power of Music is a book of raves, riots and revolution. It looks at examples from Beethoven to Beyoncé and poses the question: how can we make music serve the interests of the many, rather than the few? It has been described as:

“A deeply intelligent look at music and society. Thought provoking, readable and clever” Mark Radcliffe (BBC 2 / 6Music)

“A thrilling trip through the dark corners and secret gardens of the music world” Maxi Jazz (Faithless)

Miranda Mulholland

Miranda Mulholland is a Canadian singer-songwriter, musician, label owner, artist advocate, and Founder and Artistic Director of the Sawdust City Music Festival in Muskoka, Ontario. Currently she is a member of Harrow Fair and BelleStarr. Her touring and recording credits include Great Lake Swimmers, Bowfire, The Jim Cuddy Band and many more. She has performed on over 70 albums as well as TV shows and film scores. Not limited to band performances, Miranda has appeared in various theatre productions including the Dora winning productions of ‘Parfumerie’ and ‘SpoonRiver’ with Soulpepper Theatre in Toronto.

Over the past three years, Miranda has emerged as one of the world’s foremost artist advocates, speaking at the World Trade Organization, a NAFTA negotiating round in Washington, Midem, Canadian Music Week, and is the first music creator to take the podium at the Economic Club of Canada.

Lorraine Segato

For the past 37 years Lorraine Segato has powered up an impressive artistic career that has produced some edgy and excellent cultural work. Segato’s extensive experience as a respected songwriter, musician, filmmaker, event producer, artistic director, speechwriter, and social justice activist makes her one of Canada’s respected cultural commentators and iconic recording artists.

As the co-founder and lead singer of The Parachute Club, one of the most critically lauded and commercially successful groups of the eighties, Segato enjoyed an impressive career in the music industry before turning her attention to a large array of diverse creative endeavours. Even before her chart topping hits with The Parachute Club, Segato had already staked a claim as one of the few female artists of the time able to succeed on her own terms.

From her touching performance at Jack Layton’s funeral to her generous mentorship of young artists, Segato’s work, no matter what the medium, remains consistently topical and relevant. Her passion, empathy and charisma have served a career, on stage and in production, that has educated and inspired Canadians for close to four decades.

ShoShona Kish

ShoShona Kish is an Anishinabekwe community organizer, producer, activist, songwriter and JUNO award-winning touring artist. This year ShoShona was recognized for her work internationally with the prestigious “Professional Excellence Award ” from the WOMEX organization “for her role in the ongoing revolution of upheaving Indigenous communities and their culture – using the medium of music as an agent of change, to awaken our humanity and help us connect.”

ShoShona leads the multi-award-winning band Digging Roots, with her husband, Raven Kanatakta. Their music breaches categorization, seamlessly blending global and traditional Indigenous sounds with roots-rock, blues, and trip-hop. They have brought their unique musical marriage of unvarnished truth and unconditional love to venues and festivals around the world.

Categories: Uncategorized
Tags: Canadian Music Week, CMW, Dave Randall, Global Forum, Lorraine Segato, Miranda Mulholland, ShoShona Kish, The Sorority

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Release: Music Canada announces new Board Chair and Advisory Council at 2019 JUNO Awards Chair’s Reception

Posted March 15, 2019 by Corey Poole

The appointment of independent board Chair Jennifer M. Sloan and new 15-member Advisory Council reflect the findings of a comprehensive organizational review

Newly appointed Chair of the Music Canada Board of Directors Jennifer M. Sloan unveils Music Canada’s new Advisory Council at the 2019 JUNO Awards Chair’s Reception (Photo Credit: Ryan Bolton)

March 15, 2019, London, ON: At the 2019 JUNO Awards Chair’s Reception in London, Ontario, Music Canada announced key actions resulting from a comprehensive organizational review. Focusing on Board diversity and governance practices, the extensive review was commissioned to provide recommendations on ways Music Canada could demonstrate leadership in inclusion and good governance.

The first action stemming from the review was the addition of two new independent member positions to Music Canada’s Board of Directors, increasing the representation of women on the Board to 40 percent.

At the Chair’s Reception, Music Canada President and CEO Graham Henderson announced another important step: the appointment of Jennifer M. Sloan as the new independent Chair of the association’s Board. As Vice President, Public Policy at Mastercard Canada, Sloan brings outstanding expertise in corporate governance, finance and accountability, and government relations.

“I’m pleased to be joining Music Canada at this pivotal time, as the organization heads down a new and exciting path,” says Sloan. “We’re working to ensure a balance of skills, experience, knowledge and perspectives are represented in our governance and activities. The changes announced today will strengthen Music Canada in promoting the interests of our members and their partners, the artists, and to realize our vision for all Canadians to appreciate the power and value of music.”

In her first public remarks as Music Canada’s new Board Chair, Sloan unveiled another outcome of the association’s organizational review, the new Music Canada Advisory Council.

Reporting directly to the President and CEO, the Advisory Council is comprised of 15 exceptional and passionate individuals representing diverse ethno-cultural backgrounds, sexual identities, and geographic regions – reflecting Canada’s vibrant and diverse music community. The Council will evaluate Music Canada’s progress against the stated goals and objectives in the association’s strategic plan. The Council will also advise Music Canada on its programs, activities and research to support the organization in its mandate as an agent of change and thought leader in the music community.

