For Immediate Release: May 25, 2018 · Please add to your listings/announcements
Canadian Music Week
A Successful 2018!
The 36th Annual Canadian Music Week (CMW), which took place May 7 – 13, 2018, packed conference rooms at the Sheraton Centre Toronto Hotel and dozens of music venues across the city of Toronto with a record number of attendees.
Over 170,000 fans were in attendance at CMW 2018, with over 2,100 delegates taking part in keynotes and panels with 550 conference speakers, over 650 artists showcased in over 50 venues at the Music Festival, and 300 music industry reporters present to spread the word across Canada and the Globe.
The CMW Music Festival saw crowds fill venues across the city, with a wide array of artists from Canada and the United States thrilling fans all week long. Texas-based experimental rock band This Will Destroy You celebrated their tenth anniversary by performing their 2008 self-titled breakthrough album in its entirety. Toronto’s Phoenix Concert Theatre hosted acts through out the week such as Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and The Used, in addition to housing the CMW Kickoff Party featuring Matt and Kim. The sold out Jim Beam Indie Awards presented by Indie88 showcased fan favourite acts Said the Whale and The Rural Alberta Advantage. Fresh off her cover story with NOW Magazine, Alice Glass appeared at the Mod Club as part of her current tour. Country superstars The Reklaws rocked the main show floor at The Great Hall in Toronto’s west end, with the historic Longboat Hall filled with songs from acts like Iskwé and DATU. Artist agencies were on hand to showcase some of their brightest talent, such as Canadian indie rockers Johnson Crook and Shred Kelly playing the Dakota Tavern. iHeart Fan Fest featuring French Montana, Belly, DVBSS and more touched down at the lakeside venue Rebel overlooking the city skyline. Toronto’s electropop trio New City headlined a show at Velvet Underground with their carefree, energetic sound, and Texas King played at the Hideout in a showcase of music from the city of London, chosen as hosts of the 2019 JUNO Awards. Ending the week with a bang was 2Chainz with a wall-to-wall performance at Rebel Entertainment Complex.
The CMW Conference boasted four days of panels, exhibitors and networking activities at the Tech and Innovation Summit, the Radio Interactive Summit, the Global Creators Summit, the Music Cities Summit, the Live Touring Summit, and the Sync Summit. Keynote speakers included Jackie Wilgar, Executive Vice President of Marketing at Live Nation, Laura Pearce, Head of Consumer Marketing at Twitter Canada, fireside chats with video game composer Jesper Kyd and multiple Grammy-award-winning and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Niles Rodgers, Canada’s Queen of Rock Bif Naked, legendary music industry broadcaster Alan Cross, Grammy-award winning Record Producer Steve Lillywhite, Jason Flom, President of Lava Records, Marcie Allen, President of MAC Presents, and Chris Price, head of BBC Music Radio 1.
Featured as part of the Tech and Innovation Summit was Magnify World, an exclusive one-day expo that saw representatives from the NHL, Lucasfilm, and General Motors come together to discuss the potential of integrating AR and VR into events, products and experiences. The conference also hosted its first-ever Hackathon, where participants had 24 hours to design and pitch solutions to challenges in the Canadian Music Industry, the winner of which was Canadian rock n’ roll star SATE for her idea to create an AR app to enhance live concerts in real time.
The sound of music from beyond Canada’s border was the keystone of the International Marketplace, consisting of music industry delegates from the world over taking part in discussion panels, B2B networking meetings, and mentoring sessions. This year, the marketplace celebrated the bonds between the three ‘amigos’ that make up the Northwestern Hemisphere with a spotlight on the American music industry and a focus on Mexico’s music market. Delegates from guest countries were sponsored by the Ontario Media Development Corporation and Global Affairs Canada.
The “Spotlight on the USA” program adopted a music tourism focus, spearheaded by the U.S. Commercial Service Toronto, who recruited the exhibiting U.S. music destinations: Austin, Chicago, Georgia, Myrtle Beach, Portland OR, North Carolina, plus the historic Blue Bird Inn stage provided by Detroit. The program included exhibitor media meetings, a press conference, special advance screening of MacGillivray Freeman’s documentary film “America’s Musical Journey” featuring Aloe Blacc, live performance at Brand USA sponsored reception by Grammy–nominated Aloe Blacc, club takeovers, panel discussions covering topical music issues, presence on music cities panels by U.S. exhibitors, B2B meetings and mentoring sessions.
Canadian Music Week was also a hub for celebrating big wins in the Canadian music industry. The 21st Annual Canadian Radio Music Awards, hosted by comedian and Letterkenny star K Trevor Wilson, honoured R&B artist Daniel Caesar’s rise to stardom with two awards, including FACTOR Breakthrough Artist of the Year, with Alessia Cara taking home the Fan’s Choice Award. The Canadian Music and Broadcast Industry Awards saw Arcade Fire receive the 2018 Allan Slaight Humanitarian Spirit Award for their ongoing contributions to the Haiti relief effort, and living legend Paul Anka was on hand to receive the Canadian Music Industry Hall of Fame Lifetime Achievement Award – also announcing an upcoming collaboration with Drake – while David Farrell, Jeff Craib, Patti-Anne Tarlton, Robert “TooTall” Wagenaar joined the ranks of Canadian Music Industry Hall of Fame inductees and Maureen Holloway received the Rosalie Award. The Live Music Industry Awards, hosted by Paul Shaffer, included Daniel Caesar as the recipient of New Touring Artist of the Year and Billy Talent receiving the Legends of Live Award, while Toronto was recognized as the Canadian Music City of the Year. The 1st Annual Canadian Sync Awards recognized the integration of music with other forms of media such as film, television, advertising and gaming with Michael Perlmutter taking home two awards for his music supervision on Canadian novel-turned-television hit The Handmaid’s Tale, and music producer Nile Rodgers presenting the Nile Rodgers Global Creators Award to video game composer Jesper Kyd.
Dates and Programming for Canadian Music Week 2019 will be announced over the next few months.
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, CMW spans a seven-day period at the Sheraton Centre Hotel, and in more than 40 downtown Toronto venues, attracting participants from across the globe.
www.cmw.net • @CMW_Week • facebook.com/canadianmusicweek
Media Contact: FLIP PUBLICITY, 416.533.7710, Damien Nelson, damien@flip-publicity.com