The Billboard Canada FYI Bulletin: Chantal Kreviazuk Sells Song Catalogue to Anthem Entertainment
Also this week: Dan Hill preps career spins higher, Martha and the Muffins recording takes on rampant gun violence.
Chantal Kreviazuk
After decades as a Sony/ATV Music Publishing Canada songwriter, Winnipeg-born multi-faceted and multi-platinum selling singer Chantal Kreviazuk spun heads earlier this week when it was announced that her song catalogue – that includes “Boot,” “In This Life,” “Time,” “Weight Of The World” and “Get To You,” alongside certified hits and collaborations recorded by Christina Aguilera, Kelly Clarkson, Drake, Avril Lavigne, Pitbull, Shakira, Britney Spears, Gwen Stefani, Carrie Underwood – had been acquired by Anthem Entertainment.
She has won three Juno Awards and was awarded the Order of Canada in 2014, along with her husband, Raine Maida, for their efforts to raise awareness and support for human and animal rights, mental health, education and the environment.
– Barbados copyright collective COSCAP has signed a partnership agreement with the CMRRA (The Canadian Musical Reproduction Rights Agency) to oversee the mechanical reproduction rights of its members in the Canadian market. CMRRA-affiliated SX Works Global Publisher Services division will help manage the end-to-end administration on behalf of COSCAP members with The Mechanical Licensing Collective (The MLC) in the U.S.
The agreement covers 1,133 Bajan artists and their copyrights and approximately 48 music publishers from the island nation.
– Martha Johnson and Mark Gane continue to keep Martha and the Muffins' legacy alive. The most recent evidence of this is the release of Stephen Stills’ song “For What It’s Worth,” a mid-'60s Top 10 hit from his time in Buffalo Springfield and known to some as “Stop, What’s That Sound?”
Johnson explains why the band decided to cover this song now: “Gun violence is an ongoing societal blight, a perverse virus perpetuated by hypocrites mouthing their meaningless recitations of ‘thoughts and prayers.’ With this in mind, our interpretation is slower and darker and considers the possibility that events that were once rare and unacceptable are now met with a shrug of indifference.”
Since its release, the song has had many covers over the years. Among artists covering it are Rush, The Jeff Healey Band, Kid Rock, Eric Clapton, Miriam Makeba and Vanilla Fudge.
– Dan Hill’s enormously successful catalogue of songs is enjoying a renaissance thanks to his assignment of copyrights to Anthem Entertainment, with placements now appearing in commercials, on TV shows, and all leading to a possible U.S. TV special. He's perhaps best known for “Sometimes When We Touch,” (Dolly Parton’s “favourite song of all time”’), which has had 37M YouTube views and over 100M downloads and has been recognized as one of the Top 100 Songs of the Century and one of Top 100 Most Played Songs of All Time (BMI).
Not resting on his royalty income, Hill is discussing the possibility of a road tour double-bill with his equally accomplished songwriter friend Andy Kim.
