There are numerous conferences, seminars and awards which culminate in the most
"sexy" awards which are televised. By sexy, I mean the awards the fans want to
see such as female artist, male artists, indie artist, group or duo etc. The
2006 CCMA Awards air live from Saint John, NB on September 11 on CBC TV, with
encore airings on CMT. The show is one of Canada's only entertainment awards programs
to be broadcast internationally and will air on Great American Country (GAC) in
the U.S. and in Australia on CMC (Country Music Channel).
The
awards you don't see on TV but are held prior to the televised show, honour musicians,
retailers, festival organizers, radio stations, radio personalities, graphic designers,
publishers, labels and more.
Aside from connecting personally with friends
in the industry, what I enjoy most, as you may probably guess, are the original
songs. Opportunities abound either scheduled or impromptu, to see/hear some of
our brightest stars playing their tunes on a borrowed guitar.
Often late
at night, in a hotel lobby you will catch 10 - 12 folks, passing around the guitar
and singing til the wee hours. I admit there are loads of parties, but what goes
on primarily is great deal of networking,talent showcases and a chance to honour
and appreciate those in the industry who promote and support country music.
There
are also some great discussion panels to attend which cover all facets of career
development. ( I've been invited to speak with Ralph Murphy and Ron Hynes. Topic:
Songwriting)
If you are not a member of the CCMA look into it. Your membership
fee
(nominal) entitles you to receive a free listing in their directory (as
an artist, songwriter, musician, producer, manager, promoter etc). It also allows
you voting privileges for the awards, and you are eligible to submit to be a show
case artist.
As I said it is one of the best attended and organized industry
conferences I regularly attended.
Oh and did I mention, I have been invited
to speak on a songwriting panel, Monday morning with Ralph Murphy and Ron Hynes.
:) Hope to see you there!!
~Jana
The
Canadian Country Music Association Country Music Week |
