Beau Dommage, Bruce Cockburn, Neil Young & Stéphane
Venne to Be Inducted into Canadian
Songwriters Hall of Fame
On Sept. 23, 2017, after a five year hiatus, the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame (CSHF) induction cere-
mony returns to Toronto’s Massey Hall with four inductees: Beau Dommage, Bruce Cockburn, Neil Young,
and Stéphane Venne. The bilingual ceremony will feature tributes and performances from Canadian artists
including Arkells, Blackie and the Rodeo Kings, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Damien Robitaille, Daniel Lavoie, Élage
Diouf, k.d. lang, Randy Bachman, Whitehorse, and more.
For more information on the ceremony, inductees, and to purchase tickets, go to www.cshfinduction.ca.
NEIL YOUNG
BRUCE COCKBURN
Digital
speaking out
Marketplace Survey
In light of Miranda Mulholland’s speech to the Economic Club
of Canada (see Indie Insider on pg. 10), Canadian Musician sur-
veyed musicians across the country to find out their opinions
and expectations on some of these issues facing independent
artists in the digital marketplace.
34%
Only
of
respondents current-
ly collect royalties
from the use of their
music on streaming
services
A majority feel it’s either
somewhat harder (28%)
or much harder (39%)
to make a living from music
now compared to the
pre-digital era…
22% feel it’s
somewhat easier
64% feel the
industry is trending
in the wrong direc-
tion in terms of fair
compensation &
opportunities for
musicians to build a
sustainable career
75% feel streaming
services don’t fairly
compensate music
rights holders
W W W. C A N A D I A N M U S I C I A N . CO M
BEAU DOMMAGE
STÉPHANE VENNE
First, what do you think is the most exciting c urrent trend in
the music industry that favours creators from a career-build-
ing perspective? And conversely, what do you think is the
biggest hindrance to creators building a sustainable career?
“It is easier to get your music to the marketplace but very hard to
go further from that point and make any income. When I found
out how hard it is to get on mainstream radio in North America,
unless you have $10 K to spend, my dad said “Payola is alive and
well in 2017. My songs are being played on mainstream radio in
many countries all over the world but not in Canada.”
“Royalties were always sketchy in terms of accuracy with the
old radio logging methods. Now, in the digital age, they should
be very accurate, but instead the royalties are trending toward
less. And large companies like Spotify and Pandora pay far less
than they should. Would anyone listen if there was no music?
Not on your life! The government is years behind in its copyright
laws. Decades! Will it change? Hopefully, but I have little faith in
parliament.”
“In moving away from media being the goal and bringing live
performance back to the fore, creators are better able to be in
touch with their audiences, and make it a more personal expe-
rience. Unfortunately, that makes the mass distribution of the
creative act more difficult, as you physically have to get out and
engage, rather than allowing the media to do it for you.”
C A N A D I A N M U S I C I A N • 17