Ontario country music festival Boots & Hearts celebrated its fifth anniversary over the weekend, with over 40,000 fans taking in some of the biggest acts in country like Blake Shelton, Tim McGraw, Sam Hunt, and many more. On the Thursday night before the festival, one of the weekend’s headliners joined Boots & Hearts 2015 Emerging Artist winners and 2016 festival performers James Barker Band during their warm-up show at Toronto’s Boots & Bourbon Saloon.
Following a performance of their hit “Lawn Chair Lazy,” the band began playing the opening chords to Dierks Bentley’s “Somewhere On A Beach.” In front of a packed crowd, Bentley emerged from the side of the stage to perform his hit with the group, as well as his Platinum-certified hit “Drunk On A Plane,” and Gold-certified “I Hold On.”
During the intimate performance, Bentley received a surprise himself, as Universal Music Canada presented him with a Gold plaque on stage for “Somewhere On A Beach.” The following night, Bentley closed out the first night of Boots & Hearts.
Photos of the evening can be viewed at CMT Canada.
Country superstar Keith Urban’s 2016 album Ripcord has been officially certified Gold in Canada, which the singer announced last Saturday during the second night of shows at Toronto’s Molson Canadian Amphitheatre. Midway through his set, Urban took a moment to announce the news and show his award plaque to his fans, thanking them for their continued support.
“All I can say is the record only came out a little while ago and you all already did this,” said Urban, as seen in a video of the special moment posted to his YouTube account. ”I love you Canada, thank you so much.”
The plaque also represents the certifications of Ripcord singles “Wasted Time,” certified Gold, and “John Cougar, John Deere, John 3:16,” certified Platinum.
Brett Eldredge, who’s supporting Urban for the remainder of his summer North American tour, was also presented with a Gold award plaque during the Toronto tour stop. Eldredge was presented with a plaque backstage by Warner Music Canada for the track “Lose My Mind,” which is his first Canadian Gold single since “Don’t Ya,” certified in 2013.
Data improvement and other efficiencies have led to an increase of CAD$1.2 million annually for CONNECT’s members, who range in size from major record labels to artist-owned imprints.
Improvements in data streams provided by CONNECT’s members, and the creation of a single repertoire database have also freed up an additional CAD$1 million in accelerated royalty payments for labels and another CAD$1 million to the performers on recordings through Re:Sound’s member organizations ACTRA RACS, MROC and ARTISTI.
“The increased royalties are particularly notable as they result from our drive to improve royalty collection in line with international best practices, as opposed to adding revenues from a new music service or higher tariff award from the Copyright Board,” said Graham Henderson, President of CONNECT Music Licensing, in the release. “Organizations like CONNECT and Re:Sound exist only to serve rights holders, and today we have delivered on that promise.”
Royalty distributions, as a result of this project, will also happen faster on ongoing basis. Depending on the tariff, payout timelines have been accelerated by 1-6 months, a CONNECT rep told Billboard.
Reaction from Canada’s major labels acknowledged their contribution through data stream improvements:
Earlier this month, some of the biggest Canadian and international names in music gathered by Queen and John St. in Toronto, ON for the 2016 iHeartRadio Much Music Video Awards. During the festivities, many of the nominees and performers were presented with award plaques commemorating their recent Canadian Gold and Platinum certifications.
Universal Music Canada shared their plaque presentations through Twitter and Instagram, with Universal Music Canada President and CEO Jeffrey Remedios presenting Platinum awards to Hailee Steinfeld for “Love Myself,” Desiigner for “Panda,” and Nelson, BC’s Shawn Hook for “Sound Of Your Heart.”
James Bay was presented with a custom Gold plaque for his 2015 debut album Chaos And The Calm, as well as the Gold single “Hold Back The River.” The English singer/songwriter’s Platinum hit “Let It Go,” which he performed on the broadcast, is also represented on the plaque.
Canadian superstar Shawn Mendes was presented with a custom Platinum plaque for his album Handwritten. The plaque also represents the 2X Platinum certifications for “Life Of The Party” and “Something Big,” the Platinum certification for “Stitches,” and the Gold certification for “I Know What You Did Last Summer,” which won Best Pop and Fan Fave video.
Edmonton, AB singer/songwriter Ruth B, seen below with manager Mark Cunningham, received her first Platinum award plaque from Sony Music Canada for her breakthrough hit “Lost Boy.” The 2016 Fan Fave Vine Musician nominee performed the song during the pre-show broadcast.
Sony Music Canada also presented Fave International and Most Buzzworthy Group winners Fifth Harmony with a Platinum award plaque for “Work From Home.” Later in the evening, group member Dinah Jane Hansen shared a photo with the plaque through Twitter. Fifth Harmony closed out the 2016 iHeartRadio MMVAs with a performance of the Platinum hit.
Since early May, American pop sensation Selena Gomez has been touring across North America on the first leg of her 2016 Revival Tour, which included a Canadian stretch beginning in Vancouver, BC, through to Montreal, QC.
During her tour stop in Toronto, ON, Wednesday night, Gomez was surprised with a custom award plaque by Universal Music Canada commemorating the Gold certification of her 2015 album Revival. The plaque also highlights the Platinum certification of her hit “Hands To Myself,” and Double Platinum certifications of “Good For You,” and “Same Old Love.”
Gomez was initially scheduled to play Toronto over the weekend, however an unprecedented playoff run by the Toronto Raptors caused the singer to reschedule her sold-out Air Canada Centre concert. Gomez made light of the situation by sporting a Raptors sweater during her dazzling 20+ song set, which included her multi-Platinum hits and covers of Hillsong United and The Eurythmics.
