“Time takes its toll, but in my soul I’m on a roll,” Bruce Cockburn sings on his latest studio album, O Sun O Moon. Smart and catchy, it’s the kind of memorable line—like “gotta kick at the darkness ’til it bleeds daylight” from his classic song “Lovers in a Dangerous Time”—the world has become used to hearing from Cockburn.

Watch the video Bruce Cockburn feat. Susan Aglukark - To Keep the World We Know on YouTube here:

SPIKE is proud to announce its partnership with International Music Business School and our inaugural scholarship! IMB School is the first school exclusively dedicated to the global music business and is backed by more than 15 years of experience developing leading training programs for professionals in the music sector.

The scholarship winner will receive a 1000 EUR endowment toward the cost of tuition for the IMB School Postgraduate Diploma in Music Business Mindset.

“Music Business Mindset” Diploma

If you think that your future will be to get signed to a record label, think again. I read in several places that artists today must invest so much more before they are in alignment to be picked up by professionals in the industry. You must start thinking as an artist that you are your first label, your first publicist, your first publisher, and your first manager.

The future of the music industry will be consulting. There is not enough money to go around to be able to invest in new artists. In the old days, you invested dollars into 100 artists, and only 10 of them would make money, but on the other hand, these ten would bring in so much money that it paid for the other 90.

Today there is no one with a proper ROI plan that would invest in that way. The different streams of income make it so unpredictable. With the new digital tools, you can also wait until everything is stable to start to invest.

For an artist is not good enough to just have a good song. It’s not good enough to have a look. Instead, we expect that you come with good songs, a good image and a fanbase, along with a hell of a live show and also be an active professional on social media. 

Canadian Music Week was proud to present Kardinal Offishall with the Social Justice Award at the CMW Music Summit on June 10, 2023 at the Westin Harbour Castle. Canadian media personality Master T hosted a keynote interview with Kardinal Offishall, followed by the presentation of this second annual award.

Social Justice is grounded in the idea that everyone deserves the full spectrum of political, economic and social rights, and opportunities. The annual Social Justice

Award recognizes a current artist/celebrity pursuing social justice and upholding the values of equality, respect and inclusion.

After years of earning global respect as one of Canada’s most energetic and innovative emcees, Kardinal Offishall has been a staple in the global music scene. He has collaborated on hit records such as “Beautiful” with Akon, “Just Dance” with Lady Gaga, “Numba 1” with Rihanna, and made history with his monster classic “Dangerous” which scorched to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 charts, making him the first rapper from Canada to do so in history.

Fefe Dobson, Tyler Shaw, Danny Michel, Nicolina Bozzo, Antonio Michael Downing And More Join The Awesome Music Project June 21^st In Support Of Young Adult Mental Health, with live event and an online live auction.

Live Auction Items include:
- A pair of great seats to see Beyonce July 8th at the Rogers Centre on her Renaissance Tour

- A pair of Gold tickets to see a regular season Toronto Maple Leafs game during the 2023-24 season

- A guitar signed by everybody involved in the June 21st show

- A $1000 personal photography tutoring package with a professional editorial/commercial/portrait photographer

- An Altec-Lansing waterproof bluetooth portable speaker

Access the Live Auction here: https://www.charityauctionstoday.com/auctions/The-AMP-Salute-to-Frankie…

On June 21, 2023 at the legendary El Mocambo in Toronto, The Awesome Music Project will kick off summer with a night of music and storytelling you won’t soon forget.

Canadian Music Week was proud to present two major International Awards during the CMW Music Summit at the Westin Harbour Castle during the 41st Annual Festival. On Thursday June 8, CMW presented Executive Vice President and Managing Executive of Wasserman Music, Marty Diamond, with International Agent of the Year. On Friday June 9, CMW presented Michael Chugg, Founder/ CEO of Chugg Entertainment, with the International Promoter of the Year.

I have stopped going to Swedish Galas. The other day was the Polar Music Prize in Stockholm. You have never heard of the Polar Music Prize? I’m not surprised. To make it simple the fifth member of ABBA, Stickan Anderson left a big chunk of money to make a Nobel prize for music. You get a Polar Prize for your good work in the music industry. And there are many famous artists that have gotten the prize like Bob Dylan, Iggy Pop, Max Martin, and BB King to mention a few.

In the beginning members of the music industry were invited also to the Gala. The problem has always been that the only real famous people have been that one big artist that won. A Gala with just one big artist and then a whole concert room full of nobodies. It’s not like the Grammy Awards in L.A or even better the Oscars where you really have famous people. Over the years they have tried to fix this problem by taking out people from the music industry and replacing them with more famous people. Famous in that way that the general public in Sweden know who they are, not the global audience.

The SPIKE Bulgarian Music Showcase Festival in Plovdiv is an electrifying and vibrant celebration of music that captivates both locals and music professionals alike. Having attended the festival recently, I can confidently say that it exceeded all my expectations and left an indelible mark on my memory and a bunch of healthy connections in the Balcan music industry as well as the international market.

