State Champ Radio Canada
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The beloved Just for Laughs festival in Montreal, a vital annual event in the comedy world, has canceled its 2024 edition and laid off about 70% of its staff.
The festival’s managing body, Groupe Juste pour rire inc. (JPR), is facing financial hardships and has sought legal measures to avoid bankruptcy. JPR said the decision is aimed at finding new investors or potential buyers to keep the festival afloat. The challenges leading to this point include the economic strain from the pandemic and other industry hurdles, including rising costs and media mergers. Despite the tough times, organizers hope to come back stronger in 2025.
“The decision to initiate restructuring proceedings was reached after thorough consideration of all options available to the company,” a news release states, “taking into account its very difficult financial situation given the significant changes in our business landscape in recent years.” – Rosie Long Decter
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Billboard Women In Music Expands to Canada in 2024
This June, Billboard Women In Music is expanding to Canada, shining a light on the influential women and gender-diverse talents who are shaping the nation’s music scene. With this expansion, Billboard Canada aims to honor those making significant strides across the industry, from production to live performances.
The music community is invited to participate, with nominations now open. It offers a platform to recognize and celebrate the outstanding contributions of individuals in the Canadian music industry while fostering a more inclusive and diverse musical landscape.
Canadian executive Golnar Khosrowshahi, the founder/CEO of Reservoir Media, one of the biggest independent music companies in the world, is an Executive of the Year hall of famer. This year, she offered this piece of advice: “Pivot to a path that allows for growth equally across your professional and personal lives. You should not have to compromise, but rather be empowered to find the route that allows for the multitudes present in you.” – Richard Trapunski
Music Canada’s Game-Changing Update: Video Streams Now Count Toward Gold and Platinum Certifications
Earlier this week, Toronto-based Music Canada announced a significant update to its Gold/Platinum Program for Single Awards: It will now incorporate official video streams into the certification calculations.
The change celebrates the evolving ways fans engage with music, particularly through video. With this update, video streams from platforms like YouTube, Vevo and Apple Music from Jan. 1, 2020, onwards will contribute to the criteria for Gold, Platinum and Diamond certifications, ensuring that artists who engage fans through music videos receive recognition toward certifications. – David Farrell
Indian Star Diljit Dosanjh Is Making History in Canada
Diljit Dosanjh is making more history with his latest tour announcement.
The artist has revealed where he’ll be taking his Dil-Luminati tour this summer, adding 12 new dates following his previously announced stadium show in Vancouver. The tour promises to be monumental: Beginning in Vancouver and ending in Toronto, it marks the first time a Punjabi artist has headlined Vancouver’s BC Place and Toronto’s Rogers Centre. The BC Place performance is set to be the largest-ever Punjabi music concert outside of India, at a sold-out capacity of 54,000.
That record-breaking Vancouver show kicks off the tour on Apr. 27, and from there Dosanjh plays three more Canadian cities — Winnipeg, Edmonton and Calgary — before heading south of the border to the United States for eight shows. Dosanjh then finishes the tour back in Canada at Rogers Centre on Jul. 13.
The tour looks to be another milestone in the influential artist and actor’s career and marks another boost for the rise of Punjabi music in Canada. In 2023, Dosanjh became the first Indian-born artist to play Coachella, opening up the doors for artists like Punjabi-Canadian musician AP Dhillon, who will perform at the festival this summer.
Dosanjh previously became the first Indian musician to sell out Vancouver’s Rogers Arena and Toronto’s Scotiabank Arena, and this time around he’s levelling up to stadiums in those same cities.
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Pre-sale for the Dil-Luminati tour begins Feb. 29. Tickets for the Vancouver date are already on sale. – Rosie Long Decter
Major Canadian Broadcasters Call for Government Support of Local Radio
A lot is at stake for Canadian broadcasters and musicians in the upcoming federal budget.
Canadian media company Stingray, which manages over 100 radio stations, has joined forces with independent radio broadcasters to call for strong support from the federal government for the local radio sector. Stingray and the group of broadcasters have made their message clear in a letter to Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland and Minister of Canadian Heritage Pascale St-Onge, calling for measures that will assist local radio amidst declining advertising revenues.
Canada’s radio industry, which contributes $373 million to Canadian content, has suffered from advertisers’ pivot toward tech giants like Meta, while consumers are increasingly using streaming services like Spotify and Apple Music. According to the Canadian Association of Broadcasters, in 2023, more than 200 Canadian radio stations were at risk of closing, with 40% of stations operating at a loss.
Bell Media recently announced it was selling 45 of its 103 radio stations amidst company-wide cuts and nearly 4,800 layoffs. (Billboard Canada recently spoke with three radio experts on how the industry is navigating turbulent times).
Stingray’s letter suggests that at least 70% of the Government of Canada’s advertising expenditures should be dedicated to local media, across print, digital, radio and TV. It also calls for a tax credit of at least 20% for advertising with Canadian media outlets.
“The local radio sector is an integral part of our national identity,” said Stingray CEO Eric Boyko. “Stingray and our respected independent industry partners are calling on the government to implement these measures, which are critical to the sector’s viability.”
The independent industry partners supporting the letter include companies like Atlantic radio network Acadia Broadcasting, which owns 16 stations; London, Ontario’s Blackburn Media, which owns 13 stations; and Western Canada company Pattison Media, which owns 48 stations. – Rosie Long Decter
Canadian Hip-Hop DJ/Promoter Sean Lalla Remembered By Questlove, A-Trak and others
Sean Lalla, a Canadian hip-hop DJ and promoter, has died at age 49. His body was found at an Airbnb in Trinidad and Tobago on Feb. 20.
Of Trinidadian origin, Lalla was raised in Toronto, then moved to Vancouver in 1996 to study at Cap College. He later told Vancouver alt-weekly Georgia Straight, “I hated the slow pace of Vancouver and the lack of things to do and places to go if you were a hip-hop head. Rather than complaining about it, I tried to do something about it.”
Lalla founded Spectrum Entertainment and began booking shows. In 2005, Georgia Straight wrote that he was “one of the city’s top concert promoters, and his annual showcase, 604 Hip-Hop Expo, is one of Canada’s most dynamic festivals.”
