Canadian Musician - January/February 2019

CHANGES A GoFundMe crowdfunding campaign has been set up to help Canadian music industry veteran Gerry Lee, the longtime tour manager for Tom Cochrane, who suffered a serious stroke in September 2018. Lee was “rushed to the hospital in Toronto where the doctors worked on him to the best of their ability but he suffered brain damage and lost the function of the right side of his body. As of today, he’s slowly recovering in a rehabilitation centre. He still doesn’t have function in his right arm and leg but can now slowly speak and has just been able to eat solid food,” explains Bill Bell, Lee’s friend who launched the campaign. “If you’ve ever met him then you know what a big heart he has… He hasn’t complained once and continues to be upbeat but I can only imagine the stress he feels as he may not be able to work for the next few years, and as we know in the music community, that means zero financial income.” Organizers are hoping to raise $60,000 to help with medical care at home, as well as food and rent for the next two years. Lee will also need a wheelchair and customizations to the home he’ll be staying at while recovering. For more information and to donate, go to www.gofundme.com/gerry-lee-stroke-rehabilitation. Creators’ Digital Royalties Topped €1B Globally for First Time in 2017 Global royalty collections for music, audiovisual, visual arts, drama, and literature creators rose to a record high of €9.6 billion ($14.4 billion CAD) in 2017, up 6.2 per cent on the previous year, according to the 2018 Global Collections Report published by CISAC (International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers). Royalties from digital income topped the €1 billion mark for the first time after a 24 per cent increase in 2017. Digital collections have nearly tripled (up 166 per cent) in the last five years, boosted by music and video streaming. Music royalties have grown to €8.3 billion, up six per cent, with digital also reported over €1 billion for the first time. Despite digital’s rise, revenues from digital uses remain far below collections from broadcast, live, and background uses. Only 13 per cent of creators’ royal- ties come from digital sources (up from 11 per cent), a reflection of the “gross mismatch between the volume of creative work being made available via digital channels and the amounts being returned to creators,” according to CISAC, seemingly taking aim at YouTube. To download the report, go to www.cisac.org. … Distribution Select and Outside Music Distribution, two of Cana- da’s leading independent distributors, have merged their sales and distribution services while maintaining independent offices in Montre- al and Toronto, respectively. Outside Music is still operated by Found- er and President Lloyd Nishimura, and Christian Breton will continue to head up the Montreal Select team and oversee the combined efforts of the two companies. Both Select and Outside have significantly higher percentages of physical sales compared to industry averages. 12 • C A N A D I A N M U S I C I A N Indie Music Now 40% of Global Market, 25% in Canada The Worldwide Independent Network (WIN), the global organization representing the independent music industry, has released its WINTEL 2018 report. The latest research shows that indepen- dents increased their global market share to 39.9 per cent in 2017 from 38.4 per cent in 2016. Global indepen- dent revenues also increased to $6.9 billion USD in 2017 from $6.2 billion in 2016, which equates to strong year-on-year growth of 11.3 per cent. Globally, this growth outpaced that of the major record labels, whose revenues grew by 10.2 per cent in the same period. In Canada, independents’ total recorded music revenue was $108 million in 2017, while the majors’ total was $332 million. Across formats, the indepen- dents received $22 million from physical music, $20 million from downloaded music, and $55 million in streaming revenue. Importantly, the WINTEL 2018 report bases values on rights ownership rather than distribution when analyzing market share. For more information, go to www.winformusic.org. GoFundMe Campaign Launched for Tour Manager Gerry Lee After Stroke

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