Newsletter

 Next month, the CMAO presents the 3rd seminar in our ongoing 2012 series of seminars/Demo-Ramas, this time in the Ottawa area. This is a unique opportunity to meet and greet some heavy players in the country music field. Artists, managers, publicists, presenters, trackers, music directors, agents, publishers, songwriters and media have all taken part in our lively discussions. And there’s always a question period and a lunch break where you can connect, network and shmooze with these industry professionals. Plus, there’s an opportunity to get your latest recording in front of some of these pros to see how your material stacks up at our Demo-Rama. Just bring your CD and 3 copies of the lyric (typed) and we promise to get through as many entries […]

The Year In Review Heather Ostertag, President of the CMAO offered up the following report to the membership at the recent September 13th Annual General Meeting. It is with great pleasure I report to you what has transpired at the Country Music Association of Ontario over the past year. Your Board of Directors has been working very hard to serve you the membership. Some highlights that I would like to share with you include: We have hosted three seminars/DemoRamas.  Specifically they have been held in Tillsonburg, Windsor and London and another one will take place this weekend in Toronto. The Board of Directors voluntarily set a day aside to participate in a visioning session.  This session proved to be invaluable in terms of setting a […]

The CMAO Board announces results of  its AGM held on September 13th.  They are  pleased to announce the following representatives will be serving on the Board for the upcoming year: The Executive consists of: Sam Arraj – President Brian Allen – 1st Vice-President Bruce Good – 2nd Vice-President Craig Parks – Secretary, Treasurer   The other members of the Board are: Cathy Faint Wendell Ferguson Cadence Grace Peter Linseman Sylvia Mason Randy Stark Anya Wilson In retiring from the Board, past President Heather Ostertag commented on what “a strong team is in place to ensure that the CMAO continues to move forward”.

What the Recent Supreme Court Copyright Decisions Mean for You In December 2011, the Supreme Court of Canada heard an unprecedented FIVE appeals involving copyright collectives.  In July of this year, the Court handed down its decisions. To avoid being overly academic, I will not cite the specific cases but rather focus just on the direct impact that the decisions have on CMA Ontario members. 1.         Any income you receive from iTunes downloads and similar services could be lower.  On any given track, there is a song and a sound recording.  Each song and each sound recording has its own copyright; and each copyright comprises a performing right (technically a communication right) and a reproduction right. –           The Supreme Court made it clear that SOCAN […]

Anyone who has an interest in the country music industry and has not yet attended Country Music Week should seriously consider for next year.  It continues to be a hotbed of both established and undiscovered talent and a goldmine of information and connections.  The seminars on all subjects country are informative and the panelists are approachable. The parties and showcases are not only fun and inspiring but again a hub to meet new contacts.  It’s also a place where you are bound to see your favourite artist perform at one of the functions. This year the CMA Ontario would like to congratulate all winners connected to Ontario. Awarded at the CCMA televised Awards Show. Fan’s Choice:   Johnny Reid, CMT Video of the Year:   The Stellas for […]

The following is an excerpt from Marlo Morgan’s book on aboriginal wisdom, lessons and values to being human. It is called “Messages From Down Under.” The following message applies to all souls everywhere. It has been appropriate for every period of time from the caveman to the present. The task is not worldly success, it is spiritually orientated. Lesson 1 “You should express your individual creativity. Each individual sees things through his own set of circumstances and so has a unique expression to offer the world. Creativity includes the arts, but is not limited to that, nor is painting, composing or writing in any way more significant that the creative measures taken to comfort someone in distress, to bring order to conflict or chaos or […]

Wounded Warriors is a non-profit organization to help soldiers who have fought in Afghanistan with reintegration back into Canada. Many problems have occurred with our soldiers involving battle wounds and missing ligaments from the war, but also non-visible issues with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and other Mental Health issues. Your donations will help raise money for the charity to support the rehabilitation of our soldiers with regards to proper mental health recovery and The Segway Project which helps with mobility issues in our soldiers with visible wounds. Any help you can offer will go a long way for this charity organization and it is a great way for our communities to help a good cause and uncover the amazing talent of country music we have […]

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I hope everyone has been enjoying the lazy days of summer.  We at the CMAO have been working hard, but I must confess I have taken a bit of time to sit back with a cold one.  There are several things I wish to bring to your attention in this issue of the newsletter: 1.      Please review the eligibility criteria that has been announced in this newsletter and start thinking about who you think should be nominated for the inaugural CMAO awards. Click here for more about the Awards We have yet to name the awards and so if anyone comes up with the name that we select, they will win a pair of tickets to the awards show.  So put your thinking caps on […]