For his 2005 festival, Lalla booked American star Questlove, of The Roots fame. Upon learning of Lalla’s death, Questlove paid tribute on Instagram: “So devastated to hear the news of Sean Lalla’s passing. Throwing the dopest parties. Back when touring was my DNA you always knew you’d do his parties like 4-6 times a year.”
Under his DJ moniker, Elsewhere Sonido, Lalla travelled to Mexico City, Brazil and Japan to DJ large and sometimes intimate parties. On his Instagram page, Lalla described himself as “a sample searching siempre, a rare groove rescuer, and occasional DJ cosplayer.”
On Instagram, renowned BBC radio DJ Gilles Peterson, who hosted Lalla earlier this month, called him a “total legend” and a “humble music fan. We were last together just the other week … digging (for records) early in the morning on a Saturday before my radio show.”
Montreal turntablist/producer A-Trak (also one-half of Chromeo) remembers Lalla booking him for his first show outside of Quebec when he was 15 years old.
“Sean paid attention to the small things, the local talents, and he elevated them,” he tells Billboard Canada. “We reconnected many times over the last 5-10 years. I was happy that he was working with Maseo from De La Soul; they were a great pair. I was proud when I saw the respect he was getting from world-renowned crate diggers. His love for music ran as deep as his friendships.” – Kerry Doole
This week, Beyoncé became the first Black woman to top Billboard’s Country Songs chart with “Texas Hold ‘Em.” But many of the credited songwriters and producers come from a surprising place – not Texas or Nashville, but Canada.
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“Texas Hold ‘Em” is co-written by three Canadians: Nathan Ferraro (who also co-produced it), Elizabeth Boland (who has released music for the label Arts & Crafts as Lowell) and Megan Bülow (who makes music as bülow). The three of them are all credited on the song, with Ferraro also co-producing the song with Killah B and Beyoncé.
“I love Beyoncé and I love the record,” Ferraro tells Billboard Canada, “She’s created such an amazing cultural moment.”
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Another Canadian, Dave Hamelin (formerly of The Stills), is credited on Beyoncé’s other new song, “16 Carriages,” listed as a producer and engineer.
To be clear, Beyoncé’s moment is not about any of these Canadian musicians. Many have rightfully pointed to the contributions of Rhiannon Giddens, a musician who’s been showing the world that the banjo was originally a Black instrument (which fits right in with Beyoncé’s Renaissance mission of reclaiming Black genres, first house and now country). Prominent Black roots musician, Robert Randolph, is also credited as a steel guitar player.
But it is also a big credit for a number of Canadian musicians who have been working behind the scenes of the music industry in bigger and bigger ways.
Ferraro was in an alt-rock band called The Midway State that had some success in Canada in the late 2000s. A signing to Interscope as a teenager brought him to Los Angeles, where he splits time with Toronto (it also brought a collaboration with a then up-and-coming Lady Gaga).
After writing for and with mostly Canadian artists, including Carly Rae Jepsen and Jessie Reyez, he had a modest international hit with bülow in “Not A Love Song,” which exemplified their collaboration as songwriters. He also wrote with Lowell (signed to Canadian label Arts & Crafts) for her project. They all formed a songwriting team that picked up steam in 2022, collaborating on the Charli XCX song “Yuck.”
“[The collaboration] works well for us,” Ferraro tells Billboard Canada. “We’re such good friends and we know each other’s strengths and weaknesses. I think we all have a lot of mutual respect, so we have a lot of confidence together and that allows us to take risks.”
He estimates they’ve written about 100 songs together, with about 20 of them seeing the light of day. Personally, he’s written about 1500, he says. He’s been recognized in Canada, with seven SOCAN awards for public performance of songwriting, but he’s also established himself as part of a “vibrant” community and industry of songwriters, studio musicians, producers and A&R people in Los Angeles.
“I first started coming here, sleeping on couches wherever I could, working with different collaborators and friends,” he says. “I did that for years. And at the end of the pandemic, I started spending even more time here and got a manager down here. And now I’m spending about six months a year here.”
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Ferraro is inspired by prolific songwriters who’ve both written for other artists and recorded under their own names – Carole King and Diane Warren, especially. But he describes his collaborative songwriting process as one based on friendship and spirituality – not necessarily religious, but one with room for an ineffable type of expression that drives in-the-room creation.
“When I read a book by Rick Rubin or John Lennon, that often comes up. And I don’t think it’s by chance,” he says. “For any artist there’s a vision and a belief in something that doesn’t yet exist. I think it was Quincy Jones who said ‘always leave some space for God in the room,’ and it’d be silly of me to negate that. There’s a humility and a presence and an openness, and I think that’s important.”
Many of his biggest credits have been for female artists, from Lady Gaga to Charli XCX, something he attributes to growing up with five younger sisters. None of those credits have been as big as “Texas Hold ‘Em,” though, which could become a breakthrough credit for Ferraro, Lowell and bülow.
“Honestly, since I was 14, I had the vision that I would write songs that could have a major impact,” he says. “And it’s pretty delusional because it’s just so, so far away. I grew up in Collingwood, Ontario. But you just put one foot in front of the other and write lots and lots of songs and don’t give up. And that’s led me here.”
This article originally appeared on Billboard Canada.
Beyoncé’s Chart Hit Is Also a Win for Canadian Songwriters
This week, Beyoncé became the first Black woman to top Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart with “Texas Hold ‘Em.”
There are some surprising Canadian connections. The song is co-written and co-produced by Ontario-born writer/producer Nathan Ferraro, who co-produced the track with Killah B and Beyoncé. Two other Canadian songwriters also participated in the runaway hit: Megan Bülow (who records and performs as bülow) and Elizabeth “Lowell” Boland (a.k.a. Lowell).
Ferraro was in an alt-rock band called The Midway State that had some success in Canada in the late 2000s. A signing to Interscope as a teenager brought him to Los Angeles, where he splits time with Toronto (his signing with the label also led to a collaboration with a then up-and-coming Lady Gaga).
