Darryl Ballantyne, CEO of Toronto-based lyric licensing company LyricFind, joins us to discuss the quickly-growing business of displaying lyrics, from Google searches to merchandise and a lot more. We get into how the licensing deals for lyrics work and, yes, the legal dispute between Genius Media and Google that had LyricFind caught right in the middle.

We also touch on a number of new initiatives that LyricFind has announced over the past year, including partnerships with fizy in Turkey, MPA/PMLL in the U.K.. and some Canada-specific content, like the funding from the Canadian Government to promote and export Canadian content through lyrics and lyric translations and to bring the stories found in Indigenous songs to all Canadians. That includes some interesting insight into the process of translating various Indigenous languages.

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/

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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.

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When Karen Allen told us about her book for musicians about the live streaming platform Twitch, she said: “I’ve been working in digital music for 20 years and have never seen anything so effective for artists.” That certainly piqued our interest.

Lo and behold, there is a growing and prospering community of musicians on Twitch using the platform to engage new fans, turn casual fans into super fans, and make some good money doing it. Allen, a veteran of the digital music industry and author of Twitch for Musicians, joins us on today's show to explain Twitch’s evolution and how indie musicians can utilize it to great effect.

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

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Canadian rock icons Glass Tiger and high-energy EDM duo Pineo & Loeb recently collaborated on a re-imagined version of the former's "This Is Your Life," featuring guest vocals from Matt Mays. Glass Tiger's Alan Frew and P&L's Mitch Pineo join us this week to share what initially brought them together, why they each wanted to work with the other, how the track was recorded and assembled, and more. Plus, get an exclusive scoop on their next collab: a fresh take on one of The Beatles' best-known songs with Frew once again on lead vocals.

Plus, Andrew and Mike share SOCAN's preliminary data from 2019 and a slew of submission opportunities to perform at high-profile music festivals throughout 2020.

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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

Mike sits down with visionary pop songwriter, producer, and singer Lauv, who has just dropped his highly-anticipated debut LP ‘How I'm Feeling.’ They discuss Lauv’s rise to hitmaker status for stars like Charli XCX and Celine Dion, and the transition to performing his own songs with the likes of Alessia Cara and BTS. He also delves into self-care and mental health and how his Blue Boy Foundation factors in.

Before that, we chat with Marc Vincent, better known as Ruffsound. He’s one of the premier beatmakers and producers in the resurgent Quebec rap scene, working with lauded locals Loud, Koriass, and FouKi and international names like Dua Lipa and Black Pink. They get deep into the sound of Francophone hip-hop and why it's taken off in recent years, as well as Ruffsound's moonlighting in film and TV.

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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

This week, we bring you a fun and interesting chat with Floyd Kane, the creator and writer of the CBC series Diggstown. Floyd and Mike chat about the use of music as a storytelling and emotional device in TV, how and when music comes into the TV writing process, how songs are chosen for the show, and some of the great independent Canadian artists whose music is featured in Diggstown.

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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

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.

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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

RadioClub is the brainchild of lifelong friends Shawn Desman and Tebey - two music industry vets with a long list of international achievements to their names. We get into what inspired this new collaborative project, why they chose to cover Rick Astley's "Never Gonna Give You Up" for their first single, the parallels between pop and country compositions, and more.

Also on the pod is Dre Pao - an artist, TV and podcast host, and social media consultant who also helps young artists develop their own music careers. Mike talks to Dre about how artists can take advantage of prominent social media platform TikTok to engage with fans and boost their profile.

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This week, we’re sharing the full conversation Mike had with musician and artist advocate Miranda Mulholland as part of his research for a new article on how the COVID-19 crisis is impacting the music business and what lies ahead. Miranda - who, in addition to being an artist advocate that works closely with all levels of government, is also one-half of the duo Harrow Fair – offers a revealing perspective on how artists are being professionally and personally impacted by the loss of live shows, gives a fascinating behind-the-scenes account of how government has dealt with the crisis, and discusses her own experience of releasing an album in the midst of all this.

Read Mike's article, "Behind the Scenes as the Canadian Music Industry Copes with an Unprecedented Crisis," at: https://indepth.canadianmusician.com/its-impossible-to-imagine-behind-the-scenes/

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INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - Three Indiana women who moved to the United States as children have created a fund to help immigrant families who don't qualify for government aid and have lost their jobs during the coronavirus pandemic.

