advertisement
FYI

Producer Mark Howard Returns To Canada To Fight (His) Cancer

Mark Howard, the Grammy-winning and Juno-nominated producer and engineer who has worked with everyone from Bob Dylan and U2 to The Tragically Hip and Willie Nelson, has organized a benefit concert

Producer Mark Howard Returns To Canada To Fight (His) Cancer

By Nick Krewen

Mark Howard, the Grammy-winning and Juno-nominated producer and engineer who has worked with everyone from Bob Dylan and U2 to The Tragically Hip and Willie Nelson, has organized a benefit concert featuring Sarah McLachlan, Randy Bachman, Sass Jordan, Sam Roberts and Ian Thornley, to be held at Toronto’s Roy Thomson Hall tomorrow (Saturday, Oct. 6).


The Mark Howard & Princess Margaret Cancer Centre Grand Concert will raise funds and awareness to help advance immunotherapy medicine — using the immune system to fight cancer — something with which the Manchester-born, Hamilton-raised individual is all too familiar: Howard has been undergoing the treatment since December after being diagnosed with stage four melanoma cancer, an aggressive skin cancer. Funds raised go to Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, earmarked for immunotherapy.

advertisement

In an exclusive interview, Howard, 54, reveals that within three weeks of being diagnosed, the cancer had spread to his liver, spleen and brain. Read the interview conducted by Nick Krewen on the SamaritanMag website.

advertisement
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.

keep readingShow less
advertisement