The FYI News Bulletin: March 07, 2022

By David Farrell

Canadian sitcom Letterkenny has become a burgeoning success in US markets thanks to a distro deal through Hulu starting in 2019. Now the cast is set to kick-off what will likely end up being a 40-date tour in America, kicking off with two nights in Portland on March 9 and 10. AFM VP Joel Baskin has been riding shotgun on this TV to concert stage transformation that was earlier detained because of virus containment regs on both sides of the border.

- Music PEI’s virtual March 6 virtual awards celebrated 27 winners, many of whom have found a footing on the east coast and a few that have earned trophies previously. Award highlights included Nathan Wiley taking home both Buchanan Technologies Album of the Year and the SOCAN Songwriter of the Year awards; and Sarah Hagen who won two awards for The Buzz Album Art of the Year and the Hearts & Flowers Instrumental Recording of the Year. New on the scene this year is Noah Malcolm who also earned two awards, Digital Achievement of the Year and the Maritime Electric Lloyd Doyle New Artist of the Year award which recognizes an up-and-coming artist not previously nominated. This award comes with a bonus prize of $1,000.

The complete winners list can be found here.

– Creative agency Grayson Music, with an in-house stable of music sync writers, is now expanding its reach with the launch of SINGL, a platform “that allows artists to collaborate with producers and writers they wouldn't otherwise have access to," states Ryan Kondrat, SNGL’s creative director. "We want artists to be able to foster their creative spirit while potentially securing their next single or sync placement and for us to bring back the spirit of music creation in new, forward-thinking ways." More details here.

– Keziah Myers, ED of ADVANCE Black Music Business Collective, makes the Globe and Mail’s 50 emerging leaders list and is the only person named that has any affiliation with the entertainment industry. Not sure if that is saying something!