Month: October 2014

1916 MGMT, Nettwerk and Black Box Brings the Best International Songwriters and Producers to the First Annual Merge Songwriting Camp to Collaborate with Successful Canadian Talent

October 15, 2014
TORONTO, ON (Tuesday, October 14, 2014) – 1916 MGMT, Nettwerk One Music and Black Box Music host the first annual Merge Songwriting Camp to showcase some of the most successful international songwriters and producers from around the world (including Monsters & Strangerz, Jason Evigan and Chantal Kreviazuk).
The Merge Songwriting Camp vision is to showcase and provide Canadian talent with the opportunity to collaborate with the world’s best in a week of writing sessions guided by major record executives (including Atlantic Records, Interscope Records and Capitol Records UK). The invite only sessions will be held fromOctober 19 -25, at Revolution Recording in Toronto (36 Laing Street) with workshops running from 12:30 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. – 12:30 a.m. daily.

Music executives from various top worldwide music labels will be offering their expertise to writers and producers who were exclusively chosen to participate in the Merge Songwriting Camp. Each day the writers and producers will be given writing tasks via video conference calls with music executives to discuss label priorities and what major artist(s) they will be crafting for each day.

The writers and producers from the United States attending include:
  • Monsters and Strangerz who have written and produced hit songs such as “Tonight I’m getting over you” by Carly Rae Jepson, “No Love Allowed” by Rihanna, and “It was always you” by Maroon 5.
  • Jason Evigan who wrote and produced, “ Heart Attack” by Demi Lovato and “Talk Dirty” by Jason Derulo.
  • Ian Kirkpatrick will be there who produced the hit song “Animal” by Neon Trees.
  • Chloe  Angelides who wrote, “Burning Up” by Jessie J featuring 2chainz.
  • Xplicit who wrote, “Clique” by Kanye West.
  • Sean Douglas who wrote, “Wiggle” by Jason Derulo.
  • Taylor Parks who wrote “Boss” by X Factor winners Fifth Harmony.
  • Sterling Fox who wrote and produced the radio hit “Stereo hearts” by Gym Class Heroes.
Writers from the United Kingdom include:
  • Adam Baptiste who wrote “Walking on Air” by Katy Perry.
  • Talay Riley who wrote, “Bounce” by Iggy Azalea.
Canadian writers and producers attending the workshop include:
  • Jordan Evans who produced the song “Pound Cake” by Drake.
  • Matthew Burnett who produced Eminem’s track “Not Afraid”.
  • Simon Wilcox who wrote the single “Jealous” by Nick Jonas.
  • Chantal Kreviazuk who wrote “Rich Girl” by Gwen Stefani.
  • xSDTRK who wrote and produced “Sweet Talker” by Jessie J
  • Stephen Kozmeniuk who produced “MDNA” by Madonna.
From Australia, producer Tushar Ap who produced “Heavy” by PJ Morton & Adam Levine, and writer and lead singer of Sick Puppies Shimon Moore.
 
The confirmed executives that will be attending this workshop/and or videoconferencing include: Craig Kallman, Chairman/CEO of Atlantic Records, John Janick, Chairman/CEO of Interscope Records, Keith Naftaly, Executive Vice President & Head of A&R, Jason Flom, CEO Lava Records, Avery Lipman- President/COO Republic Records, Nick Raphael, President Capitol Records UK, Ted Cockl, President Virgin UK, Ferdy Unger Hamilton, President Polydor UK, Colin Barlow, President RCA UK, Ben Cook- President Atlantic UK.
 
About 1916 Enterprises: 
1916 Enterprises  is an innovative multi-media entertainment company aimed at helping creative individuals and entrepreneurs to build their careers and businesses.
1916 was founded by entrepreneurs Lex Borrero and Jonathan Gordon in early 2013. The Los Angeles based company has over 15 years of experience in writer/producer management and music publishing. Their clients have sold over 100 million records and have worked with acts such as Rihanna, Kanye West, Maroon 5, JLO, Selena Gomez, Demi Lovato, Big Sean, T.I, Lana Del Ray, Avicii and many more. www.1916mgmt.com.

About Nettwerk One Music:
Nettwerk One Music is a proactive, international multi-faceted music publishing company. Our goal is to develop and promote high calibre songwriters by seeking as many opportunities as possible in order to expose their work to the world.http://www.nettwerk.com.
 
About Black Box Music: 
Black Box Music is home to a diverse roster of recording artists including multi-Platinum sellers, Juno Award winners & Polaris Short-List nominees such Classified, The Glorious Sons, Shad, SonReal & Northcote. The company’s interests include a record label, management firm and most recently has expanded to include a publishing operation. With multiple international placements, and three top-5 radio singles within the last year, Black Box Music is representing next wave of great artists, songwriters and producers. http://weareblackbox.com.
 

                                                – 30 –
October 10, 2014

LOL…too true

Nuit Blanche 2014 Lights up Toronto Streets

October 7, 2014

The Toronto arts festival sponsored by Scotia Bank took over downtown Toronto on Saturday October, 4 2014 starting at sundown.  The weather was chilly but hundreds of people came out to see the 130 installations which included performance events, art showings, and much more. Nuit Blanche has been held in the city since 2006. The city said the annual art event had an economic impact of $39.5 million last year and attracted 190,000 visitors to Toronto.

There were definitely a few stand-out art installations that were not to be missed at Nuit Blanche 2014. “Walk Among Worlds” was a piece by Maximo Gonzalez which consisted of 7,000 beach balls that were sprouting out in clusters to resemble the tissue of the human lungs. This piece was not only amazing for spectators to see due to its sheer size, but it also made people think critically, because the beach balls were divided into three sizes which represented the difference in global economies. 

Another piece that was worth a visit at Nuit Blanche was “Holoscenes”. Taking place at Ripley’s Aquarium, performers were captivating to watch as they did every day chores and activities in water tanks as if they were on dry land. This was somewhat of a commentary on how mundane everyday life is, but in an artistic way which was fascinating for the audience.

Nuit Blanche is an annual event in the city of Toronto where art enthusiasts, party goers and anyone that wants to experience something new and cultural in Toronto can take part in. It is a feel-good time with thought provoking pieces, and large art installations that are stunning to see. There were food trucks available serving people after hours. In addition, Toronto transportation such as TTC extended their service hours to accommodate Nuit Blanche, and extra trains were added on GO Transit so everyone could still get home after the event. All in all Nuit Blanche is an amazing event for anyone living in or visiting Toronto to experience something new and exciting.

Holt Renfrew Sets to Unveil New Menswear-Only Store in Toronto

October 1, 2014
Luxury Brand Holt Renfrew sets to open a brand new menswear- only store in Toronto. The Canadian retail giant is set to open Holt Renfrew Men in downtown Toronto on Wednesday October 1. The luxurious two level location is located right near Holt Renfrew’s Bloor Street location, and the expansion aims to increase the stores network by 40%.
 
President of Holt Renfrew Mark Derbyshire says the addition of the men’s store is part of their growth plan to change the way people shop, and make the shopping experience a more luxurious one, and
leave customers feeling at ease. Derbyshire adds that the new menswear-only store will decrease the feeling of separate designer shops
within the store, and the items will be presented in a more natural setting which reflects how customers wear clothes in the real world.
 
Holt Renfrew has announced plans for additional updates to their stores in Vancouver, Calgary and Toronto to be complete by 2017. In addition, there will be new stores unveiled in Montreal and Mississauga, Ont. coming in the near future.
 
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