First and foremost, the festival's location in the beautiful city of Plovdiv adds an extra layer of charm to the entire experience. Plovdiv's rich history and stunning architectural backdrop create a unique atmosphere that perfectly complements the diverse range of performances at the SPIKE Bulgarian Music Showcase

‘Take Off The Crown’ is a collaboration between Raven Kanatakta of 2x JUNO Award winning Digging Roots, and 3x JUNO nominated, 6x CFMA winning Sultans of String, with bed tracks recorded at Jukasa Studios, an Indigenous-owned world-class recording facility on the Six Nations reserve south of Hamilton, Ontario. It is the fourth single off the upcoming Sultans album entitled ‘Walking Through the Fire’ (Sept 22, 2023 release), a CD and concert of collaborations with First Nations, Métis, and Inuit artists across Turtle Island.

The lyrics are penned by Raven Kanatakta Polson-Lahache and Sho-Shona Kish, and the music created with Sultans of String.\

Smudge burning in the morning
Makes a healing cloud
News blackout on the lost ones
100,000 souls singing loud

I'm currently involved in booking artists for several festivals this summer. Recently, I spent some time reviewing applications for one particular festival. It's a smaller family-oriented event, driven by the local community and typically draws around 3000 visitors. While it may not be the most financially robust festival. It has though a family feeling and it’s a good starting point for a newer artist.

If you've worked in live booking, you know that personal relationships play a significant role - perhaps even more than you'd expect. The prices you can secure when you have established connections with booking agencies can be vastly different from what you'd get if you were just another person seeking a live show from an artist on their roster. In some cases, I've witnessed discounts of up to 50% off the regular price. This is why price tags are usually not listed on the agency's official websites; you have to contact them for a price quote, as it can vary greatly depending on the circumstances.

Indie Night In Canada (INIC) will host its annual artist showcase on June 6, 2023, featuring a lineup of 18 independent artists on two amazing stages during Canadian Music Week.

The showcase will take place at the legendary El Mocambo, and each stage will be emcee-hosted so as to keep things flowing as well as keep the energy levels high. Each of the 18 selected artists will perform a 30-minute set, with the schedules staggered between the two stages.

This format allows for everyone in attendance, whether they are music-loving fans, music media, or music industry attendees, to catch at least 15 minutes of all 18 performers. As INIC is produced during, but not part of, Canadian Music Week, running the schedule in a tight fashion allows everyone to be able to effectively get between venues and see who they want to see.

For 2023, INIC received 184 submissions to perform. “This year’s INIC Artist lineup might be the most diverse and talented offering we have ever presented,” says INIC Producer Paul Husband of The Next Level Entertainment Consulting Inc. “INIC is open to all genres of music because good music is good music, period.”

Sing! The Toronto International Vocal Arts Festival marks its 12th year with an array of inspiring live performances and industry insider workshops taking place from May 29 to June 4. The full schedule, tickets and festival passes are available now at singtoronto.com.

Canada’s premier a cappella festival includes 28concert performances incorporating musical styles from around the globe, from jazz to pop, barbershop to Broadway, and even spoken word.

This year’s festival will take place at The Concert Hall in Toronto. Performance highlights include:

Aysanabee leads with six nominations, Snotty Nose Rez Kids follow with five at National Indigenous Music Awards Show at The National Arts Centre in Ottawa

The Summer Solstice Indigenous Festival today announced nominees for The SSIMAs, (Summer Solstice Indigenous Music Awards) presented by TD Bank Group. Winners will be celebrated and honoured in Ottawa during the awards ceremony at the National Arts Centre on Tuesday, June 6th, 2023. 

The SSIMAs span 16 categories, celebrating solo artists, duos and groups from across Canada and showcasing the diverse and growing music and culture of artistic expression and accomplishment within the Indigenous community. Nominees were selected from 250 Canada-wide submissions by an invited panel of jurors comprising Indigenous and music industry professionals. No public voting was involved in the selection process. 

YouTube: youtube.com/c/SummerSolsticeIndigenousFestivals

It is also available wherever you stream music but being true to their aesthetic, Canada’s rockinist rockabilly band the Shook Boys just released their first 45rpm single and it hits hard. The band draws inspiration from the 1950s rock and roll era while infusing a modern sound that pushes the boundaries of rockabilly. This sound has them fitting right in with the fact they are a part of the LA-based, Wild Records. The double A sides single features the band’s original songs “Tell On You” and “Dead by 22”. Both songs were recorded at Ganaraska Recording Company and self-produced by the band.

STEPPING (instrumental written by Willi Williams) featuring Herb Alpert on trumpet

ONE MORE STEP (written by Willi Williams) with Willi Williams (vocals) featuring Herb Alpert on trumpet. Both tracks produced by Willi Williams & Michael “Greydread” Williams

I have come across this idea a few times lately from various blogs and articles: that as an artist, you must have the mindset that you are your own label, publisher, PR agent, and everything else. Being an artist today is like to starting a company, and you must build it up from the ground up.

This stands in stark contrast to the dream that the music industry has been peddling for decades, particularly during the 80s and 90s, which was that you could only "make it" if you signed with a big record label. According to that narrative, your job was just to get to the moment when you sign the papers, and then you could sit back and enjoy the ride.
However, that was never entirely true, and now it's even further from the truth. I've noticed that many young, intelligent people are abandoning major labels because they are frustrated that they can't get the needle to move in any direction for an artist. I see the same frustration in many people who work for new tech companies that try to fit every artist into their own box, believing that every artist is equal and should follow the same path to success.