After writing for mostly Canadian artists, including Carly Rae Jepsen and Jessie Reyez, Ferraro had a modest hit with bülow in “Not A Love Song,” which started their collaboration as songwriters. He also wrote with Lowell (signed to Canadian label Arts & Crafts), with the two forming a songwriting team that picked up steam in 2022 when they collaborated on the Charli XCX song “Yuck.”
“[The collaboration] works well for us,” Ferraro tells Billboard Canada. “We’re such good friends and we know each other’s strengths and weaknesses. I think we all have a lot of mutual respect, so we have a lot of confidence together and that allows us to take risks. We’ve written probably 100 songs together.”
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But none of their credits have been as big as “Texas Hold ‘Em,” which could become a breakthrough for Ferraro and his collaborators.
“Honestly, since I was 14, I had the vision that I would write songs that could have a major impact,” he says. “And it’s pretty delusional because it’s just so, so far away. I grew up in Collingwood, Ontario. But you put one foot in front of the other and write lots and lots of songs and don’t give up.” – Richard Trapunski
Neil Young’s New Album FU##IN’ UP Includes Live Recordings from Intimate Toronto Venue The Rivoli
Canadian icon Neil Young is adding to his immense discography with a new release this spring: a live album titled FU##IN UP. The album, featuring Young’s longtime band Crazy Horse, consists of nine live recordings from 2023 and is set for a limited edition two-LP release this April in partnership with Record Store Day.
According to the album’s credits, it was recorded at Toronto’s Rivoli club, meaning it likely captures Neil Young & Crazy Horse‘s secret show at the venue last November.
At that show — supposedly a private birthday party for Canada Goose CEO Dani Reiss — the band performed most of its 1990 album Ragged Glory, according to reports that generated a lot of buzz when they appeared online days later. FU##IN’ UP features primarily songs from Ragged Glory, with new titles taken from lyric fragments. (“Over and Over,” shared as a single, is now “Broken Circle.”)
The album features performances from Crazy Horse members Billy Talbot on bass, Ralph Molina on drums, and Nils Lofgren and Micah Nelson on guitar and piano, while Reiss is credited as a presenter.
To tease the album announcement, Young previously shared a version of “Cinnamon Girl” recorded at the Rivoli on his site, Neil Young Archives. “This version of Cinnamon Girl is an example of the energy captured as the horse road through the RIVOLI club in Toronto Nov 4, 2023,” the post reads.
Neil Young and Crazy Horse will be returning to Toronto to tour the new album, though this time at a venue with a higher capacity: They’ll play Budweiser Stage on May 20, as part of their 2024 Love Earth Tour — their first major tour in a decade. – Rosie Long Decter
Tanya Tagaq Plays a Pivotal Role in True Detective Season Finale
The new season of True Detective wrapped up this past weekend, and timed with the tense final episode, HBO also released the show’s gripping soundtrack. Inuk artist Tanya Tagaq, one of the most celebrated contemporary musicians in Canada, contributed to seven songs on the soundtrack and made appearances in the show itself.
Subtitled Night Country, the fourth season of the HBO detective show takes place in the fictional town of Ennis, Alaska. It stars Jodie Foster and Kali Reis as Liz Danvers and Evangeline Navarro, two police officers trying to figure out how the recent bizarre deaths of six scientists are linked to the murder of Iñupiaq activist Annie Kowtok. Through its mystery framing, the show explores themes like colonial violence, environmental destruction, and missing and murdered Indigenous women.
While the score was primarily composed by British composer Vince Pope, Tagaq’s vocal work and throat singing add power to his compositions. Tagaq is listed as a featured artist on six tracks on the soundtrack and is the sole artist credited on “Tanya’s Lullaby,” a beautiful composition where Tagaq’s voice is layered to ghostly effect.
Tagaq had an impact on the series in more ways than one. She appears as an actress in the show, playing a doula, and her family’s names also provided inspiration for two of the series’ characters: Danvers and Navarro visit a fisherman named Oliver Tagaq in one episode, while Navarro also periodically spends the night with a sweet bartender named Qavvik, a version of Tagaq’s daughter’s name. Tagaq thanked season four showrunner Issa López for including the names in the show.
“Oliver Tagaq and Kavvik. Kavvik is my youngest daughter’s name. Thank you @IssitaLopez for including our names in #TrueDetective” she tweeted. – Rosie Long Decter
From Celine Dion to Joni Mitchell and Allison Russell, Canadian artists made a big splash at the Grammys last weekend.
But there’s one Canadian music executive who also cleaned up. She may be the wealthiest, most influential, yet under-the-radar woman in the country’s music industry: Golnar Khosrowshahi of independent publishing and management company, Reservoir Media.
Among the 10 Grammy honours for Reservoir Media is Joni Mitchell at Newport, who won in the folk album category. The legendary singer-songwriter also made her Grammy performance debut. Following a brain aneurysm in 2015, Mitchell had stopped performing, but in 2022 she made a triumphant comeback at the Newport Folk Festival, bringing her living room jam sessions — Joni Jams — to the festival stage. At the awards, she took the stage accompanied by frequent collaborator Brandi Carlile, cello and violin duo SistaStrings, and Canadian Allison Russell on clarinet.
The NYC-based Reservoir firm has offices in L.A., Nashville, Toronto, London and Abu Dhabi and signed Mitchell to an all-encompassing global music publishing admin deal in 2021.
Notably, Reservoir is owned by the Iranian-Canadian Khosrowshahi family, who founded and then sold the Future Shop home electronics chain to Best Buy in 2001 for $580M. Reservoir is run by daughter Golnar, a classically trained pianist with impeccable business credentials.
The music firm now represents 150,000 copyrights and 36,000 master recordings that include the Tommy Boy and Chrysalis catalogues.
