Earlier this year, Toronto-based indie label Royal Mountain Records (PUP, Mac DeMarco, Alvvays, U.S. Girls) created a first-of-its-kind fund to support its artists’ mental health. Each act on the label now has access to $1,500 each – completely confidential and non-recoupable – to use on mental health wellness and addiction treatment.

The label is run by Hollerado frontman Menno Versteeg, who joins us this week to talk about the fund’s creation and, more generally, mental health in the music community. Menno is open and honest about how his own history as a touring musician inspired the fund, and why labels, managers, agents, and others who earn their living off of musicians need to do more to support artists’ well-being.

And since Hollerado just released their final album and will soon embark on their last tour, we also fit in a quick chat about the band.

Music Canada recently shared its latest report, “Closing the Value Gap: How to Fix Safe Harbours and Save the Creative Middle Class.” As the title suggests, the report examines the gap between revenues derived by online entertainment platforms - particularly YouTube - and the revenues returned to artists and labels, then offers five recommendations on how to address the issue.

On this week's podcast, Mike and Graham Henderson, Music Canada's President and CEO, dive into the report before getting into some important big picture conversations about philosophical shifts in how music is paid for, how the industry can make its case to the public and government, and even some politics.

Also, please visit www.friendsofjohncody.com and consider helping one of our own in dire circumstances.

For our feature interview, Mike catches up with Ben Rayner (22:40), the long-time music writer and critic at the Toronto Star. He’s easily one of the best music writers in Canada and it’s obvious that his love of music, and writing about it, is as strong as ever. As local newspapers disappear and even the big newspapers like the Globe & Mail and National Post diminish their arts coverage and move music journalists into other beats, Ben is among the last of a dying breed. Mike and Ben chat about changing nature of music journalism in Canada and the decline of music coverage in newspapers and then get into what impact this could have on artists and the country’s music industry.

But before we chat with Ben, we also meet up with Charlie Wall-Andrews (2:48), the executive director of the SOCAN Foundation. Charlie fills us in all the various grants and programs that the SOCAN Foundation has available to artists. Then she and Mike discuss the concept of corporate social responsibility, which is an area of particular expertise for Charlie, and how it applies to the music industry. www.socanfoundation.ca.

Sarah Falzon, a Toronto-based entertainment lawyer with Taylor Oballa Murray Leyland LLP, joins us to chat about the recent slew of copyright infringement lawsuits hitting pop stars, including Drake and Katy Perry, as well as Taylor Swift, Sam Smith, and Ed Sheeran.

As Sarah says, it seems like the floodgates have opened in the wake of the infamous “Blurred Lines” conflict in which the estate of Marvin Gaye successfully sued Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams for copying the “feel” and “sound” of Gaye’s 1977 song, “Got to Give It Up.” We discuss the details of the newer lawsuits that make them interesting and whether we really have entered a riskier era for songwriters. Sarah also explains if the U.S. lawsuits have any bearing on Canadian songwriters and the relevant differences between Canadian and American copyright law.

Cousins Adam and Cale Gontier of Saint Asonia join Mike to discuss their new sophomore album, Flawed Design. Hailed as a “supergroup" since dropping their self-titled debut in 2015 (Saint Asonia’s members have been in Three Days Grace, Staind, Art of Dying, Thornley, and more), Adam discusses early expectations for the group, songwriting, and how two significant life moments – the birth of his first child and entering rehab – influenced the new record. They also discuss mental health for musicians and whether the industry should provide more support. We then finish with an exclusive acoustic performance of their new song “The Hunted.”

Before that, we chat with critically-acclaimed East Coast singer-songwriter Dave Sampson about his new EP, All Types of Ways. We discuss his life and career in the five years between his widely-praised debut LP in 2014 and this new project, navigating the music industry, his friendship and creative partnership with fellow Nova Scotian and Nashville hitmaker Gordie Sampson, and more.

Mike recently spent an afternoon in the workshop of one of Canada’s top luthiers, Linda Manzer, for a fun chat with her and one Canada’s top singer-songwriters, Stephen Fearing (Blackie & The Rodeo Kings). Together, they talk guitars (obviously), the role the instrument plays in their respective careers and personal lives, share some interesting stories, and get into the new custom Cowpoke guitar that Linda had just presented to Stephen. After the interview, Stephen gives the first-ever performance on the custom guitar.

Plus, contributor Hal Rodriguez recently spoke with Wide Mouth Mason's Shaun Verreault on the band's new album,I Wanna Go with You, and the lap steel's central role in its composition. In this brief snippet, Shaun explains how he found and developed a fondness for the instrument. Check out the full Q&A at https://shorttakes.canadianmusician.com/wide-mouth-mason/

http://canadianmusician.com

Fresh from their panel at Indie Week’s Indie101 Music & Tech Conference, Mike sits down with Erin Kinghorn, the co-founder of playlist-pitching company Digital Promotions Group (DPG) Canada and founder of artist development company eEK! Productions.

