Gordon Lightfoot Forums - FYImusic.ca

FYIMusic.ca

-- We have been tardy in getting the news out to you. Perhaps it's a function of knowing you all receive too many e-mails in a day, but many of our readers tell us that they want a sense of what we're up to on a daily basis. So, here's a snippet of what's been written about in the past week on Canada's best read music & media oriented website.

-- Where's the money?
The million dollar question and in the music business it's at the box-office and between Michael Buble, Leonard Cohen, Justin Bieber and Rush the rewards have been enviable.

Even Gordon Lightfoot is pulling down as much as $200,000 a night on some of his shows.

And now Bryan Adams is back, with a new album--and a work ethic 2nd to none.The 'Summer of '69 singer teams up with The Who and a marquee of other superstars for a charitable concert in London shortly. Elsewhere, CD sales continue to fall but the fact of the matter is hard-copies continue to generate three-quarters of the revenue record companies earn in the USA and Canada. The Beatles have helped put the spotlight back on digital downloads with last week's iTunes agreement, but the fact remains that one can still purchase The Fab Four on CD for less than one can at Apple's online music store.

-- The Conservatives are on the home stretch with Bill C-32, but up-dating Canada's copyright act remains a political minefield. The Liberals are needed to push the legislation through and there's plenty of jockeying going on in the corridors and back rooms in the capital city as various lobbyists and collectives push to have their voices heard. One might say that copyright protection is like great sex. It's wonderful when you have it but invariably someone's getting screwed in the process. Three sections of the act remain contentious and finding common ground could prove impossible.

-- We may live in a 100-channel plus universe, but the universe is controlled by a handful of media companies that are about as distinguishable as a convention room of navy blue suits. The CRTC has made the call for a hearing on vertical integration in media next spring, but the regulatory chairman is already on record as stating he has seen no evidence so far that media concentration is stifling opinion. Of course Quebecor's ownership and the Sun TV torch carriers would disagree on this point. And for once, ACTRA and the Newspaper Guild would nod in agreement.

-- Traditional broadcasters are paying the freight for domestic content carried on cable and network TV. The CRTC's decision to not extend its reach to the Internet has created an imbalance in the broadcast field, with a number of on-demand Internet content providers taking full advantage of the fact that they are not saddled with having to fund Canadian talent development initiatives. Now the regulator is re-thinking its policy, but the clock is ticking and by the time the CRTC is ready to act, chances are better than good there will be a new regime seated in Gatineau, and a new balance of power in Ottawa.

-- Covering Canada's talent, we've posted on Garou's successful return to Moscow where the women adore him, and The Dears successful return to Montreal for a one-off concert in their hometown. In India, thrash metal band Avatara is hotter than a vindaloo curry and Pat Travers (remember him?) invades Oakland, CA. This is just a taste of what we have reported on of course--and wherever we can, FYI posts videos to accompany Canada's numerous and varied artists abroad and across this nation. Accompanying the daily Morning Coffee column, Bob Segarini and Richard Flohil spin colourful stories about the rich and the famous, the infamous and those struggling artists blessed with a wealth of talent and an undying desire to have their voices heard above the chatter of canned pop and syndicated content.
-- Daily we span the globe, scour the Internet to report over 100 news items dealing with copyright law, broadcasting, social media, digital trends, Canadian talent and all delivered in a concise fashion.

FYIMusic.ca -- An independent Canadian news voice filled with passion, spirit and good humour.