Up-dates as of 2:54 p.m.
Obit — Long time CBC Television Vancouver audio department staff member Larry Watson, aged 79
The CRTC has approved Rawlco’s request to amend the broadcasting licence for CHMC-FM Edmonton from a Smooth Jazz to a Adult MOR. The licence holder said the format had been a money loser and the regulator rubber-stamped the request as there were no interventions filed against the shift. Rawlco has agreed to a weekly 2-hour specialty Smooth Jazz program…
Veteran director William D. MacGillivray‘s The Man of a Thousand Songs, an intimate portrait of east coast songwriting legend Ron Hynes, will have its premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) with screenings on Sept. 13, 14 and 18. Hynes’ life has been more shambolic than most in the world of the arts and, in this documentary, Hynes attempts to make sense of the troubled times. He is also seen in performance at various venues, offering up those musical moments that have provided the silver linings to any black clouds that may have darkened his path along the way…
There’s CDN$5000 up for grabs for the writer(s) of the winning song as part of SOCAN‘s fifth annual ECHO Songwriting Prize, which will honour “what’s next and what’s best in current independent music.” The prize puts the spotlight on some of the most innovative and talented emerging songwriters in Canada.  Prix de la chanson ÉCHO, which celebrates the songwriting talents of the best independent, up-and-coming Francophone songwriters in the country, was launched concurrently. The five nominated Canadian songs, selected by an independent panel of 10 music community tastemakers, include “Albatross” (Olga Goreas, Kevin Laing, Jace Lasek, Richard White) performed by The Besnard Lakes; “Celestica” (Claudio Palmieri, Margaret Osborn) performed by Crystal Castles; “Destroyer” (Catherine McCandless, Stephen Ramsay) performed by Young Galaxy; “Hearts Trompet” (Edo Van Breeman, Bryan Davies, Richard Saul, John Walsh) performed by Brasstronaut; and “Odessa” (Dan Snaith) performed by Caribou. You can listen and vote for your favourite song until September 30. One voter will win an Epiphone Ultra II Les Paul electric guitar…
When it comes to finding the stuff of raw human drama, it’s hard to beat the story of a late-night altercation at a Winnipeg 7-Eleven that involves Burton Cummings being assaulted with a beer bottle. It seems unfair to viewers to make them wait 25 years for this real-life incident to become the basis for a movie. Thankfully, this oversight has now been rectified by Negativipeg, one of the 40 films that comprise Short Cuts Canada, TIFF’s program of new works by Canadian filmmakers who combine artistry with brevity [Toronto Star]…
Wendy Wolfe moves from CJXY-FM in Hamilton to Astral Toronto’s HTZ and EZ-Rock as swing announcer with weekend shifts at both FMs as of Sept. 11, HTZ PD Mike Tyler reports..Taylor Kaye joins Rogers-owned Kiss-FM from Virgin Radio Toronto, hosting the mid-days…Brad Moore joins Wingham, ON’s 101.7 FM mid-days, replacing Meredeth Geddes who now hosts The Afteroon Show…
Canadian TV personality, executive producer of E! Entertainment Network and founder of music consultancy firm Invisible Republic Inc, Kim Clarke Champniss is the latest to sign on with Mediazoic’s custom-branded music streaming service.  The social networking adjunct offers a unique online radio-styled streaming service to companies, marketers and individuals seeking to create a hip image in the digital space. Due to licensing restrictions for now we are unable to provide a link to Champniss’s KCC Shuffle…
Those with long memories will remember the ever cheerful, always beautiful, utterly professional Valerie Lapp–one-time corporate publicist for Sony Music Canada ( later BMG ) when the company was a powerhouse with its head-office on Leslie St., next to Wrigley’s gum factory. Valerie is now an FYI Twitter follower, has her own Twitter account and a website for her ValerieLapp Marketing Services or val@valerielapp.com…
More on the rhetoric from the George Soros funded Avaaz lobbying effort to deep-six Sun News TV: “…The CRTC is part of our democracy — it was made an independent commission precisely in order to protect against this kind of government manipulation of the media. Harper knows that he must bully his way through this institution in order to create Fox News North. And there are dark rumours in Ottawa that if von Finckenstein will not leave his job, Harper will simply force him to give in. Von Finckenstein is upholding the best tradition of Canadian democracy and civil service in the face of a full scale attack on that tradition. Let’s show him, and Harper, that Canada stands with him ( see post below for further details )…”
Canada