Together, Mike and Erin chat all about streaming playlists and how songs find success on them. Erin explains how the playlist ecosystems works, the data and analytics that matter, the differences between the various streaming platforms, how a playlist-pitching campaign works, how to measure success in this quickly-evolving sector, and a bunch more.

http://dpgworldwide.com http://canadianmusician.com

For today's episode, Mike had a chance to sit down for a lively, fascinating, and fun conversation with Daniel Tate and Rob Bowman, authors of the brilliant new book The Flyer Vault: 150 Years of Toronto Concert History. Covering from the mid-1800s all the way to 2000, the book offers a comprehensive and incredibly interesting history of Toronto’s live music scene, all illustrated with images from Daniel’s massive collection of concert flyers spanning over a century – from minstrel troupes to Notorious B.I.G.’s only Toronto show, which almost caused a riot.

If you have any interest in the history of popular music, you’ll love this fun conversation.

http://canadianmusician.com

Happy New Year and hope everyone has had a great holiday! Like we did last episode, and before we get back to our usual programming next week, we're switching things up for one more special episode with an interview that originally aired on The Music Life Coach Podcast, featuring host Jo Janzen interviewing Canadian Musician Senior Editor and CM Podcast co-host Mike Raine about his article, "Music Is Facing a Mental Health Crisis."

With Jo, Mike discusses his research and reporting for the article, which examines the critical issue of mental health among professional touring musicians. They look at the alarming stats on musicians’ mental health and reasons they suffer from significantly higher rates of depression, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts; the insights Mike gleaned from the musicians and experts he spoke with; and what can be done to address the problem at both the industry and personal level. Plus, Jo offers some insights and advice of her own, drawn from her experiences as an artist and those of some of her clients.

Check out Mike's article, "Music Is Facing a Mental Health Crisis”

Learn more about The Music Life Coach Podcast at: https://musiclifecoach.joannejanzen.com/templates/blog/podcast/

This week, we bring you a special conversation with rap innovators Cadence Weapon, aka Rollie Pemberton, and Hua Li, aka Peggy Hogan, from the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity. The two were part of the 20-day Banff International Songwriter Residency as a mentor and participant, respectively, and we dive into their experience, talk about the value of collaboration and idea-sharing, wax on the concept of "Canadian music," and more.

Plus, shortly after Canada started taking COVID-19 seriously in mid-March, a group of Toronto creatives launched a livestreaming initiative called URGNT. The idea was to broadcast sessions with a diverse array of artists from empty Toronto venues, ensuring every stakeholder would receive some compensation for their work at a time they'd really need it. We speak with co-founder Mark Marczyk about how everything came together.

http://canadianmusician.com

This episode is sponsored by Bandzoogle. Try it free for 30 days and use the promo code “CMPOD” to get 15% off your first year of any subscription. https://bandzoogle.com/?pc=cmpod

UFC 249 delivered plenty of action, but it also provided plenty of new questions, such as will Henry Cejudo really retire? Our experts debate.

Those under the age of 40 make up almost 50 per cent of Saskatchewan’s COVID-19 cases, with many cases linked to people drinking together.

Homegrown Kelowna athlete Andrew Becker hopes to trade in his Regina Rams’ university jersey for a professional one.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau warned against any early reopening of economies, noting Canada is still in the emergency phase.

Tesla Inc sued local authorities in California on Saturday as the electric carmaker pushed to re-open its factory there and Chief Executive Elon Musk threatened to move Tesla's headquarters and future programs from the state to Texas or Nevada.

Three members of the White House coronavirus task force — FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn, CDC Director Robert Redfield and NIAID Director Anthony Fauci — are isolating themselves for two weeks.

Georgia is one of four states that does not have a hate crime law. It became an issue this week with the arrest of a white father and son accused of shooting and killing an unarmed black jogger.

The meatpacking industry has slowed down due to the coronavirus outbreaks at the plants. Meatpackers warn that it could lead to meat shortages and stores limiting purchases.

The report comes as the government announced all states must now meet federal reporting guidelines. The type of information gathered by states up to now has been inconsistent.

Justin Gaethje put on a striking masterclass to score a surprise knockout victory over Tony Ferguson and win the interim lightweight title at UFC 249, which took place at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida on Saturday.Ferguson, who came into the fight on a 12-win streak, suffered damage as Gaethje chopped at his legs and landed thunderous hooks before referee Herb Dean stepped in to end the fight late in the fifth round.

On the occasion of Mothers Day 2020, many prominent personalities of sports fraternity like Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag and Suresh Raina took to their respective social media accounts and posted heartfelt messages for their mother. The life of a sportsperson is filled with obstacles and a lot of hardship and dedication is required to play the game at the highest level.

