Canadian Musician - January / February 2020 | Page 17

Downchild Blues Band’s “I’ve Got
Everything I Need (Almost)”
Inducted into Canadian
Songwriters Hall of Fame
The first Canadian blues recording ever
to go gold, “I’ve Got Everything I Need
(Almost),” written by the Downchild Blues
Band’s leader and co-founder, Don Walsh,
was inducted into the Canadian Songwrit-
ers Hall of Fame (CSHF) at the National Arts
Centre in Ottawa on Nov. 29, 2019.
Downchild first released “I’ve Got Ev-
erything I Need (Almost)” on their Straight
Up album in 1973. Their label, GRT, later
remixed the cut in 1974 as a 45-rpm single
titled “Almost.” With its combination of
“jump” and Chicago blues, it quickly be-
came a favourite of radio stations in March
1974. The song skyrocketed to international
fame when it was covered by The Blues
Brothers’ Dan Aykroyd and the late Jon
Belushi in 1978.
For more information, go to www.cshf.ca.
Nominees Revealed for 15 th
Canadian Folk Music Awards
The Canadian Folk Music Awards (CFMAs) has
announced the nominees for its 15 th edition,
with 105 nominees from all regions of the
country across 19 categories celebrating the
best of Canadian folk and roots music in 2019.
The awards will be handed out on April 3 rd and
4 th , 2020, in Charlottetown, PE at the Awards
ANDREA BETTGER AT THE CFMAS
Weekend Concerts. New for this year, in order
to recognize more outstanding albums and performers in higher-subscribed categories, the
CFMAs expanded the number of nominees in the Contemporary Album of the Year, New/
Emerging Artist of the Year, Solo Artist of the Year, and English Songwriter(s) of the Year
categories.
Among the top nominees are: The Small Glories with four nominations (Contemporary
Album, Vocal Group, Ensemble, and English Songwriter of the Year); Dave Gunning, also with four
nominations (Contemporary Album, Contemporary Singer, Solo Artist, and English Songwriter
of the Year); Jenn Grant with three nominations (Contemporary Album, Contemporary Singer,
and Solo Artist of the Year); and Ben Caplan with three nominations (Oliver Schroder Pushing the
Boundaries Award, English Songwriters of the Year, and World Solo Artist of the Year).
For more information and a full list of nominees, go to www.folkawards.ca.
Mariel Buckley Wins Project WILD’s
$100K Grand Prize
In early December, Alberta Music and radio
station WILD 953 revealed the top three award
recipients for the 2019 edition of Project WILD.
Following a week-long boot camp, a series
of showcase performances, charity challenges,
and public voting, the winners and their re-
spective prize amounts are: first place, Mariel
Buckley ($100,953); second place, Mariya
Stokes ($75,000); and third place, Blake Reid Band ($50,000).
Created in hopes of fostering the Alberta music industry and creating a sense of community
among artists and industry professionals, Project WILD has played a role in launching the careers
of many local artists including previous finalists The Dungarees, Brad Saunders, The Prairie States,
Sykamore, Nice Horse, Ryan Langois, Ken Stead, Tanya Ryan, and Leaving Thomas.
For more information, go to www.projectwildcountry.com.
Canadian Musician surveyed musicians across the country to find out how 2019 was
for their music careers, and what they expect for 2020. Of our respondents, 42% are
amateur musicians, 30% are semi-professional musicians, and 28% are professional
musicians. Here are the results…
In 2019, what percentage of your
annual income was generated by
music and music-related work?
28%
44%
3%
11%
14%
None
1-25%
26-50%
51-75%
76-100%
In 2019, only 4% released music via a
label, while 19% released music via a
digital distributor & 18% self-released
music. 67% have never received roy-
alties from streaming. Of those that
do, 29% say their royalties increased
in 2018, while 66% saw no or little
change & 8% say their streaming
royalties decreased
How many paid shows did you perform
in 2019?
41%
39%
9%
10%
4%
3%
None
1-10
11-20
21-40
41-60
60+
NEW YEAR
CAREER
SURVEY
In 2020, do you expect your music-
related income to:
22%
32%
42%
2%
3%
Increase significantly
Increase slightly
Stay about the same
Decrease slightly
Decrease significantly
For full survey results, please visit:
www.canadianmusician.com
CANADIAN MUSICIAN 17
AND THE
AWARD
GOES TO...