Biz — Rogers Digital Media has partnered with Warner Music Canada to sell advertising inventory around the label’s premium music video content and develop custom programs, sponsorships and artist-focused opportunities alligned to the music firm’s video strategy.  The deal also gives Rogers Media exclusive representation for the label’s video content on various platforms, including Warner Music Canada’s online video distribution channels…
Canadian online music publishing rep house Music Xray has announced four of its acts have signed publishing contracts with an unnamed LA-based music licensing firm. The acts are Jack Wyles, Raina Rose, Ben Siems and Craig Rempel(SolarDaze)
Broadcast — CBC-TV and companies that provide direct to home (DTH) satellite TV services are heading for a showdown at the CRTC over the provision of local television services in several Canadian markets. Under the current rules, DTH providers are required to include a minimum of 5 CBC English and 5 French-language stations, including at least one from each time zone. The beef is a handful of cities wind up with multiple imported news shows and no local coverage…
CBC reports Quebecor has ditched its plan to push the CRTC for tier-one status for its yet-to-be approved Sun TV all news channel that’s oft referred to as Fox News North. Separately, Margaret Atwood’s endorsement of a petition calling on the PM to stop pushing “American-style hate media†adds a woman’s fury to an already controversial licence application. The petition itself has been launched by a group out of NYC that’s funded by billionaire philanthropist and liberal activist George Soros. Here’s the link to the petition…
A multi-million dollar fund designated for broadband expansion outside urban markets has hit a roadblock. Two separate but linked CRTC decisions give small internet companies a legal footing to lease bandwidth from dominant ISPs, and frees up as much as $400m of a $700m fund held in trust by Telcos for use in rural broadband expansion. This is all on hold now. The Ottawa Citizen quotes a Bell representative saying the company will appeal the decision forcing it to open internet connection access to smaller rivals. The regulator had earlier ruled the same but cabinet overturned the decision and sent it back to the CRTC for further review. On Monday, the CRTC stood firm in its earlier decision; however, without access to the ISP pipes all plans for broadband expansion are stalled until the end of the appeal process. And that could take a year or more
Arts Funding– After several weeks of taking heat from stakeholders, the feds and local media the BC government has relented and beefed up its budget for arts funding. The spring budget axed funding to artists and cultural institutions from around $14m to about $8m. Yesterday, the province promised to top the fund up with a further $7m…
The Helen Creighton Folklore Society in Halifax has received a $5200 grant from Heritage Canada for funding of the Halifax Harbour Sea Music Festival
International
Digital Media – Apple TV, a miniature set-top box that plugs into home TVs, had its launch yesterday. Partnering with Netflix and other content providers, Apple TV promises converts the opportunity to dispense with fixed monthly cable fees and trips to the video store.  The service offers movie rentals at $4.99 and TV shows on demand, commercial free in HD for $.99. The box is expected to be available commercially in about a month and priced in the region of $100…
Apple has also introduced Ping, a social networking element to iTunes but reports from around the web suggest the roll-out is premature as complaints about the service range between it being buggy to useless. Separately, Ping the golf stick company and its parent company, Karsten Manufacturing, announced that they have entered into an agreement with Apple for use of the Ping trademark. Terms of the agreement weren’t disclosed…
Mobile music service Livewire Mobile has launched Mediadrome, a backbone utility that allows acts to sell a variety of digital media direct-to-fans, including next-day sale of live recordings…
Facebook Credits gift cards will be in Target stores nationwide in the US starting September 5. The cards offer a virtual currency for Facebook gamers tilling the soil at Zynga’s FarmVille et al. Shoppers will be able to buy $15, $25 and $50 cards.
Biz – Dominant DVD/CD and electronic games wholesale distributor Alliance Entertainment has been sold to equity firms Platinum Equity and the Gores Group by Source Interlink…
Broadcast — A US federal court has dismissed news anchor Toni Miles‘ claim that her former employer, Raycom Media’s WLOX-TV, committed “cyber libel” by allowing readers to post unfiltered comments about her. A Southern District of Mississippi judge ruled that the federal Communications Decency Act immunized the news station from liability for readers’ posts [MediaPost]
