The FYI Bulletin: July 27, 2023

By David Farrell

Liam Russell (born Liam Russell Titcomb) has joined SOCAN as Creative Executive in Los Angeles and Nashville.

The son of Canadian singer-songwriter Brent Titcomb, he signed with Sony Music Canada at the age of 15 and had his first album produced by Grammy-winning producers Bill Bottrell and Jay Joyce that spawned two hit singles that included Sad Eyes.  Russell went on to tour as a sideman for Olivia Newton-John and served as a tour manager for Tony Joe White among other things.

– Vancouver resident Tobias Jesso Jr is the recipient of the CMW 2023 Nile Rodgers Global Creator Award. Merck Mercuriadis, Founder & CEO of Hipgnosis Songs Fund and Hipgnosis Song Management, hosted a virtual presentation of this annual award with Jesso Jr and producer and composer Nile Rodgers and the video of this conversation can be viewed here.

Jesso Jr.’s numerous credits include co-writing and or producing for Adele, Shawn Mendes, John Legend, P!nk, Neil Horan, Harry Styles, and Lewis Capaldi.

Separately, CMW has announced next year’s event will be held June 2-8 at Toronto’s Westin Harbour Castle Hotel.

– Music Publishers Canada has released a series of reports, including Future of Work: Talent Acquisition, Retention, and DEI in the Music Publishing Industry. This report is designed to help members better understand the changing landscape, navigate changing mores, government workplace regs and understand worker expectations when HR resources are either unavailable or stretched thin. In announcing the availability of the doc, MPC CEO Margaret McGuffin stated: “As the music publishing industry changes and grows so, too, does the demand for new kinds of skills, knowledge, and experience. Additionally, our sector recognizes the invaluable need to include the voices of historically excluded groups in companies of all sizes. Many of our member companies and organizations in the creative industries at large don’t have the HR resources to make the changes that they want and need to make. This report aims to help with that by providing valuable and practical HR tools.”

– Indie radio promoter Adrian Strong is the subject of an extensive news expose appearing in this week’s Billboard Bulletin. Penned by Karen Bliss, serious but unproven allegations are made in the story headlined ‘Women say top Canadian radio promoter is a longtime sexual predator.’  Strong has denied all assertions made against him, and as yet no charges have been laid.