Billboard Canada FYI Bulletin: The Winners of CIMA's 2024 Make It Music Awards

The Canadian Independent Music Association (CIMA) has announced its slate of 2024 recipients for its Make It Music Awards. They include Julien Paquin, Tiny Kingdom Music’s Meagan Davidson & Savannah Wellman, Ontario Creates’ Aisha Wickham and Secret City Records’ Justin West. The ceremony, which took place on April 23 at Toronto's Stackt Market, was hosted by Julian Taylor and included awards with names like Queen of Fucking Everything (named for recently departed Canadian music industry trailblazer Pegi Cecconi). CIMA's Make It Music summit continues on April 25 and 26.

The 2024 MAKE IT MUSIC Award recipients are:

Make It STRONGER (The Brian Chater Leadership Award):
Julien Paquin, Paquin Artists Agency

Make It FEARLESS (The Entrepreneur Award):
Presented by Gowling WLG
Meagan Davidson & Savannah Wellman, Tiny Kingdom Music

Make It Music CHAMPION (The Unsung Hero Award):
Aisha Wickham, Ontario Creates

Make It CHANGE (The Builder Award):
Justin West, Secret City Records

QUEEN OF FUCKING EVERYTHING (The Pegi Cecconi Trailblazer Award):
Lisa Logutenkow

– Celebrated Canadian conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin has been inducted as an Honorary Fellow (FRCMT) of the Royal Conservatory of Music, the highest designation conferred by the organization. The Montreal native received the honour after leading The Philadelphia Orchestra to a sold-out house at their Koerner Hall debut. Among his many honours are an appointment as Companion of the Order of Canada, Companion to the Order of Arts and Letters of Quebec, an Officer of the Order of Montreal, an Officier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres; Musical America’s 2016 Artist of the Year; and eight honorary doctorates. He was originally named as an Honorary Fellow of The Royal Conservatory in 2020, but the event at which he was to receive his diploma was cancelled due to the pandemic.

– Loverboy lead guitarist and co-writer of such hits as “The Kid Is Hot Tonite,” “Turn Me Loose,” and “Working For the Weekend,” Paul Dean has led a rich musical life that started with him playing a washtub bass at age 12. Last week, Bob Lefsetz featured him in his popular podcast series, which can be heard on most popular platforms

– Polyphonic prog rock band Klaatu caught the world by surprise when they released the 3:47 EST album in 1976, but the Toronto studio band’s desire to remain anonymous, not do interviews or go on the road led to speculation that John Woloschuk and Dee Long were, in fact, Lennon and McCartney sneakily releasing a new Beatles album.

And then some smart music journos discovered this wasn’t the case and all the praise in the world turned against them.

Several subsequent albums that can be considered masterpieces have gone largely without acclaim, but the band’s repertoire has long kept audiophiles listening, and the catalogue has continued to be re-issued and a Japanese 5-CD boxed set has appeared on eBay with an asking price of US$595.

– Acclaimed Canadian singer-songwriter Ray Materick performs songs from his acclaimed trio of mid-'70s Asylum Records albums at Hugh’s Room Live on May 25. The performances include a six-piece band, several of whom he recorded with him on his final Asylum Midnight Matinee release. Expect longtime supporters Gary Slaight and Gary Muth, Warner Music Canada’s then-A&R director who signed him, to be in attendance. Muth is responsible for bringing Materick in for the show.

– Greg Hambleton, songwriter, music publisher, producer and owner of Axe Records, has released two albums of his material that are now available through Spotify, Amazon and Apple Music. In a statement announcing these releases, he says: “In my early 20s, I wrote many songs and worked hard, with modest success, to establish myself as a folk singer in Toronto's exploding Yorkville coffee-house scene. After several singles, TV appearances and a cross-Canada tour, my career in music evolved away from performing and into sound engineering and production of many then-current 1970s working musicians and artists — that went better. Now, two albums of my songs are available on streaming and download services and I hope to do a few more appearances in the coming months.”

– Calgary-based Royalty Records has signed Owls By Nature songwriter Cory Dee and released “Still Having Fun” as the teaser for the accompanying The Hard Luck album.

– Geoff Kulawick continues managing Round Hill assets from his rustic headquarters in Waterdown, ON. He is also actively promoting a wide number of Canadian controlled labels that include such artists as Colin James, Natalie MacMaster & Donnell Leahy, Crystal Shawanda, Sue Foley (new album "One Guitar Woman" currently #3 on Billboard Blues Albums Chart), Marc Jordan & Amy Sky, The Mahones, Barney Bentall, and Kenny "Blues Boss" Wayne.