The Canadian Country Music Association (CCMA) Awards were handed out last weekend. Amanda Kingsland of Country 101.1 (CKBY-FM) Ottawa took home Music Director of the Year (large market), while Paul Ferguson of Cool 101.1 (CHCQ-FM) Belleville took home the medium/small market honour. Corus Entertainment special Jess Moskaluke: Home Movie won Country Music Program or Special of the Year. Steve Coady, vice president, radio promotions, Warner Music Canada won Industry Person of the Year, while Spotify was named Retailer of the Year. Video Director of the Year went to Stephano Barberis, whose credits include Dallas Smith’s Sky Stays This Blue, which claimed the prize for Video of the Year.
CBC Victoria will celebrate its 20th Anniversary on Sept. 28 with a free concert and meet and greet with CBC Radio One hosts. The afternoon begins at the CBC Victoria station with a live broadcast of BC Today at 12 p.m., followed by a 1 p.m. – 3 p.m. meet and greet with hosts Sheryl Mackay, Michelle Eliot, Gregor Craigie and Robyn Burns. The evening celebration takes place at Alix Goolden Hall with performances by local artists Towers and Trees and Fallbrigade. For those unable to attend, the concert will be broadcast live across the province on CBC Radio One from 7:30-9:30 p.m.
Larry Gifford, senior program director at Corus Vancouver stations AM730 (CHMJ-AM) and CKNW-AM, debuted a new podcast Sept. 12. When Life Gives You Parkinson’s shares Gifford’s journey as he comes to terms with the disease following his Aug. 2017 diagnosis. In each episode, Gifford, 46, and co-host Niki Reitmayer will examine the impact that a Parkinson’s diagnosis has on a person, a family, a friendship, a colleague, a company, and a community. Parkinson Canada has signed on to the series as a content and promotional partner. As a companion to the podcast’s launch, Global BC is airing a three-part series about Gifford’s journey living and working with Parkinson’s, Sept. 12-14, on Global News Hour at 6. Read more here.
Rain Summit Canada will bring together Canadian thought leaders from the world of digital audio in Toronto on Oct. 10. Presented in partnership with TPX (The Podcast Exchange), the event features a half day of panels, presentations, and networking across the digital audio spectrum from podcasting to streaming and on-demand. A “Digital Audio Roundtable” will feature Rob Farina, head of Content & Strategy and iHeartRadio, Bell Media; Chris Duncombe, director of Streaming & Podcasting for Corus; Leslie Merklinger, senior director, Audio Innovation, CBC.ca; Steve Jones, VP Brands & Content, Newcap Radio; and Jordan Heath-Rawlings, director Digital Radio & Audio, Rogers. More info here.
Globe and Mail tech reporter Takara Small is the host of new podcast I’ll Go First, launching Sept. 13, that will interview the trailblazers behind Canadian startups. Over the next 12 weeks, Small will explore what it’s like to be the first startup in a particular industry with the founders of some of Canada’s most disruptive startups.
Andrew Hyatt of Sudbury, ON has been crowned as the winner of the inaugural SiriusXM Top of the Country competition, in partnership with the Canadian Country Music Association (CCMA). Hyatt took home the grand prize of $25,000 and a SOCAN songwriting camp in Pender Island, BC. Taking place in the CCMA Fan Village as part of Country Music Week, the finale aired live Sept. 7 on SiriusXM’s CBC Country (ch. 171).
University of Toronto community radio station CIUT 89.5 FM is being sued by Lisabeth Pimentel, the former president of Unite Here Local 75. CIUT, one of many defendants in the case, is named in the suit for allegedly allowing defamatory content to be aired on its shows. The case stems from the union organizer’s claims that former colleagues made comments on air alleging her leadership was plagued with “racism, discrimination, harassment and bullying.” Some of those CIUT broadcasts were then posted on the internet as podcasts. Pimentel is seeking damages from the station.
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