Entertainment

Submitted to Cashbox Canada

Canadian Music Week announced  they are pleased to honour industry stalwart Ralph James with an induction into the Canadian Music Industry Hall of Fame.  James, a veteran of the music scene for more than 30 years, most notably as the co-founder of The Agency Group Canada and originating member of Canadian rockers Harlequin, will be recognized on Thursday, March 21, 2013 at the Canadian Music & Broadcast Industry Awards gala at the Kool Haus in Toronto.

“Ralph is one of those few agents who not only understands the road, but has actually lived it,” commented Neill Dixon, President of Canadian Music Week. “It’s not uncommon to find him on the road today with one of his acts – not for the fame, but for the love of the music and the belief in the band. He’s a true music fan and has been an unwavering force in the industry for years. It’s time we brought him from behind the stage onto the stage and give him his due respects.”

Submitted by Reuters

Record labels say they have maintained high levels of investment in new music despite sweeping changes to their business in the digital age and a decade of falling revenues caused by sliding album sales and online piracy. According to a new study from industry body IFPI published on Monday, record companies invested $4.5 billion in A&R (artists and repertoire) and marketing in 2011.

That was down from $5 billion in 2008, partly due to a significant drop in the amount record labels were willing to spend on marketing up-and-coming talent at a time of shrinking income.But the A&R side fell less sharply to $2.7 billion last year versus $2.8 billion in 2008 despite a decline of 16 percent in the trade value of the industry globally over the same period.

Presenting the report in London, Max Hole, COO of Universal Music Group International, said he was cautiously optimistic that the music business would return to growth soon, helped by the proliferation of digital platforms."The stats are getting better, the rate of decline is slowing," he told reporters."There's every reason to hope that in the next couple of years we'll reach the low point and start to go back to growth."

According to the IFPI, in the first nine months of 2012, global recorded music sales had fallen by around one percent year-on-year after a fall of three percent in 2011.The industry peaked in 1999 when sales were $28.6 billion, but has shrunk every year since, reaching $16.6 billion in 2011.

Submitted to Cashbox Canada

On October 31, 2012 Canadian Music Week announced Graham Henderson as the 2013 inductee to the Canadian Music Industry Hall of Fame. An esteemed entertainment lawyer for 14 years, 5 year Senior Vice President at Universal Music Canada, and President of Music Canada for the past eight years, Graham Henderson stands at the forefront of advocacy for music and those who create it. On Thursday, March 21, 2013, he will be honoured amongst his peers at the Canadian Music & Broadcast Industry Awards gala taking place at the Koolhaus in Toronto.

“If you looked up the definition of a member of the Canadian Music Industry Hall of Fame you’d see Graham Henderson’s photo,” said Bernie Finkelstein, Founder of True North Records and The Finkelstein Management Company. “His brilliant and dogged work on bringing Canada’s antiquated copyright laws into the digital age alone merits this honour, to say nothing of his many years of service to so many Canadian artists and companies.”

“When Neill called to inform me that I had been singled out for this honour, I will confess that I was deeply honoured but also profoundly surprised,” says Henderson. “It is not often that those of us who labour in the background or on matters as abstract as policy and copyright are invited into the limelight. I have been privileged to work with the most extraordinary people in my career which should be reward enough. I got into this business with the idea of helping artists to find a path to their dreams. Through them, I realized my own.”