“The Hill: A Documentary of the Edmonton Folk Music Festival” On Sale Soon
The Hill: A Documentary of the Edmonton Folk Music Festival is about to be released in DVD. Folk Films, a co-operative of Edmonton film makers, has spent a number of years capturing the essence of the Edmonton Folk Music Festival (EFMF) from main stage performances, workshops to backstage interviews with musicians and volunteers. They have documented the intimate nature of the festival that overtakes the city hillside for four days every summer where tens of thousands flock to hear the music and thousands more volunteer their time to be part of the magic. Principal photography is complete. The target date for premiere is late 2012. The finished production will be a high quality DVD with several special features. Blue Rodeo, Solomon Burke and Bill Bourne are just some of the over 30 artists to be highlighted. Read more 
Edmonton’s 91.7 FM The Bounce Celebrates 7th Anniversary with ‘Birthday Bash’ on March 22, 2012
Rogers Radio station 91.7 The Bounce, Edmonton, celebrates its seventh birthday this year in style, throwing a massive bash that showcases some of the world’s hottest acts in music. As announced earlier this week, tickets are on sale today for the 91.7 The Bounce Birthday Bash – an all-ages concert featuring international recording artists Pit Bull and Flo Rida. Throughout the weeks leading up to the event, listeners are encouraged to enter to win tickets through both on-air and online contests. The 91.7 The Bounce Birthday Bash takes place at Edmonton’s Rexall Place on Thursday, March 22 . Read more 
OMNI TV Alberta to Broadcast Zee Cine Awards on Sunday, February 19
OMNI Television celebrates the best in Indian film with the three-hour broadcast of the Zee Cine Awards 2012, Sunday, February 19 OMNI. 2, OMNI Alberta and OMNI BC. Hosted by Bollywood stars Shah Rukh Khan (My Name is Khan) and Priyanka Chopra (Rah.One), the awards ceremony is the most prestigious recognition in the Indian film industry. Known as the biggest viewer’s choice awards for South Asian cinema, the three-hour broadcast celebrates the meaningful contributions and ground-breaking performances from 2011. Read more 
Edmonton International Film Festival Presents the Oscar Nominated Short Films on Family Day
The Edmonton International Film Festival will present the nominees for Best Live Action Short Film and Best Animated Short Film at public screenings in the Princess Theatre on February 20. “Based on attendance and feedback from our immensely popular Lunchbox Shorts programme at the Edmonton International Film Festival, we know that our audiences adore bite-sized cinema!” says Kerrie Long, Festival Producer. “When was the last time you could admit (honestly) to seeing all of the Oscar Nominated Short Films? This could be your first. And, you get boasting rights to seeing ALL of the nominees in these categories, versus just a handful of films in every other category.” Read more 
CBC Launches CBC Music – Canada’s Free New Digital Music Service
CBC today launched CBC Music and the CBC Music App – a free new digital music service designed to connect Canadians to the music they love. With a choice of 40 different web radio stations, 14 distinct genre-based communities, and music from nearly 1,000 major and independent music companies, CBC Music provides listeners with access to the very best Canadian and International music. Featuring original content from the most knowledgeable and experienced music personalities and programmers from across the country, hundreds of concerts, features, blogs, playlists, and more, the new music service is a place for music lovers to explore, discover and connect with other music fans. Canadians can experience CBC Music now at cbcmusic.ca. Read more 
Khan Academy, Free Online Learning Resources for a World Class Education
The Khan Academy is an organization on a mission. They’re a not-for-profit with the goal of changing education for the better by providing a free world-class education to anyone anywhere. All of the site’s resources are available to anyone. It doesn’t matter if you are a student, teacher, home-schooler, principal, adult returning to the classroom after 20 years, or a friendly alien just trying to get a leg up in earthly biology. The Khan Academy’s materials and resources are available to you completely free of charge thanks to the support of Bill Gates and other philanthropists. While some of the videos are required viewing for rocket scientists, the site has other learning resources in Art History, World History and even videos to help improve SAT scores. Check it out at www.khanacademy.org.
Pinterest Hits 10 Millions Monthly Uniques Faster Than Any Standalone Site Ever
It’s beautiful, it’s addictive, and now Pinterest is having its glorious hockey stick moment. TechCrunch has attained exclusive data from comScore showing Pinterest just hit 11.7 million unique monthly U.S. visitors, crossing the 10 million mark faster than any other standalone site in history. In fact, users are spending so much time sharing their favorite images that now only Facebook and Tumblr have more social media time on site than Pinterest. Who’s propelling its rise? 18-34 year old upper income women from the American heartland. See the rest of the report on Pinterest on TechCrunch.com.
