“The most disruptive force in the music business, changing the game for songwriters and artists” Hipgnosis Songs Founder & CEO Merck Mercuriadis Comes Home to Celebrate Canadian Music Week’s 40th with a Keynote Speech
Canadian Music Week is delighted to announce that Merck Mercuriadis, global industry leader and Founder and CEO of Hipgnosis will make the keynote speech at the 40th CMW Music Summit on June 9, 2022.
The CMW Conference, Canada’s largest and longest-running industry conference, takes place June 7-10, 2022 at the Ballroom Intercontinental Toronto Centre Hotel. The CMW Conference will include the Radio Active Conference from June 7-8, with the International Music Summit from June 8-10. Registration is now open at www.cmw.net/conference/online-registration.
Merck Mercuriadis, a Canadian born music veteran, is the Founder of Hipgnosis Songs Fund Ltd (SONG.L), the world’s biggest listed songs fund, and Founder and CEO of Hipgnosis Song Management. Hipgnosis Songs Fund is listed on the London Stock Exchange and a constituent of the prestigious FTSE 250. Last October, Hipgnosis announced a partnership with the Blackstone Group for a second fund with an initial $1bn to invest.
Hipgnosis owns and manages around 150 catalogs containing over 65,000 songs. Merck’s objective has been to purchase culturally significant tracks which soundtrack our lives. A fifth of Hipgnosis’ catalog have been top 10s and Hipgnosis owns rights in a quarter of the 240 songs in Spotify’s Billions Club.
Hipgnosis hall of fame includes songs by Neil Young, Nile Rogers, Leonard Cohen, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, The-Dream, Poo Bear, Lindsey Buckingham, Christine McVie, Richie Sambora, Blondie, Dave Stewart, Chrissie Hynde, Mark Ronson, The Kaiser Chiefs and Rhett Akins.
A Virgin Records marketing director at 19, Merck Mercuriadis would help launch and spend 20 years at Sanctuary Music overseeing the management and recordings of myriad legendary artists (including, yes, KISS).
In 2018 Merck launched Hipgnosis, having recognised that the traditional lifespan of a song – time on the charts and a quick burst of sales – and the steady decline in music revenues since the start of the century would be reversed by the growth in streaming.
Songs now live forever, and make money every day, every time they are streamed. In addition, Merck Mercuriadis’ proactive “song management” approach seeks opportunities for songs in Hipgnosis’ catalogs in films, TV series, games, advertising, cover versions, event music and, of course, across social media.
“Merck’s genius has been to anticipate change and realize the hard value of the music we love,” says Canadian Music Week president Neill Dixon. “What hasn’t changed is our relationship with this consummate ‘disruptor.’ At every step of his career, he has been a friend of CMW and has shared his journey with our delegates. We are proud to welcome him once again on the occasion of our 40th.”
More exciting details about the 40th Anniversary Canadian Music Week will be announced in the coming weeks.
Canadian Music Week is Canada’s leading annual entertainment event dedicated to the expression and growth of the country’s music, media and entertainment industries. Combining multifaceted information-intensive conferences; a trade exposition; awards shows and the nation’s largest new music festival. All conference functions take place at the InterContinental Toronto Centre at 225 Front Street West in Toronto.
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Media Contact for CMW: Damien Nelson, damien@wantandable.ca
Media Contact for Merck Mercuriadis : Fran DeFeo – frandefeopr@gmail.com