In The News (January 2020)

This section of the newsletter is comprised of news stories, press releases and links to Internet articles that are sent in by our members who believe they will be of general interest to the membership.  We include them as a courtesy to our members but do not verify or edit their content.  Their inclusion does not constitute an endorsement by the CMAOntario nor do their contents reflect the views or opinions of the CMAOntario. If you would like to have something included in the newsletter, please send us a short synopsis, a photo or graphic and the hotlink that can be included in the news listing. Submissions can be sent to verle@cmaontario.ca. Please make sure the Subject Line reads “For inclusion in the CMAOntario Newsletter”. The deadline for submissions is the 20th of each month.

Meghan Patrick & The Reklaws Nominated for JUNOs

Congratulations to CMAOntario members Meghan Patrick and The Reklaws on their recent JUNO Awards nominations. The Reklaws are nominated for Group of the Year and Meghan Patrick for Album of the Year with Wild As Me.

(Source: JUNOs)

Karli June Releases “Say Too Much”

The new single by Karli June, Say Too Much—out Jan. 24 on all platforms—demonstrates again how the lines between country and rock continue to be blurred. The track brought together the Waterloo, Ontario-based June with Scott Chesak, known for his songwriting and production work with Weezer and Panic At The Disco, as well as his current gig playing keyboards with All American Rejects.

(Full story: FYI Music News)

Highlights: Nielsen Canada 2019 Year End Music Report

The numbers have been tallied for 2019 and for the past decade. What follows is a snapshot taken from the 49-page Nielsen Music/MRC Data Canada Year-End Report that was released January 9th.

All data cited in the report is compiled by Nielsen Music/MRC Data Canada. This report covers the 12-month period from Jan 4, 2019, through Jan 2, 2020 (as compared to Jan 5, 2018—Jan 3, 2019).

Data Highlights

Aggregated numbers for total Album equivalent consumption that combines sales and on-demand channels give an 18.1% lift over equivalent 2018 data, for a TEA ‘consumption’ tally of 75.4M.

• On-demand audio song streams increased in the year by 31.2%
• On-demand video songs increased by 59.7%.
• Combined on-demand streams increased by 36.8%.
• Total physical Album sales declined 23.3%, to 10.4M copies.
• Digital Album sales declined 24.5%, to 3.8M copies.
• CD sales declined 26%, to 5.5M copies.
• Vinyl LP sales increased by 2.2%, to 1.3M copies.
• Digital Track sales declined 27.6%, to 32.9M downloads.

Catalogue vs Currents

Catalogue had 61% in the overall Album equivalents consumption; 59% in the Digital Albums category; 52% of the CD category; 67% of the Vinyl LP category; 64% of Digital Tracks; 61% of overall on-demand streams; 61% of on-demand audio; and 66% of on-demand video streams.

Notables:

Vinyl finished the year with a 2.2% increase in total sales volume, to 1.03 million units.  It also accounted for 16% of all physical sales throughout the year, compared to 84% for CDs. The data does not include sales of used vinyl.

Despite claims of resurgence, cassette sales numbers are so insignificant (less than 10,000 for the entire year across the country) that Nielsen stopped breaking out those numbers.

Streaming continues to show significant growth. Canadians streamed 2,152,627,253 accesses in 2019, up from about 1.7 billion in 2018.

(Sources: Nielsen and FYI Music News (edited))

Hastings, Ontario Welcomes New Country Music Festival

The newest Country Music Festival arrives in Hastings, Ontario June 26th – 28th, 2020! Saddle up cowboys & cowgirls, grab your friends, join the party and camp out under the stars at the 1st Annual Crooks Rapids Country Fest!

ARTISTS:
Black Mountain Whiskey Rebellion + Cold Creek County + Emily Clair Music + Andrew Hyatt + Shawn Austin + River Town Saints + many more!

Tickets & Information available at http://www.crooksrapidscountryfest.com

(Source: Member submission)

Deric Ruttan Co-Pens Tyler Farr’s Return to Radio

Tyler Farr marks his return to country radio with “Only Truck In Town”. Set to hit airwaves in late February, the diesel-powered ballad was written by Deric Ruttan, Ben Hayslip, and Josh Thompson and co-produced by Jason Aldean along with his bandmates Kurt Allison and Tully Kennedy. Farr said in a statement, “’Only Truck in Town’ is exactly what I wanted as a single coming back to radio. Jason and I both knew this was the one when we first heard it and thought it would connect with country music fans the way it did with us. I’m very blessed and very grateful for this time in my life.”

(Source: CMT.com)

Peterborough Musicians Band Together Against Homelessness

Elyse Saunders

Peterborough’s vibrant music community is uniting in harmony to combat homelessness.

Fifteen acts will perform March 5 at Showplace Performance Centre, with all of the event’s proceeds going to United Way Peterborough & District agencies that support housing and shelter initiatives.

The event, Peterborough Performs: Musicians Against Homelessness, features an impressive line-up and reflects an overwhelming response from local musicians and bands, says Paul Rellinger, Peterborough Performs: Musicians Against Homelessness event producer and organizer.

Peterborough Performs: Musicians Against Homelessness features The Weber Brothers Band, The Austin Carson Band, Melissa Payne and Kate Suhr, Danny Bronson, The Three Martinis, The Peterborough All-Star Band fronted by Rick and Gailie Young, Hilary Dumoulin, James Higgins, Jacques Graveline, Elyse Saunders, Tami J Wilde, Phil Stephenson, Nick Ferrio, Victoria Pearce with Mike Graham, and Jake Dudas.

Tickets are $50.

The show starts at 7 p.m.

Click here for more information about Peterborough Performs: Musicians Against Homelessness.

(Source: Electric City Magazine)

Tebey Releases Denim On Denim as First UK Single

Canadian Country star Tebey has released his debut UK single “Denim On Denim”.

Following his visit to the UK in October 2019 as part of Country Music Week, Tebey has chosen the track as his first official release in the UK.

“Denim On Denim” was written by Tebey with fellow Nashville-based writers Kelly Archer and Nathan Spicer. It has had over 8 million streams to date, making it the singer-songwriter’s top streaming track.

Tebey has lived in Nashville for over a decade and he’s written three number one songs including Justin Moore’s “Somebody Else Will”, Gord Bamford’s “Dive Bar” and his own track “Who’s Gonna Love You”. He’s also written for the likes of One Direction, Cher, Pixie Lott, Fifth Harmony, FLO RIDA and Big & Rich.

Tebey’s songs have amassed over 26.5 million streams and he has won awards as a songwriter, artist and producer.

(Source: Entertainment Focus)