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FYI

A Day with Alan Cross

On Sept. 24, 2018, Corus radio station Q107, in Toronto, introduced a familiar name as its new voice.

A Day with Alan Cross

By External Source

On Sept. 24, 2018, Corus radio station Q107, in Toronto, introduced a familiar name as its new voice. Said Program Director Tammy Cole: “Alan has been telling the story of rock music’s evolution for decades now, and he’s the perfect voice for Q107. We really wanted to bring rock back to ‘The Mighty Q,’ and who better to do it than Canada’s rock music expert?” It’s only slightly ironic that a man who’s become one of Canada’s most recognizable radio voices for introducing new music, will now be the voice of a station dedicated to a classic rock/greatest hits format.


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Alan Cross has been in the music business for the better part of four decades now, and to say he’s still keeping very busy would be an embarrassing understatement. Starting on radio in his native Manitoba, then arriving at Toronto’s CFNY in 1986, he’s pretty much stayed on the air for the next 32 years. He’s been a DJ, and an award-winning program director. He’s produced (to date) 833 hour-long episodes of The Ongoing History of New Music. He volunteers for several mentoring programs, writes books, artist bios, daily blogs, and weekly reports for his own website (A Journal of Musical Things) and for several Corus radio stations. He regularly posts on Facebook and Instagram, does voice work and audio books, and also gives speaking engagements, and consultations. On occasion, he even gets to watch some TV with his wife.

Cross wears many hats, so an average day is generally jam-packed with hourly, daily, and weekly obligations.

So what does an average day look like?

– Continue reading the interview conducted by Perry Stern on SOCAN’s Words and Music website.

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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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