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The 2004 Juno Awards CD, featuring an assortment of homegrown acts from Nickelback and Nelly Furtado to newcomers Billy Talent, Michael Buble and Buck 65, hits stores today (March 2), a full month before the Canadian music awards ceremony takes place in Edmonton (April 4).
The 2003 Juno Awards compilation has sold 49,100 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan, and has "easily" raised $100,000 for music education in Canada, says Melanie Berry, president of the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences (CARAS), the organization behind the Juno Awards and Band-Aid charity.
All profits from the sale of the CD goes to CARAS's individual music scholarships and the Band-Aid program, which provides schools with musical instruments to help develop music education. The suggested-list-price for the CD is in the neighbourhood of $17.99.
"Given the fact that the CD is a charitable effort, we've really had a lot of luck in dealing with our print and broadcast partners, trying to get discounted space and cut rates for advertising, which has allowed us to further the exposure," says Universal Music Canada's marketing manager Paul Cormack.
"The general plan that I think EMI followed last year, that worked also this year, is hitting music consumers with the album release date, and that's your standard MuchMusic, MuchMoreMusic, radio promotion, and retail promotion, out of the gate. CTV has close-captioning billboards running, so that's teasing to a more mainstream audience, and then we have a bunch of print ads."
This go round, the CD contains three more songs than last year, now 18, and also features a bonus DVD, comprised of highlight performances from 2003's Juno Award ceremony in Ottawa-Gatineau. "It's been a discussion that's been ongoing to be able to have an value-added component," says CARAS's Berry. "Last year, the 2003 compilation did amazingly for the first year, pushing platinum, and we just thought we should add something else to it."
The annual Juno CD is a joint effort between all five major labels -- Universal Music Canada, BMG Music Canada, EMI Music Canada, Sony Music Canada and Warner Music Canada.
The track listing (see below) is determined by a committee of label representatives, which submit a list of artists that are up for consideration for various Juno nominations. Once the nominees have been announced, the master list is further negotiated.
Each year, a different major label handles the marketing and distribution of the album. In 2003, it was EMI. This year, it's Universal, followed by Warner, Sony, then BMG.
"The one thing that's fantastic is all the labels becoming equally involved in this package," says Universal Music Canada president and CEO Randy Lennox. "Of course the distributor changes each year, but we're all very engaged in the process. It is truly a collective effort."
Cormack says the Juno marketing committee has set up "a whole pile" of special promotions for the 2004 Juno Awards CD. "We've teamed up with Pharma Plus who will be carrying the CD this year and Bell Mobility is also going to work with us using the CD as a promotional item with sign up."
Based on a similar Universal initiative with American hip hop act Obie Trice, Cormack also devised the "Juno Awards Golden Ticket Sweepstakes," whereby a unique PIN code is found inside each CD, and can be keyed in online for a chance to win a trip to the 2005 Junos in Winnipeg, MB, and a Panasonic home theatre system.
There will conventional TV ads for the album running at end of March and beginning April. "The goal is to set up the album as a commercial piece that's available for people to buy and really ride the Juno Awards itself -- they had 2.2 million viewers last year," says Cormack. "And anyone who goes into a store will find Juno nominee bin cards and win stickers and the CD itself. It really will be inescapable."
The track listing for the 2004 Juno Awards CD:
Nickelback -- Someday
Nelly Furtado -- Powerless (Say What You Want)
Barenaked Ladies -- Another Postcard
Celine Dion -- I Drove All Night
Michael Buble -- Fever
Sarah McLachlan -- World On Fire
Our Lady Peace -- Innocent
Sam Roberts -- Where Have All The Good People Gone?
Three Days Grace -- (I Hate) Everything About You
Finger Eleven -- One Thing
Shawn Desman -- Shook
In Essence -- Friend of Mine
Buck 65 -- Wicked and Weird
Billy Talent -- Try Honesty
Hawksley Workman -- We Will Still Need A Song
Garou -- Reviens
Shaye -- Happy Baby
Shania Twain -- Forever and For Always
The DVD includes performances by:
Shania Twain -- Up!
Swollen Members -- Steppin' Thru
Remy Shand -- Liberate
Blue Rodeo -- Bullet Proof
Avril Lavigne -- Losing Grip
Shania Twain -- Forever and For Always
Tom Cochrane -- Big League/ Life is A Highway