Gomez will return to Canada later this summer when she headlines Québec City’s Le Festival d’été de Québec July 7, and AtlanticFest 2016, happening September 3 in Paradise, NL, and September 4 in Moncton, NB.
The University of Calgary has also partnered with the National Music Centre, which played a leading role in bringing the EMI archive to Calgary by connecting UMC with the university. The partnership will allow for collaboration on opportunities for the public to celebrate music in Canada through educational programming and exhibitions that highlight the archive.
“Plans for an educational component around music and the ambitions for this archive are tremendously exciting,” said Jeffrey Remedios, President and CEO of UMC, who spoke at Thursday’s announcement along with Deane Cameron, former President and CEO of EMI Music Canada, and celebrated Canadian artist Tom Cochrane. “EMI Music Canada became the source of the music many Canadians grew up listening to. It’s such a rich and treasured history and it’s terrific that generations to come will have the opportunity to explore that.”
In addition to the gift of the EMI Music Canada Archive, Universal Music Canada will provide substantial funding over several years to support the preservation and management of the collection.
“We are eager to work with Universal Music Canada and the University of Calgary to explore programming and exhibition opportunities that bring the wealth of this collection to Canadians,” said Andrew Mosker, President and CEO for the National Music Centre. “From our burgeoning music scene, the opening of Studio Bell this summer and this incredible archive, it is safe to say that Calgary is becoming a serious music city.”
Spanning from 1949 to 2012, the EMI Music Canada Archive collection consists of 5,500 boxes containing more than 18,000 video recordings, 21,000 audio recordings and more than two million documents and photographs. Over 2,500 Canadian and international artists are represented in the archive, which includes master recordings, publicity photos, demo tapes, album cover art, creative outlines for music videos, marketing plans, awards, drafts of song lyrics and correspondence between artists, producers, engineers and EMI Music Canada executives.
Established in 1949, EMI Music Canada included Capitol Records Canada and was the recording company for a range of Canadian artists, including Anne Murray, Tom Cochrane, Sarah McLachlan, Nickelback, Glass Tiger, Kim Mitchell, Helix and the Rankin Family. The company was also the Canadian distributor for major international acts such as the Beatles, Rolling Stones, David Bowie, Duran Duran, Frank Sinatra, the Beach Boys, Heart, Smashing Pumpkins, Garth Brooks, Pink Floyd, Queen and Iron Maiden.
Visit the University of Calgary’s website for more information on the archive acquisition and view the video below for a sample of what the collection has to offer.
Prior to their sold out show at Toronto’s Pheonix Concert Theatre Wednesday night, soulful rock group Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats were presented with a Canadian Gold award plaque for their breakthrough hit “S.O.B.” by Universal Music Canada.
This is the first award plaque for the band, as Canada is the first territory to certify the track. The band shared their appreciation for their Canadian support with a photo on their Twitter account.
The band will return to Canada in mid-January for shows in Edmonton, Calgary and Vancouver. You can watch the video for “S.O.B.” off their 2015 self-titled album below:
Hamilton, ON’s Arkells paid a visit to the Universal Music Canada offices in Toronto last week, where they were presented with their first Canadian Gold award plaques for 2015 JUNO Rock Album of the Year High Noon. The band, who also took home the JUNO for 2015 Group of the Year in their hometown, thanked their fans through their Twitter page earlier this summer when the album was officially certified.
Arkells are currently preparing for a European tour in November before returning to Canada for a run of shows beginning November 21 in Quebec City.
Watch Arkells video for “11:11″ from the Gold-certified High Noon below:
During a recording session in their hometown of Toronto, ON, alternative/blues-rockers July Talk were surprised with custom Gold record plaques for their 2012 debut self-titled album in an award presentation spearheaded by Sleepless Records. The band thanked their fans with the following Instagram post:
July Talk are getting set to head out on an American tour starting in Boston, MA on October 26. Recently, the band played one of their biggest shows to date, opening for Alabama Shakes at Toronto’s Air Canada Centre.
The video for “Summer Dress” off the Gold-certified July Talk can be viewed below:
The Canadian music industry has seen a major development today with the change in leadership at Universal Music Canada.
Randy Lennox has been appointed the President of Entertainment & Broadcasting at Bell Media. Having most recently served as the President and CEO of Universal Music Canada, Randy will bring more than 25 years of music industry experience to this newly-created position at Bell Media, where he will oversee all English and French radio and local television broadcasting and their associated digital assets. Randy leaves behind a deep legacy in the Canadian music industry, having influenced the careers of hundreds of artists and countless music professionals.
Jeffrey Remedios will begin his position as Universal Music Canada’s President and CEO effective September 21. Jeffrey co-founded Arts & Crafts in 2003, and has created an impressive global operation with offices in Toronto, L.A, and Mexico City. He also serves as the Chairman of FACTOR, and volunteers on many boards of directors. Prior to Arts & Crafts, Jeffrey worked at Virgin Music Canada (later EMI Music Canada), working in both Media & Artist Relations and Digital Marketing, and later rising to Director of National Promotion. Jeffrey is a passionate supporter of Toronto’s local music scene.
“I have had the pleasure of working with Randy for many years: first at Universal Music, and most recently as one of our members at Music Canada. He is an experienced and passionate industry leader, whose years of experience and innovative thinking will him make a powerful addition to Bell Media’s senior leadership team. We are excited about his new path, and thrilled to begin working with his successor, Jeffrey Remedios. Jeffrey is a real powerhouse. From co-founding Arts & Crafts to creating the Field Trip festival, his dedication to artists and the music-business is without peer. It’s an exciting time for our industry,” says Graham Henderson, President of Music Canada.
Music Canada