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Publishing

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

Chantal Kreviazuk

Carl Lessard

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.


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– 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.”

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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.

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Val Blavatnik
Courtesy WMG

Val Blavatnik

Business News

Val Blavatnik to Oversee Warner Music Canada in New Role at Warner Music Group

Blavatnik will oversee Warner Music Canada as managing director of Warner Music North America, U.K. and Corporate Development at WMG. As part of a slew of executive announcements, Simon Robson will be leaving the company, while Alejandro Duque takes the top international role.

Val Blavatnik, the 28-year-old son of Warner Music Group majority owner and vice chairman Len Blavatnik, has been named managing director of Warner Music North America, U.K. and Corporate Development at the Warner Music Group, the company announced Friday (Sept. 25). In his new role the younger Blavatnik, who has held several roles at the company in recent years, and has been a board member since 2023, expects to “unify and drive business and operational strategy across these markets while guiding the company’s investment strategy to support growth,” according to a press release.

The Blavatnik announcement is part of a flurry of new executive announcements that CEO Robert Kyncl made this morning. In addition, Atlantic Music Group chairman/CEO Elliot Grainge will take on ADA in the U.S. as its new chairman, while Alejandro Duque, who has held the dual roles of president of Warner Latin and president of ADA since last July, has been named president of Warner Music International, adding Asia-Pacific and Europe, the Middle East and Africa under his oversight. (Duque will continue to oversee ADA outside the U.S.) Zach Friedman, currently COO at Atlantic Music Group, will add the title of vice chair of ADA U.S. to his resume.

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