In addition to Joni Mitchell, Reservoir also represented winners by boygenius, SZA and Killer Mike. – David Farrell, Rosie Long Decter and Richard Trapunski
Charlotte Cardin Tops 2024 Juno Awards Nominations
Charlotte Cardin has earned the most nominations for the 2024 Juno Awards. The breakthrough Montreal pop singer-songwriter got six nods, including artist of the year, album of the year and pop album of the year (99 NIGHTS), single of the year (“Confetti”) and TikTok Fan Choice. She’s also nominated for songwriter of the year.
Daniel Caesar and TALK follow with five nods each. Allison Russell, Aysanabee, Connor Price, Lauren Spencer Smith, Tate McRae and DVBBS each received three nominations.
The nominations were announced on Feb. 6 in a press conference at the CBC Building. Comeback artist Nelly Furtado, who’ll be performing as well as hosting the broadcast ceremony, was a surprise guest at the nominees announcement. She also received a nomination for “Eat Your Man,” her collaboration with Dom Dolla, for dance recording of the year.
Punjabi-Canadian artist Karan Aujla, a cover star for Billboard Canada’s inaugural digital cover, was also nominated for breakthrough artist of the year and announced as a performer at the Junos ceremony at the Scotiabank Centre in Halifax on March 24. He follows fellow cover star AP Dhillon, who played the first full Punjabi performance at the awards last year. Joining Aujla as performers will be country breakout Josh Ross and singer-songwriter TALK.
Another Punjabi-Canadian artist, Shubh, is nominated for the TikTok Fan Choice, a fan-voted award, along with Aujla, Cardin, Ross, Caesar, DVBBS, Tate McRae, ThxSoMch and Walk off the Earth.
McRae’s “greedy,” which has topped the Billboard Canadian Hot 100 multiple times, is also nominated for single of the year, along with Cardin’s “Confetti,” Caesar’s “Always,” LU KALA’s “Pretty Girl Era,” and TALK’s “A Little Bit Happy.”
Nominated with Cardin for album of the year are Néo-Romance by Alexandra Stréliski, NEVER ENOUGH by Daniel Caesar, Mirror by Lauren Spencer Smith and Lord of the Flies & Birds & Bees by TALK.
Cardin, Caesar, Smith and McRae, all relatively young artists, are all nominated for artist of the year as well, along with the legacy artist of the category, Shania Twain.
The Junos will be broadcast live on CBC from Halifax’s Scotiabank Centre on Sunday, March 24. Tickets for the show and the JUNO Week events are on sale at ticketmaster.ca/junos. The majority of the awards will be presented at The Juno Opening Night Awards the night before the main ceremony on March 23.
Find the full list of nominations here and interviews from the red carpet at ca.billboard.com – Richard Trapunski
How Canadian Music Took Over 2024 NHL All-Star Weekend
Toronto was alive with music at the 2024 NHL All-Star Weekend – not just on the ice, but all around the city. As the hockey spectacle returned to the city for the first time since 2000, and to Canada for the first time since 2012, the multiple-day event brought live music from major stars including Nelly Furtado, the Kid Laroi and Diplo.
As the stars of the game played each other in skills competitions and 3-on-3 hockey, music was an integral component. Each of the four teams chosen by an NHL player was co-captained by a celebrity: Tate McRae, Justin Bieber, Michael Bublé and Will Arnett. They weren’t just there to sit on the bench, but they helped choose each team at the player draft on Thursday night (Feb. 1). Bieber even helped out with the players’ on-ice warm-ups.
“We went all-in [with music] this year,” said Steve Mayer, the NHL’s Chief Content Officer. “We’re so happy that we have what represents not only the best in the NHL coming here, but in our minds, the best in Canadian music. And being here in Canada with seven Canadian teams, we better know our Canadian music.”
The headliner of this year’s NHL All-Star Game was one of the biggest artists in the world. McRae comes from a hockey family, and the sport’s culture is a major part of her current image. So it felt natural to see her perform on three different stages on the ice in a glittery top with six dancers and the production value you might see at a big award show.
“For the past year or two years now, I feel like I’ve fully immersed myself in the hockey world,” McRae told Billboard Canada.
Michael Bublé said he’s proud seeing what McRae has accomplished and called her before the game.
“I told her I was happy for and proud for her,” he remarked. “And as a Canadian, it made me happy to see another young Canadian breaking through….Honestly, we’re kind of dominating music right now. We are sending a ton of artists out there, and we’ve already got a ton of career artists out there. This little place made a bunch of great ones.”
The star factor revved way up on Thursday night (Feb. 1), when Justin Bieber played an invite-only concert at the 2,500-capacity venue History, his first gig in over a year. Diplo, The Kid Laroi and Nelly Furtado also played at concerts over the weekend, but Bieber’s was the one that captured the most headlines and social media attention in a set that spanned his whole career. – Richard Trapunski
Last Week In Canada: Drake’s OVO Sound Partners With Santa Anna
Toronto was alive with music at the 2024 NHL All-Star Weekend – not just on the ice, but all around the city.
As the hockey spectacle returned to the city for the first time since 2000, and to Canada for the first time since 2012, the multiple-day event brought live music from major stars including Justin Bieber, Tate McRae, Nelly Furtado and Diplo. It also included a viral press conference moment by crooner Michael Bublé, hockey players rubbing elbows with celebrities, and a spotlight for up-and-coming Canadian musicians including Loud Luxury, The Glorious Sons, TALK, The Reklaws and Owen Riegling.
As the stars of the game played each other in skills competitions and 3-on-3 hockey, music was an integral component. Each of the four teams chosen by an NHL player was co-captained by a celebrity: Tate McRae, Justin Bieber, Michael Bublé and Will Arnett. They weren’t just there to sit on the bench, but they helped choose each team at the player draft on Thursday night (Feb. 1). Bieber even helped out with the players’ on-ice warm-ups.
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“We went all-in [with music] this year,” says Steve Mayer, the NHL’s Chief Content Officer. “We’re so happy that we we have what represents not only the best in the NHL coming here, but in our minds, the best in Canadian music. And being here in Canada with seven Canadian teams, we better know our Canadian music.”
When it comes to music and sports, it’s hard to beat the Super Bowl. The NFL’s halftime show has become one of the top music events of the year, with fans obsessing (and sometimes even betting) about who will get the coveted headlining spot, who the special guests will be and which songs they’ll perform.
