Gary Slaight Honoured by MusiCounts

By FYI Staff

Gary Slaight and the Slaight Family Foundation continue to leave an indelible mark on Canada’s music scene with millions of dollars granted to a long list of organizations and his continuing investment in Slaight Music that offers an opportunity to undiscovered talent to hone their skills and release songs with backing from a variety of labels that he and his organization are tapped into.

There’s really no one else in the world who wisely donates his wealth to a wide spectrum of music, musicians and need-worthy organizations, including MusiCounts, which has benefited from close to $1M to put musical instruments into the hands of high school students.

From the clip, Gary Slaight explains: “We have always had a connection because of radio to music. It is in our blood. We’ve always had an affinity to work with Canadian artists, so it is in our DNA. It is important that the kids start early and develop a love for music and incorporate it into their lives in some way shape or form.”

Continuing: “It is more evident now than ever with what is going on in the world that kids need something to do with their time that is going to fulfill them emotionally and spiritually. That is what music does for people. When the program started it was to do with music in the schools and classrooms and getting instruments into their hands.

“It is a matter of getting young people to appreciate music… We jump in there to fill the need. It is important for this to be in the schools but also for music to be in the community. You take the challenge to help others, and you want to do it in a meaningful way. It involves a lot of work – You can’t help but feel good when you are helping others.”

What follows is Gary enunciating why he does what he does, what he fervently believes in, and the joy it gives him in doing so.