In Shikhar Dhawan's latest antics on Instagram, he can be seen romancing with his wife Ayesha on song 'Main Teri Mohabbat Mein.' Through the video, he showcased the difference between the first week of quarantine which will leave you in splits.

On the occasion of Mother's Day 2020, Indian captain Virat Kohli wished his mom and mother-in-law (Anushka Sharma's mother) by sharing a couple of adorable pictures on Instagram. The batsman and both his mothers were all smiles in the pics and as a result, the comment second of the post was filled with heartfelt messages.

Arsenal reportedly must decide on Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's future by next month amid Real Madrid links.

London, May 10: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is out of contract in June 2021 and the Gabon international is no closer to signing a new Arsenal deal. The former Borussia Dortmund star is not short of suitors amid uncertainty over his future

Emirates Cricket Board has offered to host the Indian Premier League 2020 (IPL 2020) amid the coronavirus pandemic in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). As per a report, Emirates Cricket Board has made the proposal to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

The Government's new "stay alert" slogan for the next stage of the UK's fight against coronavirus has divided opinion.The "stay at home, protect the NHS, save lives" message that has been drilled into the public for weeks is expected to be dropped for a call to "stay alert, control the virus, save lives".

The Brazilian shot-stopper has cemented his status as one of the best in the world since his move from Roma two years ago

When Dasgupta slammed ISL as a 'masala league', Mohun Bagan's Debasish Dutta hit back saying 'grapes are sour'...

Former Toulouse manager Antoine Kombouare said there should be direct action after the French top division was called to a premature halt

The experienced midfielder believes they can clinch the title right under the noses of favourites Amakhosi and Masandawana

Tesla Inc sued local authorities in California on Saturday as the electric carmaker pushed to re-open its factory there and Chief Executive Elon Musk threatened to move Tesla's headquarters and future programs from the state to Texas or Nevada.

China's central bank said on Sunday it will step up counter-cyclical adjustments to support the economy and make monetary policy more flexible to fend off financial risks.

The popular saying "April showers bring May flowers" might not be the case this year. The northeastern United States is experiencing an unusual Mother's Day weekend as most restaurants remain closed amid coronavirus concerns and a historic polar vortex packing snow shatters temperature records. Freeze watches and warnings along with frost advisories were put into effect Friday night for many places across parts of the Midwest, down into the Southeast and into the Northeast.

The season officially begins June 1, but some meteorologists who have been tracking ocean and atmospheric dynamics over the past few months say conditions are ripe for storms.

Eleven people, including five children, died and a Philadelphia neighborhood burned down in the airstrike against a black liberation group. Now an effort at reconciliation is under way

Frank Powell, a Philadelphia police officer who in 1985 was chief of the city’s bomb disposal squad, remembers vividly the moment he was given his instructions. “Wow,” he recalls thinking. “You want me to do that?”

On 13 May 1985 Powell was handed an army-style green satchel containing a bomb made of C-4 plastic explosives of the sort widely deployed in Vietnam. He boarded a state police helicopter, and took up his position balanced precariously on the skids of the aircraft.

One person was killed after a fire broke out on Saturday at a Moscow hospital treating patients infected with the new coronavirus, the authorities said.

Every year for the past 20, Rosa Maria Fuenzalida has visited her mother's grave on Mother's Day without fail in the central Chilean city of Curico.

Coronavirus patients were being turned away from hospitals in the Mexican capital on Saturday, as both public and private medical facilities quickly fill up and the number of new infections continues to rise.

Venezuela's military said it seized three abandoned Colombian light combat vessels that soldiers found on Saturday while patrolling the Orinoco river, several days after the government accused its neighbor of aiding a failed invasion.

Thailand reported five new coronavirus cases but no deaths on Sunday, bringing the total to 3,009 cases and 56 deaths since the outbreak started in the country in January.

Japanese Economy Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura said on Sunday the government is looking to lift the state of emergency in "many of 34 prefectures" that are not among the hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic before the nationwide deadline of May 31.

Australia's most populous state, home to Sydney, will allow restaurants, playgrounds and outdoor pools to reopen on Friday as extensive testing has shown the spread of the coronavirus has slowed sharply, New South Wales state's premier said on Sunday.

South Korea warned of a second wave of the new coronavirus on Sunday as infections rebounded to a one-month high, just as the authorities were starting to ease some pandemic restrictions.

The British government wants to slowly and cautiously restart the economy, housing minister Robert Jenrick said on Sunday ahead of a televised address from the prime minister to set out plans to begin easing the coronavirus lockdown measures.

Although health officials have pointed to a flattening rate of daily cases in many provinces, Trudeau said Canada was "not in the recovery phase yet."

The idea is to identify the problem of burnout early and stop it before it happens.

Premier Doug Ford says that an announcement will be made next week on whether or not Ontario students will be able to return to the classroom this school year.

A Pickering long-term care home has suffered a possible privacy breach, Ontario's minister of long-term care said Saturday.