Recap: CIMA's Mission to The Great Escape 2017
CIMA returned to The Great Escape (TGE) in Brighton to partake in the UK’s premier annual music festival and to bring Canada’s 150th celebrations overseas. This marked the 9th time that CIMA has participated in the festival, which included 3 full days of Canada House showcases and the newly minted Canadian Night at the Brighton Museum where Canadian acts performed throughout the museum. Prior to TGE, CIMA organized two days of business events in London.
Pre-TGE London events kicked off on Tuesday, May 16, for a Meet the Canadians B2B session at the Canadian High Commission where our delegation of 20+ Canadian companies met with UK professionals from various industries such as labels, management, digital media, production, publishing etc. This was followed by a networking reception that included an acoustic performance from Alberta artist Altameda.
Business events continued the following day in London where CIMA, in cooperation with several export partners (Sounds Australia, First Music Contact/Music from Ireland and The New Zealand Music Commission) held a Focus on Sync and Publishing session at the world renowned Metropolis Studios situated in West London. The sync session focused on contemporary trends and themes within the lucrative sector of music placement for TV, film and advertising. Discussions included the basics in sync submission etiquette and the process, how current industry trends affect the work of music supervisors and the importance of right holders. The panel featured 6 members of the UK publishing and sync industry.
Following the panel, delegates had the opportunity to break out into 6 roundtable discussions focusing on different sectors that make up the sync industry. Themes included publishing, TV music placement, film trailer music, advertising, creative and film.
CIMA headed to Brighton on May 18, returning to The Green Door Store, our home away from home at TGE, where delegates were treated to 3 afternoons of Canadian artists showcasing at Canada House.
This year the Canada 150th networking patio was featured at the venue, where delegates were treated to Canadian food and shelter from the UK rain. It was the perfect place to take a break between acts, hold meetings and network.
POP Montreal presented Thursday afternoon’s first showcases, which featured acts Pierre Kwenders and Mozart’s Sister from La Belle Province. The Ontario Media Development Corporation and MusicOntario kept the party going with the Bring it ONtario showcases featuring Beliefs, The Wooden Sky and Hannah Georgas. A Welcome to Canada House networking reception was held mid-afternoon, between the Quebec and Ontario showcases.
The Canadian celebrations continued on Thursday evening, where CIMA presented Canadian Night at the Brighton Museum with 8 performances on 4 stages throughout different galleries, providing the audience with an up close and intimate acoustic experience with each of the performers: Poor Nameless Boy (SK), Altameda (AB), Port Cities (NS), The Wooden Sky (ON), William Prince (MB), Mo Kenney (NS) and Hannah Georgas (ON).
On Friday morning, Canadian delegates participated in the Meet the Canadians B2B session held at Myhotel for 2 hours of speed meeting sessions between the Canadian delegation and UK industry professionals.
The music continued into Friday afternoon with a showcase presented by Music Nova Scotia that featured East Coast acts Mo Kenney, Port Cities, Mauno and Like a Motorcycle. BreakOut West wrapped up another successful day of Canadian Blast showcases with performances from Youngblood (BC) and DGS Samurai Champs (SK).
On Saturday, the final day of Canada House, BreakOut West held their annual BBQ where attendees enjoyed Canadian food and an afternoon of performances from Altameda (AB), William Prince (MB), Poor Nameless Boy (SK), John K Samson (MB), Bad Pop (BC), Avulsions (SK), Hello Moth (AB), Youngblood (BC) and Royal Tusk (AB).
Many thanks go out to our Music Export Canada showcasing partners at Canada House – Alberta Music, BreakOut West, Manitoba Music, Music BC, Music Nova Scotia, MusicOntario, the Ontario Media Development Corporation and POP Montreal.
CIMA gratefully acknowledges and thanks our generous sponsors and partners Canadian Music Week (CMW), Corus Entertainment, the Foundation Assisting Canadian Talent on Recordings (FACTOR), the Government of Canada (through the Canada Music Fund), Harvard Broadcasting, Ontario Media Development Corporation (OMDC), the Radio Starmaker Fund and Stingray Music.