Corus Entertainment has released its on-air staff at its Winnipeg Soft AC station, Peggy @ 99.1 (CFPG-FM) ahead of a format flip, including morning man Tom McGouran (who had just joined the station in July), midday host Colleen Rusholme (who is also heard in mornings on Corus’ boom 99.7 Ottawa and Big 101 Barrie) and afternoon drive host Frank Andrews. The station had been carrying its current format – that spans hits from Blondie and Doug and the Slugs to The Verve, Usher and Bryan Adams – since December 2016. Read more here.
A Day To Listen returns for a third year on Saturday, Sept. 30, in recognition of the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. Nearly 500 Canadian radio stations will come together for a third year to elevate Indigenous voices with the 12-hour broadcast (airing from 6 a.m. – 6 p.m. local time), produced by the Gord Downie & Chanie Wenjack Fund (DWF) in partnership with Orbyt Media. Singer-songwriter William Prince returns to host the special for a second year, joined by new co-hosts, singer-songwriter Aysanabee and ShoShona Kish of the band Digging Roots. This year’s theme is Mino Bimaadiziwin: Honouring Indigenous Identity. Mino Bimaadiziwin means “the good life” in Anishinabemowin. Special guests include Buffy Sainte-Marie, Dr. Amy Cardinal Christianson, Dr. Cindy Blackstock, and former NHL player Jordin Tootoo. Read more here.
Media Technology Monitor’s (MTM) latest report exploring in-vehicle and public transit listening habits finds Canadians aged 18-34 are just as likely to listen to AM/FM radio in the car as they are a streaming service. “Cruising through the Soundscapes – Audio on the Go” found that two-thirds of Canadians continue to tune in to AM/FM radio in-vehicle. While radio remains the key source of audio entertainment in-car, music streaming services like Spotify and Apple Music, are popular among one third of Canadians. Read more here.
Re:Sound is calling on lawmakers in Ottawa to take urgent action to update the Copyright Act, ahead of International Music Day on Oct. 1. The not-for-profit music licensing company wants to see the definition of a sound recording amended to allow performers and record labels to be equitably compensated when their music is performed in movies, television, and other audio-visual content. It’s also calling for removal of the $1.25M exemption for radio stations and asking that the private copying regime updated to be technologically neutral in support of the Canadian Private Copying Collective.
LISTEN: Fatima Zaidi, the Founder and CEO at Quill Inc., an award-winning production agency specializing in corporate audio, and CoHost, a podcast growth and analytics tool, joins Matt Cundill on the Sound Off Podcast. Among other topics, she and Matt discuss why attribution is a good thing, which metrics are important, and she shares some tips about podcast promotion.