Nominees for 2012 Juno Awards Announced
The nominees for the 2012 JUNO Awards were announced by The Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences in Toronto this morning, as top Canadian artists now gear up for JUNO Week, March 26-April 1 in Ottawa. It was also revealed that Canadian icon William Shatner will host The 2012 JUNO Awards Broadcast, airing live on CTV the evening of Sunday, April 1 from Scotiabank Place. 2012 JUNO Award nominees Hedley and Nickelback were added to the lineup of performers for the broadcast, bringing the total number of performers announced so far to six. They will join 2012 Canadian Music Hall of Fame inductees Blue Rodeo and 2012 JUNO Award nominees City and Colour, deadmau5 and Feist onstage at this year’s show. More performers will be announced in the coming weeks! Read more 
CRTC to Hear Applications for New Calgary Radio Stations in Calgary on February 6, 2012
On Monday, February 6, the CRTC will hold public hearings on fourteen applications for new radio station licences in Calgary. Five applications are proposing an ethnic format, four for FM licences and one for an AM licence. Bell Media is proposing a Rythmic Contemporary Hit format, Clear Sky out of Lethbridge is proposing a 90s Country format, Saskatchewan-ased Harvard Broadcasting an Adult Contemorary format, Saskatchewan-based Rawlco a Hit Music format, and BC-based Jim Pattison an Adult Alternative format. Hearings typically take three or four days and the public is invited to attend. They also provide a live feed of the hearings at www.crtc.gc.ca. Read more 
Golden West Broadcasting to Launch Fort Saskatchewan’s First Radio Station
The Canadian Radio and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) gave its approval on January 10, 2012 to an application by Golden West Broadcasting to operate an FM station in Fort Saskatchewan broadcasting on the 107.9 Mhz bandwidth with a format of classic hits, classic rock. Lyndon Friesen, Golden West president, said the decision will allow the company to firm up its plans with a view to hitting the airwaves in about a year’s time. We are delighted and excited with this decision,” he said. “There’s always a question as to whether or not you’ll be allowed to proceed, but we are delighted the commission agreed with us that Fort Saskatchewan is its own unique community and we look forward to being heavily involved in the community.”
Shaw Media, Astral and CBC Launch New On-demand Digital Music Services in Canada
Online platforms that allow users to discover and share new music, and create new business opportunities for advertisers, are seen as a growth market by broadcasters and music publishers alike, reported Mediacaster Magazine today. Canadian Music Week sponsor Slacker, as well as Rdio, Spotify, Pandora and Jango are just a few of the unaffiliated new streaming music services available in Canada; now, leading broadcasters are joining the game and launching their own music brands online. Astral Radio is leading the way among radio broadcasters in Canada with confirmation of its plans to launch a new on-demand music and music video streaming service. CBC has already announced its plans for the launch of a new digital music service, with online programming and on-demand services, based on recent agreements AVLA, the International Audio-Video Licensing Agency. Shaw Media recently made its own online music announcement, as well. Read more 
2012 JUNO Award Nominations to be Announced on February 7 Live on CP24, CTV News Channel, CTV.ca and Bell Mobile TV
Bell Media brings Canadians exclusive live coverage of the 2012 JUNO AWARDS nominee press conference on Tuesday, February 7. The nominations will be announced live from the Design Exchange in Toronto, ON at 10:35 a.m. ET on CP24 and CTV News Channel, as well as on smartphones, superphones and tablets with Bell Mobile TV, subject to breaking news coverage. The press conference is available in its entirety on CTV.ca. The Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS) will announce this year’s nominations and, jointly with CTV, reveal additional artists to perform during CTV’s live broadcast of THE 2012 JUNO AWARDS. Already announced to perform on THE 2012 JUNO AWARDS broadcast are 2012 Canadian Music Hall of Fame inductees Blue Rodeo and JUNO Award–winning artists City and Colour, deadmau5 and Feist. THE 2012 JUNO AWARDS airs live on Sunday, April 1, 2012 from Scotiabank Place in Ottawa on CTV and CTV Mobile.





Marilyn
Jones is a corporate and social media advocate for individuals, small businesses
and nonprofit organizations in Alberta. She lives in Edmonton, Alberta,
Canada and is the proprietor of RiverCity Productions. You can contact her
by phone at 780-695-5675 or by email at marilyn@mediamag.ca.