Music News Digest: William Prince Signs a New Deal, Canadian Songwriter Bülow Earns a No. 1 Song Award for Beyoncé Track

Awards News

Earlier this month, in Los Angeles, SOCAN presented bülow (aka Megan Bülow) with a No. 1 Song Award for co-writing Beyoncé’s hit song “Texas Hold 'Em,” which scaled the peaks of both the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart on Feb, 24, 2024, and the Billboard Hot 100 on March 2, 2024. The song has achieved more than 565 million plays on Spotify, and the visualizer and lyric videos for the song on YouTube have earned over 80 million views.

bülow co-wrote “Texas Hold ‘Em” with, among others, SOCAN membersNate Ferraroand Lowell (who also won the first Billboard Canada Non-Performing Songwriter Award in partnership with SOCAN), and the song is co-published by Hyvetown Music Publishing, Sony Music Publishing Canada, Kobalt Music Publishing Canada and Arts & Crafts Music. The trio are also nominated for a pair of Grammys for the song.

– Toronto-based flautist and composer Ron Korb has had a month to remember. He was recently nominated for two Grammy Awards for performance and producing collaborations with Ricky Kej (Best New Age/Chant category) and Masa Takumi (Best Global Music Performance category) with whom Korb won Grammys for previous collaborations. Now comes news that he was just awarded a win for his track Isla Grande (featuring Hilario Duran) at the 2024 USA Songwriting Competition (instrumental category).

– Veteran Toronto rockers Our Lady Peace, internationally acclaimed guitar virtuoso Liona Boyd, golf star Mike Weir, actress Tonya Williams and War Child Canada founder Dr. Samantha Nutt are among those set to be inducted into Canada’s Walk of Fame next year. The annual Canada’s Walk of Fame Awards Show and Gala Celebration Event will be held on June 14, 2025 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. More info here.

– On Nov. 28, the Escarpment Blues Society (EBS) will present an inaugural honorary award to the legendary Downchild Blues Band. Now in their 55th year, Downchild are on a farewell tour that closes out with a Nov. 28 Hamilton concert at First Ontario Place, co-presented by the Escarpment Blues Society, a new non-profit organization aiming to strengthen awareness and appreciation of blues and roots music. Tickets for the Hamilton show here.

Industry News

– Sarah McLachlan has been forced to cancel her Canadian tour while she recovers from acute laryngitis. She had earlier postponed the Canadian leg of the Fumbling Towards Ecstasy 30th Anniversary Tour, which had initially scheduled 13 Canadian shows, from Nov. 1-20. On social media, McLachlan posted that she’s “truly devastated” over the cancellation.

– Canadian musician Robb Nash (formerly in the band Live On Arrival and now leader of the Robb Nash Project) has just put out a 90-minute film documentary, If You’re Reading This…It is the latest step in his ongoing mission to, in the words of his press release, "inspire mental health breakthroughs with the power of music and authentic stories. This has found him addressing thousands across the country, changing lives, giving purpose, erasing the stigma, and making it okay to be vulnerable and to ask for help."

Nash put the doc together over the pandemic, and such high-profile supporters as RBC and Veeps have rallied to the cause. More information here. A YouTube watch party was held last night (Nov. 26) and the film can now be screened below.

– The Canadian Independent Music Association (CIMA) returns to UK Americana Music Week next January. This marks the sixth year of CIMA’s participation at the four-day conference, awards show, and music festival in Hackney, London. Once again, the MOTH Club (Old Trades Hall, Valette St., London, U.K.) will be home to Canada House, hosting two full evenings of performances on January 21 and January 22. In collaboration with partners Alberta Music, Manitoba Music, MusicNL, MusicOntario, Music PEI and Music Yukon, Canada House will showcase 12 Canadian acts. That list comprises (Jan. 21) The Once, Ryland Moranz, Logan Richard, Jade Turner, Julian Taylor and Altameda and, on Jan. 22, The Lucky Ones, Madeleine Roger, Rube & Rake, Celeigh Cardinal, Logan Staats and The East Pointers

Beyond the showcases, Canadian music companies will also participate in the UK Americana Music Week conference, featuring exclusive roundtable discussions, one-on-one meetings with key industry professionals, networking events, and more. Additionally, CIMA will organize a pre-event in London on the Monday. Companies interested in attending or looking for more information can contact jenia@cimamusic.ca.

– Acclaimed Indigenous roots singer/songwriter William Prince and Toronto-based Six Shooter Records have signed a new deal. Six Shooter head Shauna de Cartier informs Billboard Canada that "this is a recording contract for his future recordings. Our management agreement has been in place for almost six years now, as has the license for his previous records." The deal was inked right before Prince received the Allan Slaight Music Impact Award at a Canada’s Walk of Fame event. On social media, de Cartier posted that "I’m honoured to be on this journey with this incredible artist."

– On Dec. 9, Any Other Way: The Jackie Shane Story(Banger Films/NFB) , the much-praised film documentary on transgender soul-singing legend Jackie Shane, makes its streaming premiere on Crave.

– Music Managers Forum (MMF) Canada hosts an MMF Canada Export Mission in Los Angeles on February 3 to 7, 2025, and is now accepting applications, with a Dec. 1 deadline. Read more about the mission, funding information, and eligibility details here before applying.

Artists News

– Much-loved Toronto rock guitar hero Ian Blurton (Change of Heart, Bionic, C'mon) is presently dishing out licks in Ian Blurton's Future Now, something of an indie rock supergroup. Joining him in the band is Blue Rodeo drummer Glen Milchem, bassist Anna Ruddick (Randy Bachman, Lee Harvey Osmond) and guitarist Aaron Goldstein (Junkhouse, Espanola), and last Friday they laid waste to The Casbah in Hamilton in fine style. The band recently released a second album, Crimes Of The City, and their set mixed material from that and 2022 debut album, Second Skin. The group's varied influences include '70s British prog and hard rock, boogie, stoner rock and more, but Blurton remains a true original. Ian Blurton's Future Now have been touring Ontario and have dates left at Ottawa's House of Targ on Nov. 28 and Montreal's Turbohaus on Nov. 29. Opening up for them at The Casbah were Golden Shitters, who delivered short (under 2 minutes) and snappy bursts of primal punk.

– A Toronto folk music stalwart and founder of the popular Winterfolk Blues and Roots Festival, singer-songwriter Brian Gladstone will celebrate his 75th birthday with a party and show at one of his regular haunts, The Black Swan, on Nov. 30, at 2 p.m..

– Heavy rock veterans Sven Gali have just released a cover of a signature tune of another noted Canadian rock band, Red Rider. The Tom Cochrane-penned song came out in 1981, and has become a staple for many classic rock radio stations. In 2009, SOCAN awarded the song a SOCAN Classic award for reaching 100,000 airplays on domestic Canadian radio. It reached number 11 on Billboard's rock radio airplay chart in Sept. 1981. Check out the new version here.