CMW Conference Primer

By Nick Krewen

With its unofficial May 6 kickoff and concerts by nearly 600 acts spread over 48 venues, the 2019 edition of Canadian Music Week is well underway.

But the real meat-and-potatoes of the event - three days of keynote speakers, awards shows, inductions, panel discussions and all-important schmoozing - kicks off Thursday at the Sheraton Centre in Toronto with a networking breakfast at 8:30 am in the lobby concourse of the hotel.

Over the next three days, delegates will hear from 360 speakers; have the opportunity to soak in 38 panels covering everything from digital radio and marketing to touring and mental health, enjoy 20 keynote speakers, engage in 10 mentoring/networking sessions, and discover the ins-and-outs of the South African music business in a special international spotlight. 

Aside from evening music performances from artists all over the world, there will be a trio of awards shows that will salute the movers and shakers in the industry, and a few lifetime achievers that have earned deserved accolades  while contributing to its evolution along the way: The Canadian Music and Broadcast Industry Awards at the Rebel Entertainment Complex (shuttles provided) on Thursday, May 9; the 2019 Live Music Industry Awards at the Sheraton's Osgoode East Ballroom on Friday, May 10; and the Jim Beam Indies with Indie 88 at the Phoenix Concert Theatre on Saturday, May 11.

Pre-registration kicks off at 2 p.m. today (Wednesday) on the Concourse at the Sheraton Centre and last til 8 pm, and then starts at 7 am for Thursday and 8 a.m. for Friday and Saturday.

Here is a random list of five highlights, followed by CMW Conference at a glance: 

Highlight #1:  Infinite Dial Canada - (May 9, 12:35 p.m.) - a current look at the media habits of Canadians and supported by metrics.

Highlight #2: Fireside chat with Merck Mercuriadis  (May 9, 3:25 p.m.) -  Quebec-born entrepreneur, former A&R director of Virgin Records Canada and ex-manager of Elton John, Beyonce and Guns 'N Roses who is the founder of Hipgnosis Songs Ltd., spins some yarns and hopefully offers sage advice in connection with his stellar career.

Highlight #3: You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet - Warner Music Group - Scott Cohen, Chief Innovation Officer: (May 10, 10:35 a.m.) - This highly touted executive shares his crystal ball regarding technological advances that are going to be hitting us sooner than later.

Highlight #4:  Dave Grohl interviewing Virginia Grohl, his Mom (May 10, 1:45 p.m.) - Who doesn't love The Foo Fighters/Nirvana's Dave Grohl? Plenty of interesting rock star tales to be told for sure.

Highlight #5: Women In the Studio, (May 11, 2:35 p.m.) The Canadian Music Publishers Association focuses in on talented female Canadian producers to talk about their careers, success and challenges in a sure-to-be enlightening panel discussion.

CMW Schedule at a Glance

Wednesday, May 8

Thursday, May 9

Friday, May 10

Saturday, May 11

Keynotes include the following: 

Tuma Basa, "hip-hop curator" - Congo-born Tumaini Basaninyenzi, a.k.a. Tuma Basa, former Spotify global programming head of hip-hop and currently YouTube's Director of Urban Music, will discuss the popularity of his highly influential RapCaviar  playlist on the streaming service, which apparently blossomed to.9 million followers at its peak and played a significant role in promoting Cardi B. (Thursday, Osgoode Ballroom East - 10:35 am)