Merck Set To Keynote CMW 40 On June 9

By David Farrell

After two years on hiatus because of the plague, Neill and Danya Dixon are putting on the Ritz to get Canadian Music Week back in the high life for its 40th-anniversary edition in June at the Intercontinental Toronto Centre, and front and centre is Merck Mercuriadis, the one-time Toronto record promo man who has gone on to have an illustrious career managing a who’s who of international stars, and made a name for himself as a music publishing disruptor and created a song empire worth in excess of $1B.

The 57-year-old Canadian-born entrepreneur's client roster as a manager included Elton John, Beyonce and Guns N’ Roses, and in 2018 he founded Hipgnosis with Nile Rodgers. He’s been making headlines ever since.

Mercuriadis will make the keynote speech at the 40^th CMW Music Summit on June 9 and whether you are a newbie to the music biz or the head of a conglomerate, his views are going to get the kettle boiling as his advocacy for artists' rights and fair remuneration for IP have already upset the staid world of music publishing and given a taste of newfound wealth to a cache of high-powered investors.

You can read the complete CMW press release here and find out more about the man, his ideas and immense influence in today’s scene in a BBC feature here and a spotlight profile about him in Music Business Worldwide (MBW) here.