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FYI

A Podcast Conversation With ... MacKenzie Porter

MacKenzie Porter’s career straddles both filmmaking and that of a singer/songwriter on the rise.

A Podcast Conversation With ... MacKenzie Porter

By Bill King

MacKenzie Porter’s career straddles both filmmaking and that of a singer/songwriter on the rise. The actress was in various TV movies – Seattle Superstar, Guess Who’s Coming to Christmas, All Fair in Love and Advertising and a favourite around this house – Hell on Wheels filmed in Alberta, starring actors Anson Mount and spoken word artist Common. Porter began her solo artist career in 2010 and in 2012 her single I Wish I’d Known won her a Nashville North competition.


She recently released a new single Unlonely Me which was followed by the release of a new collaborative project with global pop star Virginia To Vegas, one already climbing the charts.

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She was the #1 most played country artist of 2020 in Canada and the #5 most played Canadian artists, all genres.

She was the first female in 22 years to score three consecutive country #1s and first Canadian to score a Top 10 crossover debut (These Days (Remix)) since Shania Twain

And she was the #1 most played artist on the All Format Billboard Canadian Top 50 for four consecutive weeks (Summer 2020)

So far this year MacKenzie has been nominated for a 2020 Juno Award (Country Album of the Year), released a duet with Dustin Lynch (which is currently racing into the Top 20 in the US) and an Amazon Original, earned her first #1 in Australia (These Days), and is currently on tour stateside with Jordan Davis.

Learn more in this FYI podcast.

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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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