Of the “big four” sports leagues, the NHL lags behind the others including the NBA and Major League Baseball in terms of television ratings and attendance – but not in Canada. Here, the National Hockey League is the most popular professional league, according to a 2023 survey by the Angus Reid Institute. Though basketball fever reached a peak in Canada in 2019 with the Toronto Raptors’ first championship, the Toronto Maple Leafs are still a major money-maker in the city and the other Canadian teams are not far behind.
It’s hard to compete with the other major leagues for celebrity and star power – especially now that Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s relationship has turned Kansas City Chiefs into full-on mainstream pop culture events. But hockey culture is so ingrained with some conceptions of Canadian identity that the success of the music integration this year shows how strong the country’s artists are right now.
The headliner of this year’s NHL All-Star Game was one of the biggest artists in the world. Tate McRae peformed between the second and third intermission of the main event on Saturday night (Feb. 3). The Calgary-born singer played “greedy,” her song that’s hit No. 1 on the Billboard Canadian and Global Hot 100, along with “exes” and, for the first time, “run for the hills.” All are from her latest album, Think Later, whose cover features the singer in goalie pads (sure, on the wrong legs).
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McRae comes from a hockey family, and the sport’s culture is a major part of her current image. So it felt natural to see her perform on three different stages on the ice in a glittery top with six dancers and the production value you might see at a big award show.
Mayer says the NHL has its own production unit staffed with people from the concert industry, and a team that deals specifically with music clearance. For many artists in Canada, like the Arkells and the Beaches, getting a song played on Hockey Night In Canada is a rite of passage. Rock band The Glorious Sons told Billboard Canada getting their song “Speed of Light” on the broadcast was a point of breakthrough for them.
Mayer says the NHL’s team prides itself on the entertainment they’re able to produce. It pays off when you have a major artist like McRae who is such a proponent of the game. “My family has been really involved with hockey my whole life, but I was always really busy with dance so I honestly couldn’t get too, too into it,” McRae tells Billboard Canada. “And for the past year or two years now, I feel like I’ve fully immersed myself in the hockey world.”
In another interview with Billboard Canada, Michael Bublé says he’s proud seeing what McRae has accomplished and called her before the game. “I told her I was happy for and proud for her,” he says. “And as a Canadian, it made me happy to see another young Canadian breaking through….Honestly, we’re kind of dominating music right now. We are sending a ton of artists out there, and we’ve already got a ton of career artists out there. This little place made a bunch of great ones.”
Bublé went viral in an All-Star press conference by saying he made his All-Star picks while high on mushrooms, a likely joke that was taken seriously by a lot of people online. “That’s what I was sent to do,” he says in a rare moment of seriousness in our conversation, before doing his impression of a rote and cliché-ridden hockey player interview about giving 110%. “I’m an entertainer, man. And the truth is, I’m living my best life. I’m having so much fun.”
Despite his non-stop banter, Bublé took the weekend very seriously. According to Mayer, the league sent him stats and intel so he could choose the best team possible along with captain Quinn Hughes of the Vancouver Canucks. (His team didn’t win, though, ultimately losing to hometown hero Auston Matthews’ team co-captained by Bieber). An owner of junior hockey team the Vancouver Giants, he is a massive hockey fan and a friend to many of the players.
So is Bieber, who’s often seen hanging out with Matthews and other Leafs like William Nylander and Mitch Marner. Bieber’s drew house clothing label designed this year’s NHL All-Star sweaters, and that brought a rare cool factor to the league that nearly rivals the collectible special edition jerseys of the NBA.
That factor revved way up on Thursday night (Feb. 1), when Bieber played an invite-only concert at the 2,500-capacity venue History, his first gig in over a year. Diplo, The Kid Laroi and Nelly Furtado also played at concerts over the weekend, but Bieber’s was the one that captured the most headlines and social media attention in a set that spanned his whole career.
“This is a guy who’s 100% totally into the Toronto Maple Leafs,” says Mayer. “Of course we’re going to want to work with him any way we can.”
“There’s a good old saying: rock stars want to be athletes, athletes want to be rock stars,” says Mayer. “And we take advantage of that. When they get here, and they’re amongst these athletes, especially those they really admire, they turn into fans.”
This story originally appeared on Billboard Canada.
Global superstar Drake is making moves to expand his influence. His OVO Sound label has announced a new partnership with the Santa Anna Label Group, an artist and label services company launched by Sony Music last year.
Through the partnership, OVO will remain a distinct label with its own roster, but will benefit from distribution, marketing and promotion, A&R services, finance and accounting, and more from the American company.
Santa Anna is a new venture, launched in January 2023 by Sony Music and Alamo Records CEO Todd Moscowitz, with the goal of helping artists and entrepreneurs to develop their businesses within the industry. This isn’t Moscowitz’s first encounter with the Toronto label: the industry executive was CEO of Warner Records in 2012, when OVO was originally founded under the Warner banner.
“After 10 years, it’s exciting to reunite with the OVO Sound team to collaborate on new ways to support their impressive roster of artists,” Moscowitz said of the new partnership. “Together, I look forward to working with a best-in-class management team to develop opportunities to help scale their business and take their artistry to new heights.”
OVO was founded by Drake, producer Noah “40” Shebib and manager Oliver El-Khatib. The roster includes popular Toronto talent like Majid Jordan, DVSN and PARTYNEXDOOR, and is headed by former Warner A&R executive Mr. Morgan. This new announcement comes after Majid Jordan’s fall 2023 release of the duo’s latest LP, Good People, and ahead of PARTYNEXTDOOR’s P4, expected soon.
The OVO brand — October’s Very Own, named after Drake’s birth month — includes live music at OVO Fest and a brick-and-mortar clothing store in Toronto, as well as the label. In the decade-plus since OVO’s launch, the label has largely focused on Canadian acts, though they also represent Dutch artist (and their first female signee) Naomi Sharon.