The Music Canada Advisory Council members are:

Heather Bambrick
Steve Bellamy
Josh Colle
Nick Davis
ShoShona Kish
Amanda Martinez
Miranda Mulholland
Errol Nazareth
Alicia Rose
Mike Schroeder
Alka Sharma
Eon Sinclair
Darlene Tonelli
Chris Topping
Charlie Wall-Andrews

“The changes announced today are designed to ensure our leadership is guided by a broad spectrum of voices representing the exquisite mosaic that is our music community,” says Henderson. “I’m excited to welcome Jennifer Sloan and our new Advisory Council members to Music Canada to help us build a more robust music ecosystem. With the support of our members, Sony, Universal, and Warner, we are committed to reflecting the communities in which we live and work, and to fostering an environment in which music businesses can thrive, and artists can prosper.”

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For more information:
Corey Poole, Music Canada
cpoole@musiccanada.com
+1 (647) 808-7359

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.

Categories: Industry News, News Release
Tags: Advisory Council, Alicia Rose, Alka Sharma, Amanda Martinez, Board of Directors, Charlie Wall-Andrews, Chris Topping, Darlene Tonelli, Eon Sinclair, Errol Nazareth, Graham Henderson, Heather Bambrick, Jennifer M. Sloan, Josh colle, Mike Schroeder, Miranda Mulholland, Music Canada Advisory Council, Nick Davis, ShoShona Kish, Steve Bellamy

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VIDEO: Artists discuss strategies to make positive change at Folk Alliance International 2019

Posted February 28, 2019 by Corey Poole

Folk Alliance International, the world’s largest folk music conference, descended on one of Canada’s most culturally historic cities in 2019 and was host to countless spirited performances, discussions, and interactions. The festival is known for musical performances into the wee hours, but a relatively early panel yielded profoundly moving, honest, and inspiring discussion.

On Saturday, February 16 at the Fairmont The Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal, Music Canada, in participation with Miranda Mulholland, was proud to present an event titled ‘Artist Advocates in Action.’

Five artists, each with their own advocacy issues close to their hearts, discussed how they most effectively work to create change, and how they tackle challenges such as criticism, drawing a line between their personal and professional lives, and balancing life on the road with parenting and other commitments.

The panel featured musicians Zoë Keating, Peter Katz, Aaron Myers, and Caroline Brooks, with Miranda Mulholland moderating the discussion. Watch the full ‘Artist Advocates in Action’ panel below.

More on the artists:

Caroline Brooks

Caroline Brooks is a singer-songwriter, session vocalist and guitar player from Toronto. She is one third of critically acclaimed Good Lovelies, a JUNO award-winning band that has toured internationally for the last 12 years. They have released 8 albums and their latest single “I See Gold” is up for Song of the Year at the International Folk Music Awards.

Outside of performing, Caroline is a sitting board member with the Mariposa Folk Festival and Muskoka-based advocacy group Safe Quiet Lakes. She and her partner also co-founded Secondhand Sunday, a community re-use and waste reduction program based in Toronto.

Website: http://goodlovelies.com/
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3hh35eWuRs5ZqIUIKyne5S

Zoë Keating

DIY Cellist and composer Zoë Keating has worked with many artists and productions, including Jeff Russo, Amanda Palmer, Imogen Heap and the podcast Radiolab. Her music has achieved a surprising degree of ubiquity for a DIY artist, from the bumper music to NPR’s Morning Edition to the thinking-music of the Sherlock Holmes character on CBS Elementary to the theme music for the Brazilian telenovela Para Sempre.

A vocal advocate for the rights of creators, Keating was elected a governor of the San Francisco chapter of the Recording Academy, named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum, and serves on the board of CASH Music, a nonprofit organization that builds open source digital tools for musicians and labels.

Website: http://www.zoekeating.com/
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/6OHXnLZCeWUwtdDsBdqOdr

Aaron Myers

Mr. Myers is a life-long social activist and musician who uses entertainment to increase awareness of social issues. While a full-time college student Mr. Myers ran unsuccessfully for the office of Mayor in Corsicana, Texas. In 2008 he served as a field organizer for the Obama campaign in Florida. Mr. Myers is also a skilled volunteer coordinator event manager and public speaker an experienced music teacher and an army veteran. He has also served as National Director of the nonprofit Global Family Program. A jazz and soul musician Mr. Myers is the Resident Artist at Mr. Henry’s Restaurant in DC.

Website: http://www.aaron2.me
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5JqWYlpaw2lH5PrAXxFtqK

Peter Katz

Over the past decade, Peter has seen his albums debut at #1 on the iTunes singer-songwriter charts; he’s shared the stage and studio with the likes of Academy Award Winner Glen Hansard (Once, The Swell Season), JUNO Award-Winners The Good Lovelies, Polaris-Prize nominated Melissa McCelland (Whitehorse) and the Legendary Garth Hudson from The Band. He’s toured all over the world, regularly playing to capacity crowds, and has managed to build an impressive fan-base of loyal listeners, selling over 25,000 copies of his discs mostly from the stage, one show at a time. Never content to sit still for long, Peter Katz has his eyes firmly set on the future.

Website: http://www.peterkatz.com/
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/6O5zKwY8kFFYhBwZdJ7VKI