CHANGES
BILL KING
HILL KOURKOUTIS ( LEFT ) & JODIE FERNEYHOUGH
SING ! Toronto Vocal Arts Festival Names Strategy & Engagement Director
SING ! The Toronto Vocal Arts Festival has named Bill King as its new strategy and engagement director . King brings decades of experience as a recording artist , music journalist , author , music director , Juno Award nominee , photographer , magazine publisher , artistic director , radio producer , event producer , and host of SING ! concerts .
“ This side of COVID offers many opportunities to tap into the abundance of young talent that surrounds us and showcase in as many situations as possible . It ’ s also about providing guidance . What drew me to SING ! – the staff and the considerable talent in positions to make a difference . Any event of major significance is about that collaborative spirit and the will to move mountains ,” says King .
Launched in 2012 , SING ! is an a cappella festival that features a lineup that crosses cultural , demographic , and musical styles from around the globe . In addition to performances , the festival offers educational workshops . The main SING ! festival will return with both live and online offerings in May 2022 .
For more information , contact SING !: info @ singtoronto . com , www . singtoronto . com .
CCS Launches New Division , Daytripper Music Publishing
CCS Rights Management ( CCS ), a Canada-based global independent rights administration and creative services company , has launched Daytripper Music Publishing , a new division and stand-alone brand dedicated to “ creative development of established and up-and-coming artists and songwriters , while enhancing , capitalizing , and promoting their works .” CCS will provide global administration , synchronization , and licensing services for Daytripper Music Publishing , which is headquartered in Toronto .
“ Since we founded the company 10 years ago , CCS has established itself as a leader in administrative practices and services . As we continue expanding into the U . S . and internationally , we ’ re excited to launch Daytripper Music Publishing which will focus on the front-facing part of music publishing , identifying and developing great talent at all levels , providing personalized and curated global creative opportunities , and helping each artist and writer build their brand and career ,” says Jodie Ferneyhough , founder and president of CCS Rights Management .
Daytripper Music Publishing ’ s first new signing is award-winning Canadian songwriter , producer , composer , and recording artist Hill Kourkoutis .
For more information , go to www . daytrippersongs . com .
CMRRA Distributed $ 57M to Music Publishers & Songwriters in 2020
The Canadian Musical Reproduction Rights Agency ( CMRRA ) says it distributed over $ 57 million to music publishers and self-published songwriters in 2020 . Online streaming featured significantly in these figures , representing an increase of more than 17 % compared to 2019 ’ s distributions for streaming year-over-year . The Toronto agency has a repertoire database of over 40 million musical works , representing 142,000 music catalogues .
“ We know how significantly the music industry has been affected by the global pandemic . The live sector has been decimated by venue closures , festival shutdowns , and tour cancellations . At the same time , it ’ s also resulted in a renewed focus on rights and royalties . Catalogue sales have been making news headlines . During the lockdown , commercial radio revenues received by CMRRA were down by 30 % in 2020 . We know how important it is for royalty payments to reach people right now and we ’ re thrilled that we were able to process and distribute over $ 57 million of mechanical royalties in 2020 to music publishers and self-published songwriters ,” says Paul Shaver , president of CMRRA .
Behind the scenes , CMRRA says it ’ s been investing in a technology platform that will improve processing for collections and distributions . In March 2021 , the agency launched a new International Collections service . Working in tandem with the Mechanical Licensing Collective ( the MLC ) for the U . S . and with IMPEL ( an England-based collective ) for countries outside of North America , the new service allows clients
to expand their collection territories for digital mechanical royalties .
In June 2021 , CMRRA announced a multiyear partnership agreement with TikTok , ensuring that going forward , rights holders are paid for music used within video creations on the popular platform . Licensing agreements were also finalized for an Online Music Service collection portfolio with Qobuz , Indigenous Cloud , ACX music ( which operates the Ultimate Fighting Championship streaming application ), as well as classical streaming service , Primephonic . A licensing agreement renewal was also completed with Soundcloud for the same portfolio .
For more information , contact the CMRRA : 416-926-1966 , inquiries @ cmrra . ca , www . cmrra . ca .
18 CANADIAN MUSICIAN