The partnership indicates that Drake’s business ambitions are only growing. Will OVO expand its focus beyond Canada? Or will the new investment be directed towards discovering new artists like they did recently with 6ixBuzz collaborator Smiley? –Rosie Long Decter
Vancouver-Based Beatdapp Partners with Universal Music Group to Detect Fraud
Vancouver-based Beatdapp has become the leading streaming fraud detection company in the music industry today after successfully raising C22M in growth financing and newly announced partnerships with SoundExchange, Napster and a “strategic collaboration” with Universal Music Group.
Last year, the company analyzed more than two trillion streams and 20 trillion data points for its five core categories of customers: DSPs, music labels, collection societies, creator tool services and music distributors.
Beatdapp asserts that as much as 10% of global streams are fraudulent, with the result that as much as US$1B in royalties end up in fraudsters’ pockets. Latest statistics suggest more than 100,000 tracks are uploaded every day. These are on top of the 100M tracks Spotify hosted in 2023, with over 30M added annually at the current rate of uploading.
The company claims to detect fraud with more than 99% accuracy. That’s become especially pertinent as Spotify has eliminated royalties for songs with less than 1,000 songs, in a claimed effort to crack down on fraud. Fraud is also a major topic of conversation when it comes to artificial intelligence, a point of existential angst for many in the music industry.
Recently, Universal Music Group has also been up front when it comes to fair distribution of royalties, pulling its entire song catalogue from TikTok at the end of January. In a widely distributed open letter, the major record company accused the platform of “trying to build a music-based business, without paying fair value for the music,” according to a new open letter.
In the meantime, companies offering fraud detection or protection could have major value within the music industry. –David Farrell & Richard Trapunski
Tokyo Police Club Says Goodbye
Tokyo Police Club, one of the most successful Canadian indie rock bands of the last two decades, is calling it quits — but not before four more hometown goodbye shows in Toronto from Nov. 27-29 at History.
Though they began in Ontario, a press release announcing the band’s breakup says the members of the band are now spread out from Los Angeles to Toronto to Prince Edward Island.
In a joint statement signed by “Dave, Graham, Josh and Greg,” the group explains that, “It’s time for us to say goodbye! This band has meant so much to us for so many years, but all magical things must come to an end. Tokyo Police Club will always stand for the connection we have shared ever since we were teenagers, and it’s brought so many amazing people and moments into our lives.”
Tokyo Police Club was formed by four high school friends in Newmarket, Ontario, and comprises vocalist and bassist Dave Monks, keyboardist Graham Wright, guitarist Josh Hook, and drummer Greg Alsop. The group made a splash with an acclaimed debut EP, A Lesson In Crime, in 2006, going on to release two more EPs and five full-length albums and tour internationally, from Coachella to The Late Show with David Letterman.
Among other nominations, the band was twice up for the Juno Award for Alternative Album of the Year, in 2011 for Champ and in 2019 for TPC, its final full-length release.
After the band’s first goodbye show was announced, there’s been overwhelming demand for more. Now, it’s a four-night stand in Toronto. Additional live dates could also be in the works, they hint. –Kerry Doole
Last Week in Canada: Chilly Response to Pitchfork Changes
Earlier this week, Anna Wintour, chief content officer of media company Condé Nast, announced that Pitchfork will become a vertical at men’s magazine GQ and will undergo restructuring and layoffs. Many Pitchfork employees were laid off, including features editor Jillian Mapes, longtime employee and executive editor Amy Phillips and current editor-in-chief Puja Patel, according to Wintour’s memo to staff.
“Without Pitchfork, there will be fewer avenues for Canadian artists to reach a broad American audience,” says Polaris Prize-winning musician Cadence Weapon — real name Rollie Pemberton — who received coverage from the site early in his career and began writing reviews for it as a teenager.
“When Broken Social Scene and Arcade Fire got boosted by the Pitchfork Effect in 2003 and 2004, it gave independent Canadian musicians hope,” Pemberton tells Billboard Canada. “Back then, anything that wasn’t on a major label was largely ignored by our own country.”
“Getting a thoughtful and favourable Pitchfork review for The Shape of Your Name in 2019 cracked open the door for me into the U.S., which ultimately led to American labels and my agents coming on board,” says Canadian singer-songwriter Charlotte Cornfield. “I think that ultimately the changes at Pitchfork will create another barrier [to] entry for Canadian musicians when it comes to growing their careers outside of Canada.”
The concerns extend beyond Pitchfork. Many artists, writers and music industry members see the layoffs as part of broader trends in the music and media industries.
Andrew McLeod, who releases music as Sunnsetter and performs in Zoon and Ombiigizi, argues that the only obvious way to make new fans is to go viral.
“In the phase of the internet that we’re currently living through, it’s much harder to create new mechanisms of any significant size that exist outside of the structures of these massively capitalized platforms like Spotify, Meta, TikTok,” he explains. Major labels have the resources to mount massive social media campaigns, but for independent artists, it’s challenging to break through.
Read more about the impact of the loss of music media here. – Rosie Long Decter
Boots and Hearts Producer Launches Management Arm, RLive
Republic Live, producers of the annual multi-day Boots and Hearts country music festival north of Toronto, has launched a management division called RLive. Newly appointed Alberta native Casadie Pederson has been named as director of artist management and development.
RLive will be based in Nashville, where Pederson will work alongside Republic Live’s festival booker Brooke Dunford. The Republic Live Canadian office has also added Hannah Buske in Toronto. She will support Dunford in future festival bookings and support management and marketing initiatives.
RLive is a natural extension of the festival’s opening night emerging artist showcase. In an earlier interview, Dunford stated that promoting Canadian talent at Boots and Hearts Music Festival — which annually attracts 40,000 a night and offers on-site camping, carnival rides, food trucks and other amenities — has always been one of its chief mandates.
The first signing for RLive is Tyler Joe Miller, a Surrey, B.C. singer-songwriter who has scored seven top 10 Canadian country hits since launching himself in 2019 with two back-to-back No. 1 hits – “Pillow Talkin” and “I Would Be Over Me Too.” Miller joins fellow CanCountry stars Shawn Austin and Andrew Hyatt on a 20-city, west-to-east Country MixTape Tour of casinos, theatres and concert venues that opens in April.
