After canceling its 2020 edition because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Canadian Music Week (CMW) is returning this month with a comprehensive virtual offering.
Canadian Music Week 2021 will kick off on Tuesday, May 18th and conclude on Friday the 21st, complete with both a talent-packed (and free-to-attend) performance portion and a multifaceted virtual conference. Velvet Starlings, The Commotions, and Jaimey Hamilton are among the more than 200 artists who will play the former, which fans can register to attend here.
Moreover, CMW organizers have booked all manner of high-profile professionals for their event’s conference component, as part of a broader effort to provide meaningful insight to artists and behind-the-scenes experts alike.
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Nile Rodgers, Hipgnosis founder Merck Mercuriadis, and Verzuz co-founder Timbaland represent some of the many prominent figures who will speak during the virtual happening.
CMW’s opening day will touch on everything from the state of the live-entertainment space – and its path forward as lockdown restrictions ease – to managing creators in the contemporary music industry.
Performance experiences amid the pandemic, music-listenership developments, and the nuances of co-writing tracks represent just some of the other topics that the day-one conference component of CMW is set to cover.
Additionally, Merck Mercuriadis – whose Hipgnosis song-investment fund has quietly acquired catalogs from Shakira, Lindsey Buckingham, L.A. Reid, and Chrissie Hynde, to name just some – will interview Timbaland and Nile Rodgers on this opening day.
The 57-year-old Schefferville, Quebec, native Mercuriadis will also host “an in-depth fireside chat” about songwriting partnerships on the event’s third day – and describe his vision for Hipgnosis and songwriters in a separate panel yet on the final day of CMW.
Canadian Music Week’s second day will then explore the steps that indie labels and artists have taken to adapt during the COVID era, ways in which musicians can hone their livestream-performance skills, how creators can attract the attention of agents, and more.
Plus, higher-ups from Amazon Music will discuss their platform’s trends – and the wider implications for the music community – while Island Records founder Chris Blackwell will shed light upon the knowledge he’s acquired throughout his more than six-decade-long career in the industry.
Next, SOCAN interim CEO Jennifer Brown on day three of CMW will highlight the modern-day relationship between songwriters and publishers, whereas Primary Wave team members have been invited to elaborate upon the work that comes with making acquisitions financially viable during the pandemic.
Attendees will also have the chance to hear professionals speak of the fast-growing sync licensing space’s specifics and the importance of music metadata. Canadian Music Week 2021’s final day encompasses panels pertaining to the music industry’s exciting present and promising future, including expert insight on non-fungible tokens (NFTs), artificial intelligence, and how to market tomorrow’s hit songs on TikTok.
Evidence suggests that the full-scale return of crowd-based live music will arrive sooner rather than later. And by networking, exchanging ideas, and absorbing knowledge via events like Canadian Music Week, assets to the music community can assure that this comeback is as successful and universally beneficial as possible.
For a complete list of Canadian Music Week 2021 conference guests, check out the four-day-long event’s website.