The women joined other volunteers, many of whom are also recipients under the ...

For the second time, a federal judge has issued a restraining order against Kentucky officials who moved to block church services during the coronavirus shutdown.

U.S. District Judge Gregory Van Tatenhove ruled Friday night in favor of Tabernacle Baptist Church of Nicholasville and against Democratic Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear's order ...

New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez criticized the negotiation process for coronavirus relief packages, saying rank-and-file members have been all but shut out of the process.

"It's really hard to understate how devastating this has been, in terms of our legislative and oversight abilities, for an average member of Congress to ...

The London Royal Ravens lost the first map against the Atlanta FaZe on Saturday and were denied a chance to restart despite the fact they had to play shorthanded because Matthew "Skrapz" Marshall was not in his seat at the start of the match.

Saturday's UFC 249 featured postfight interviews in the Octagon, a departure from safety protocols that were announced earlier this week.

In a brilliant performance, Justin Gaethje dominated Tony Ferguson in a fifth-round TKO victory to win the UFC interim lightweight title Saturday at UFC 249.

Brett Okamoto plays matchmaker after UFC 249.

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.

John Hillman may have already met his fundraising target, but he says he's determined to complete all planned 101 laps around his residence.

In the time of the novel coronavirus, it's anything but normal for one part-time florist as Mother's Day approaches.   

Drive-in theatres are also allowed to open on May 15.

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

Saskatchewan announced nine new COVID-19 cases and five more recoveries on Saturday, bringing its total number of cases to 553 as the province enters week two of its plan to gradually reopen.

As the province enters its second week of the first phase of the Re-Open Saskatchewan plan, the provincial government has updated guidelines for some of the businesses expected to open soon.

We're led to believe though that, having refused to quarantine the vast majority of passengers arriving in the UK earlier, the government will now move to do so, as lockdown starts to ease.

So what would the public like to hear from the Prime Minister tomorrow? And how are businesses coping while the lockdown restrictions remain in place? 

A trial of Britain's proposed coronavirus test-and-trace app being conducted on the Isle of Wight off the coast of southern England is going well, Transort Secretary Grant Shapps said on Saturday.

Chinese fans of Nintendo's Animal Crossing: New Horizons are paying a premium on foreign consoles and finding ways to skirt limits imposed by local regulators on a game that has become both a breakout worldwide hit and political flashpoint.

NPR's Michel Martin speaks with attorney Benjamin Crump about the arrest of two men in connection with Arbery's death.

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.

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.

UFC 249 served as the first major sporting event to take place since the global pandemic shut down much of the country nearly eight weeks ago. It was originally scheduled for 18 April in New York, but was postponed in hopes of helping slow the spread of COVID-19.

The Uruguayan is confident the manager will bring success to Tottenham, who made the bold decision to dismiss Mauricio Pochettino this season

Kohli admitted it was not easy in the initial days.

However, Stewart also voiced concerns of how the lack of a County season would affect the development of young players in the system.

Moments after defending his bantamweight title, Henry Cejudo has announced shock retirement from UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship). Cejudo defeated Dominick Cruz in a second round TKO in the co-main event of UFC 249 in Jacksonville, Florida.

Virat and Anushka have been trying to help the needy as much as they can in these troubled times and apart from donating to the PM-CARES Fund.

Virat and Anushka have been trying to help the needy as much as they can in these troubled times and apart from donating to the PM-CARES Fund.

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.

As Johor Darul Ta'zim ascend to the throne as the new Kings of Malaysian football, Pahang are emerging as the anointed challenger to the champions.

Justin Gaethje sent a message to Khabib Nurmagomedov with a merciless performance against Justin Ferguson on Saturday.

Jacksonville, May 10: Justin Gaethje produced a brutal display in a final-round stoppage against Tony Ferguson to become the new interim lightweight champion at the highly anticipated UFC 249. UFC made its long-awaited return behind closed doors in Jacksonville, Florida

May 10 saw Barcelona win their first trophy with Johan Cruyff as coach, while Rafael Nadal achieved a remarkable tennis feat.

London, May 10: The transformation of Barcelona under Johan Cruyff took an important step forward on May 10, 31 years ago. The Catalans won their first trophy since the great Cruyff's return to his old club, beating Sampdoria to claim the

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.