Republic Live is a privately held Canadian company formed by the Dunford family that owns the 585-acre Burl’s Creek Event Grounds north of Toronto, where Boots and Hearts is staged annually.
Canadian venture capitalist Stan Dunford and Nashville-based live music promoter Nick Kulb were early backers of what has become one of the largest multi-day festivals in North America. – David Farrell
Chantal Kreviazuk Sells Song Catalogue to Anthem Entertainment
After decades as a Sony/ATV Music Publishing Canada songwriter, Winnipeg-born singer Chantal Kreviazuk announced that her song catalogue has been acquired by Anthem Entertainment.
It’s a major acquisition. In addition to CanCon hits of her own like “Before You,” “Boot,” “In This Life,” “Time,” “Weight Of The World” and “Get To You,” she’s also written songs by artists like Drake, Avril Lavigne, Shakira and Carrie Underwood. Her catalogue includes diverse hits like “Feel This Moment” by Pitbull and Christina Aguilera, and “Rich Girl” by Gwen Stefani.
Kreviazuk has won three Juno Awards and was awarded the Order of Canada in 2014, along with her husband, Raine Maida of Our Lady Peace, for their efforts to raise awareness and support for human and animal rights, mental health, education and the environment.
As for Anthem Entertainment, the Toronto-based company has made a major move into acquiring more publishing catalogues over recent months, including rising country singer Jordan Davis and some of Timberland’s catalogue, including cuts with Justin Timberlake and Jay-Z.
Last year, the independent company made some major executive moves, instating Jason Klein as the new permanent CEO. – David Farrell & Richard Trapunski
Last week in Canada: Top Vinyl Sales & Amazon Music’s Artists to Watch
Last week, Luminate put out its 2023 year-end report. While the data company, which tabulates Billboard‘s charts and provides data for the film and TV industries, usually puts out a separate Canadian report, this year’s was instead a report on the global music industry as a whole.
Billboard Canada asked Luminate if it could supply any more data on who and what was hot in Canada in 2023, and they dug in for four more exclusive lists.
When it comes to vinyl sales, Taylor Swift, unsurprisingly, takes up the top three spots and four of the top 10.
Top 10 Vinyl Sales
Taylor Swift – 1989 (Taylor’s Version) – 43,000
Taylor Swift – Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) – 18,000
Taylor Swift – Midnights – 18,000
Olivia Rodrigo – Guts – 8,000
Pink Floyd – The Dark Side Of The Moon – 8,000
Lana Del Rey – Did You Know That There’s A Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd – 7,000
Taylor Swift – Red (Taylor’s Version) – 6,000
Fleetwood Mac – Rumours – 6,000
Arctic Monkeys – Am – 5,000
Rolling Stones – Hackney Diamonds – 5,000
Swift also takes the top spot for CD sales, but there are also two somewhat surprising Canadian albums represented: Neo-Romance from Quebecois pianist Alexandra Stréliski and A Boire Deboutte from francophone Acadian roots act Salebarbes.
Top 10 CD Sales
Taylor Swift – 1989 (Taylor’s Version) – 30,000
Metallica – 72 Seasons – 17,000
Alexandra Stréliski – Neo-Romance – 16,000
Taylor Swift – Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) – 13,000
Rolling Stones – Hackney Diamonds – 11,000
Taylor Swift – Lover – 10,000
Salebarbes – A Boire Deboutte – 10,000
Taylor Swift – Midnights – 10,000
P!nk – Trustfall – 8,000
Ed Sheeran – – 8,000
Head here for the top 10 on-demand streams for two of Canada’s most popular and rising genres: country and R&B/hip-hop. – Richard Trapunski & David Farrell
CIMA Calls On Government To Keep Its Canada Music Fund Promise
CIMA, the Canadian Independent Music Association, has launched a campaign calling on the public to contact Liberal representatives about the Canada Music Fund. Following a direct appeal to the government last fall, CIMA has turned towards the public in hopes of putting pressure on the government to make good on their campaign promise to increase the fund by $50 million.
The organization has set up a letter campaign that allows supporters to contact the government with a plea to increase the Canada Music Fund, which supports the operations of granting bodies FACTOR and Musicaction. According to CIMA, FACTOR invested $21 million in the Canadian music industry in 2022 alone and has supported 6,500 artists in the last five years.
FACTOR receives part of its funding from private radio broadcasters, but those contributions have been decreasing, with CIMA estimating they could be as low as $2 million in 2024. The Canada Music Fund is currently $25 million annually, and CIMA says that a $50 million increase is needed just to maintain current programming, while many music associations are calling for a $60 million increase. The Liberal government promised a $50 million increase in 2021 to help the Canada Music Fund keep up with demand and the rising costs of releasing and touring music.
CIMA president Andrew Cash spoke to the House Finance Committee on Nov. 14 about the increase and said that if the government fails to follow through, “companies will close, those that don’t will shed staff and release fewer artists, and this will result in fewer shows across the country, harming an already precarious live music sector, affecting local economies, and reducing revenues to government.”
FACTOR provides major financial support for artists looking to export their music internationally, with showcasing and touring grants that help artists travel to key industry events abroad, as well as support for marketing and sound recording.
“If the government does not make good even on their $50 million promise to our sector, FACTOR’s budget could be cut in half over the next couple of years,” states CIMA’s new public campaign. – Rosie Long Decter
Amazon Music Canada Announces Breakthrough Artists to Watch 2024
Amazon Music Canada has announced the six Canadian rising stars included in its Breakthrough Artists to Watch 2024. Throughout the year, these six musicians will include support from Amazon Music Canada, including year-long promotion, exclusive music, playlist placement, editorial and tailored developmental support for each artist’s career ambitions.
This year’s selections include inaugural Billboard Canada Punjabi Wave cover star Jonita Gandhi, francophone rapper Fredz, small-town Ontario country singer Owen Riegling, former breakout star of Canadian singing competition The Launch Jamie Fine, Ottawa singer-songwriter Anaïs Cardot and Victoria, British Columbia-based funk/R&B artist Diamond Cafe (who also just signed a major label deal with Warner Music Canada).
