For most of the local music heads who check out CMW, the sheer number of live shows that take over the city’s venues are the ticket. But for those interested in a bigger picture of the music industry, there’s also CMW’s conference side, which includes this year’s Music City Summit and a range of panels and discussions for the truly music-obsessed.
Once we’re into the official festival week (May 2-8), there are conferences, trade shows and events galore, with digital media fests to comedy and film. Check out presentations by Canadian and international stars of social media, digital creation and radio, plus motivational events like a master class led by Tom Jackson for musicians who want to improve their live shows and better connect with their audiences.
Here are some highlights:
Hot Docs + CMW = Love: April 29 to May 8
On the cinematic tip, CMW’s Hot Docs entries are worth checking out. Among the options are Contemporary Color (NNNN), which features stars like St. Vincent, Nelly Furtado and David Byrne in a “one-of-a-kind, kaleidoscopic event” devised by Byrne and involving color guard teams of students doing perfectly synchronized pep-rally choreographies. In Hip-Hop Evolution (NNNN), rapper and CBC host Shad interviews hip-hop forefathers like Kool Herc, Grandmaster Flash and Afrika Bambaata, telling the tale of how the musical form rose from the underground to become a major international phenomenon. The Revolution Won’t Be Televised explores activism through the lens of two of Senegal’s top hip-hop artists during the 2012 presidential campaign, while Spirit of the West frontman John Mann is at the centre of Spirit Unforgettable (NNNN), which documents Mann’s experience with early onset Alzheimer’s while preparing for what could be his final show at Massey Hall. For Madonna fans, Strike a Pose (NNNN) follows the stories of three of the male dancers who suddenly became queer icons following well-loved 1991 doc Truth or Dare, which is also screening at the fest. That’s just the beginning: visit CMW’s site for details.
Generation Z: May 5
Bob Marley sang “you can’t blame the youth of today/you can’t fool the youth,” and to that end, Juma Inniss, Founder & Director of The Message (Boston), leads a media literacy talk called The ABCs of Engaging Generation Z. Iniss’s workshop will explain how digital content creators can influence youth. In this presentation on youth empowerment and how to use social media to build a more conscious next generation, perhaps attendees will be inspired to lead the way in the future.
The new game brings Canadian music together with video gaming.
Music & Gaming: May 5
Music heads, gamers and media arts lovers may want to catch “Music & Gaming,” a discussion that explores “best practices in collaboration between the music and gaming sectors and opportunities for partnership,” moderated by former Much VJ, CBC journalist and 2015 federal NDP candidate Jennifer Hollett. Developers from top game producers like Drinkbox Studios, Compulsion Games, Pop Sandbox, and Universal Music Canada will discuss innovative strategies integrating music and gaming in this FACTOR-sponsored panel.
Music Cities Summit: May 7
There’s a one-day conference amid the smorgasbord of music-nerd content: The Music Cities Summit will tackle some of the topics at heart of Toronto’s own Music City initiatives. These include, of course, visioning how we can strengthen and grow the live music community with more support from the city, and create better links between the city’s sometimes disparate music scenes. On that note, a panel moderated by The Star’s Ben Rayner called This Ain’t Just About Live looks beyond only live shows, instead tackling “how music city strategies can nurture and support the growth of the entire music ecosystem.”
Crisis Management: Making Your Festival a Safe Space: May 7
Following the spate of music fest deaths in the summer of 2014, and because festival safety is no joke, organizers and attendees of music festivals may want to check out this panel discussion that approaches the balancing act festival producers face when it comes to the need to “balance the need for ‘safe spaces’ with artistic integrity and freedom of expression” but also liability questions related to safety and security. The security issue for festivals and concerts is one we see playing out across Toronto’s music landscape, and these, too, are discussions that need to continue. This one is moderated by Stacey Lock, the Harm Reduction Director of B.C.’s Shambhala Music Festival.
Blockchain Revolution: May 7
For those who are invested in the future of music and actually making a living as a musician, the official CMW conference keynote and “super session” on Blockchain will break down what exactly this new digital music service is and how it could help allow artists and everyone in the music production supply chain to get paid fairly. Imogen Heap, who uses the service, makes a special appearance on the panel, which follows the keynote delivered by Don and Alex Tapscott, the authors of Blockchain Revolution: How The Technology Behind Bitcoin is Changing Money, Business and the World.
BONUS:
Work Work Work Work Work: May 1
This isn’t an official CMW event, but too bad, it’s important. This Sunday, a two-part evening makes up the first edition of Work Work Work Work Work, a series of frank discussions about the Canadian music industry, organized by writer Carly Lewis. Panelists and moderators will discuss topics like pay equality, male-centric power structures, working conditions and a welcoming environment for women. Participants include music journalists and media personalities such as Anupa Mistry (The Fader), Sarah Liss (author of Army of Lovers), Erin Lowers (Exclaim!), Melody Lau (CBC Music) and Raina Douris (Indie 88), and artists like Cold Specks, Lido Pimienta, Katie Stelmanis (Austra) and Sassyblack. Lewis is making the event as accessible to anyone who would like to attend as possible, and proceeds will go to the Regent Park School of Music.
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