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FYI

Ruth B. Performance Brought in $160K For MusiCares

Canadian pop singer Ruth B.'s recent livestream concert performance has helped generate $201,634 to support musicians and music industry personnel impacted by the global pandemic.

Ruth B. Performance Brought in $160K For MusiCares

By Aaron Brophy

Canadian pop singer Ruth B.'s recent livestream concert performance has helped generate $201,634 to support musicians and music industry personnel impacted by the global pandemic.


The Edmonton-born singer's livestream performance on Dec. 3 was a fundraiser for the MusiCares Foundation's Covid-19 Relief Fund and featured her perform the global hit Lost Boy in addition to more recent singles Dirty Nikes and Slow Fade in a 21-minute set. The singer also performed a grooving cover of the song Fever, which was made famous by Peggy Lee and since been tackled by the likes of Elvis Presley, Madonna, Beyonce and Michael Buble.

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MusiCares is the music industry charity started by the Recording Academy, the same people behind the Grammy Awards. The charity acts as a safety net for musicians and music-related workers in times of need, offering preventative, recovery and emergency programs to address financial, medical and personal health issues. - Aaron Brophy's full coverage can be viewed on the Samaritanmag website.

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Amber Still, executive director of the Polaris Music Prize
Johanna Stickland

Amber Still, executive director of the Polaris Music Prize

Awards

‘Protect the Prize’: The Polaris Music Prize Undergoes Its Biggest Period of Change

Now entering its third decade, the Canadian critic’s prize has expanded its voting pool, adjusted to financial constraints and begun awarding both albums and songs. After years defined by its refined focus, the changes mark a major expansion of the organization’s mission.

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The cultural not-for-profit organization has spent the better part of two decades creating a space in the industry for Canadian acts to be recognized based solely artistic merit, rather than sales, genre or support from a record label. Founded in the 2000s as Canada's answer to the Mercury Prize, the organization became a registered Canadian charity in 2017.

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