“The focus of Artist to Watch is to help artists who are bubbling up in Canada find ways to grow their audiences and connect with new fans across the country and globally,” John Murphy, head of music, Canada, at Amazon Music, tells Billboard Canada. “We’re looking forward to working closely with this year’s group of diverse, promising artists and helping even more fans discover them and their music.”
One of the goals of the program is to spread regional artists internationally, adds Murphy. Amazon Music launched its first Canadian edition of the initiative last year, and Murphy says it more than doubled the total fans of each artist throughout 2023. Madeline Merlo launched an original track on the streaming service called “You’ll Think of Me,” and more than 50% of its streams have come from outside of Canada.
All six of the artists selected have big plans for 2024, including new music, concerts and some other dreams. To let them speak for themselves, Billboard Canada asked each musician about their year ahead.
Read all of those interviews here. – Richard Trapunski
This year, Billboard Canada will introduce the first Canadian edition of Power Players. The list will celebrate individuals pivotal in advancing Canadian music and boosting artists who are making a global impact.
Billboard Canada’s Power Players celebration will take place on Sunday, June 2, 2024, with an event held on the opening night of the long-running music festival and industry conference, Canadian Music Week (CMW).
CMW founder Neill Dixon says he noticed a void within the music industry and was looking for a method to spotlight key industry professionals. In its 42-year history, CMW has established itself as the central hub for industry professionals from Canada and across the globe. The introduction of Billboard Canada‘s Power Players list is set to provide a significant boost, propelling these industry voices to new heights.
“[It’s] a recognition long overdue for Canada,” says Dixon.
Canada’s music industry is in a pivotal moment of transformation. Following the breakout success of artists like Drake, The Weeknd, Justin Bieber and Shawn Mendes over the last decade and a half, a new generation of emerging artists is making its mark on the world stage.
In 2023, Tate McRae established herself as a global star, hitting No. 1 on the Billboard Canadian Hot 100 and Billboard‘s Global 200. Punjabi-Canadian artists like Karan Aujla and AP Dhillon made major waves across the world and signalled the global potential of Canada’s cross-cultural music scene. Meanwhile, with Canadian Content regulations and the Broadcasting Act under review for the first time in a generation, the industry is being reshaped and rethought before our eyes.
The Power Players list will be peer-nominated and selected by the Billboard Canada team. Nominations are set to open in February. – Richard Trapunski
Luminate 2023 Year-End Report Reveals Canadians Love Old Music, Afrobeats and Country
In 2023, Canadian total album consumption was up, while album sales — including physical and digital — declined slightly, according to the Luminate Year-End Music Report released this week.
While Luminate usually releases a separate Canadian report, this year the country’s data is included with the full global report.
In Canada, catalog sales are strong. Luminate compared growth in catalog consumption versus current release consumption, and found that in Canada, catalog represented 73.1% of music consumption while current releases represented only 26.9%. Catalog consumption also grew more than current release consumption last year, at 17.4% versus 9.1%.
Canada came in ninth place on Luminate’s list of the top 10 countries by streaming volume, with 145.3 billion streams. Canada doesn’t appear on the top 10 countries by streaming growth list, however, where India took the number one spot. Canada is also one of five countries outside the United States where hip-hop and R&B perform the best on streaming.
In Canada, Afrobeats had a big year thanks to Rema and Selena Gomez‘s “Calm Down,” (which finished second on Luminate’s list of top 10 songs of 2023 in Canada by audio- and video-on-demand streams) but Latin music has struggled to break through in the same way as it has in the United States, with 2023 heavy-hitters Peso Pluma and Karol G failing to land on Canada’s year-end charts. Country is very popular, though: Morgan Wallen is on Canada’s top 10 albums of 2023 by total equivalent album units, finishing at No. 1 with One Thing at a Time and at No. 4 with Dangerous: The Double Album. Further down the list is Luke Combs’ Gettin’ Old at No. 9.
Find all of the Luminate year-end lists and data insights, both for Canada and the United States, here. – Rosie Long Decter
Rêve Finds Some “Contemporary Love” on the Billboard Canadian Hot 100
This week marks the first Billboard Canadian Hot 100 since the holidays, and with the drop-off of seasonal songs, there’s lots of room for shakeups on the charts. The opening has certainly benefitted Montreal dance-pop artist Rêve, who has a new entry on the charts this week: Her new song, “Contemporary Love,” lands at No. 77.
This isn’t Rêve’s first Canadian Hot 100 appearance; her single “Whitney” finished at No. 68 on 2023’s year-end Canadian Hot 100 and cracked the top 10 on Billboard‘s Dance/Mix Show Airplay chart in the United States. A previous single, “CTRL + ALT + DEL,” peaked at No. 38 on the Canadian Hot 100 and was certified platinum. In 2023, Rêve released her full-length debut, Saturn Return, and was featured in Billboard‘s Dance Artist of the Month series. She also picked up a Juno Award for Breakthrough Artist.
“Contemporary Love,” a cut off Saturn Return, was released along with a music video in July. The track is now picking up steam following Rêve’s guest judge appearance on Canada’s Drag Race at the end of 2023, where she gave pointers to the competitors on a girl group challenge. The energetic dance-pop track, featuring very ’80s synth bass and drum fills as well as a rapid-fire chorus, has an intensity that could propel it even further up the chart.
Also making moves on the Canadian Hot 100 this week is Tate McRae, who returns to No. 1 with “greedy” following a holiday hiatus. The Calgary pop star is also blowing up in the United States, having just claimed the No. 3 spot on the Billboard Hot 100, behind Jack Harlow‘s “Lovin On Me” and Taylor Swift‘s “Cruel Summer.” Might she have enough momentum to take the No. 1 spot in the coming weeks?
Notably, McRae currently has two other songs on the Canadian Hot 100: “exes” at No. 19 and “run for the hills,” which hit a new peak at No. 34. Both are also charting on the U.S. Hot 100. – Rosie Long Decter
