Story by Christopher Taylor Jones | Monday November 12th, 2018
Building a music publishing company from the ground up is no mean feat, especially without deep, deep pockets. But that hasn’t stopped Jodie Ferneyhough from forging ahead with CCS Rights Management, a company that looks beyond publishing to include the collection and distribution of neighbouring rights income on behalf of its artist/writers. Managing estate rights is another specialty.
Ferneyhough has been building his business for seven years, following his departure from Universal Music Publishing Canada, where he was Managing Director. It’s been a slow build, but Ferneyhough has steadily added songwriter/artists and staff.
The Rights Stuff: New Signings for CCS
Most recently, CCS has signed Canadian blues/rock champ Colin James, former Great Big Sea star Sean McCann, and producer/songwriter Gavin Brown. Notable Western Canadian signings include Saskatoon’s League of Wolves and Vancouver’s Yukon Blonde.
“Our goal at CCS is to consider the artist, not just the songwriter,” says Ferneyhough, “I’m a music publisher, that’s who I am. But the company is steeped in the collection, administration, and distribution of earnings due to our artists, as well as writers. The focus of the company is to be a very strong rights manager.
“Neighbouring rights, for instance, are typically left to management, or to the artist themselves to collect,” continues Ferneyhough, “but it’s something that often slips through a crack. I’ve had a number of artists say they take care of their own rights, and I really don’t know how they do it – because I do this full-time, and it gives me a headache on a daily basis! There’s a lot to know, because there are so many moving parts, and changes in territories around the world. It’s my job to protect your asset, so you can focus on creating and performing.”
So how does a small operation like CCS compete with industry giants like Universal, and big indies like peermusic, both of which Ferneyhough has worked for in the past?
“It’s tough,” he says. “It’s really, really tough. There’s a company in the world now that everybody seems to think is magic, and wants to sign with this magic company, and it frustrates the hell out of me.
“One reason artists and writers sign with us is because we’re not a monolith, and we don’t make promises we can’t deliver on. We hold our artists’ hands, we sit down with them regularly, and find out what they need, what their goals are. We’re focused on trying to help them achieve their goals, and introduce them to people in the business who can help take them to the next level.”
“We hold our artists’ hands, we sit down with them regularly, and find out what they need, what their goals are.”
CCS has also landed some significant TV clients like Spin Master Ltd., which produces the wildly successful PAW Patrol, as well as Little Charmers, Tenkai Knights and Hatchimals. To help expand and enhance the company’s work in film and TV is the newest addition to the CCS staff, Synch Manager Sarah Keith.
Ferneyhough has also been travelling, building a network of international sub-publishers in the U.K., Benelux countries, Chile, Brazil, Italy, Spain, and Greece, among others. The CCS President sits on the board of the Canadian Music Publishers Association (CMPA), and on the board of the International Confederation of Music Publishers (ICMP).
“We’re a close-knit bunch,” says Ferneyhough of his fellow music publishers. “We’re obviously competitors, and we keep our cards close to our chests, but we’re friendly. I need their writers, and they need mine, for co-writes, etc.
“The way forward for us is to keep doing what we’ve been doing, taking excellent care of our writers and artists,” says Ferneyhough. “We’re looking now for more established artists who are looking for new opportunities because they’re unhappy with where they’re at. We’ve been cute for the last five or six years, and we’re ready to move up, to bring in more artists, to expand.
“Every copyright means something to us, and as we bring in more rights we’ll bring in more people, and grow the company that way.”
Photo by Laurence Labat
Renée Martel: Choosing a New Season to Start Over
Story by Élise Jetté | Tuesday November 13th, 2018
A quick search will reveal that L’arrière-saison is a novel, a red wine, and a colloquialism that refers to new beginnings. For Renée Martel, whose career is 65 years deep, L’arrière-saison marks the end of one thing and the beginning of another.
“It’s a fitting title for the album, as much about my career as my personal life,” says Martel artist. “One thing ends and another one begins. I feel like I’ve done so much in my 65 years of professional life, but today I feel as if I still have just as much to accomplish yet.”
Didier Barbelivien and Paul Daraîche contributed their talent to this album – one that’s found at a very precise crossroads on Renée Martel’s timeline. She’s got so many more stories to tell, despite everything that’s behind her. There are numerous collaborations, and young Sonia Cordeau even wrote the lyrics of the album’s last song, “Plus jamais mais toujours.” “This album contains some songs that were suggested by my artistic director, Lionel Lavault,” says Martel. “Writers whose work I’ve never sung before, but shoe songs I loved. There are also writers that I love to sing, and always do – like Nelson Minville, my go-to writer.”
All collaborations imply a certain degree of adjustment since, obviously, it’s hard to sing something that doesn’t feel authentic. “Martine Pratte wrote a song for me that was outside of my comfort zone [‘Où le vent soufflera’].
Nelson Minville: Martel’s Muse, in Writing
Nelson Minville writes in bespoke fashion for everyone he writes for. “Sometimes it’s just luck, and knowing the person,” he says, explaining that he often feels completely invested in the universe of the person for whom he’s writing. “When I’m writing for someone, I write for that person and never for myself. It’s not like I write a song and then pitch it around. I Google Renée Martel frequently,” he says, laughing. “She does a lot of interviews, whether it’s in Le Devoir or 7 Jours [a highbrow daily newspaper, and a gossip weekly, respectively, in Québec]. She has quite a pool of beautiful and not so beautiful stories to tell. I tap into everything I think she won’t mind singing about.” An honest and intimate relationship has developed between the two artists and Minville might write eight songs that don’t cut it before finally writing the one Martel will pick. “I once referred to the song ‘Liverpool’ [a song Renée Martel sang in 1967] in a song I wrote recently. She told me that was a song she didn’t want to be reminded of, that she didn’t want to go there.” On her album titled La fille de son père [Daddy’s Daughter, 2014], Minville wrote the title song, and that’s what cemented his relationship with the singer. “It’s the best I’ve done,” he says. “The title came to me in a flash as I was gardening. The song just wrote itself after that.”
It’s something no one would expect me to sing, but I did it anyway, because it felt like a challenge I had to face. That’s the glory of what I do; taking what I’m offered, and making it mine. You can’t make just anybody say whatever you want to!”
Launched on Nov. 2, 2018, this album is something of an assessment, a moment that encompasses everything, a reminiscence, and a commemoration. “I feel this album aptly summarizes my whole life, and they’re all songs I could not have sung 25 years ago,” says Martel. “You can hear what I’ve been through.” During the development process, she listened to countless melodies, and read just as many lyrics. She wanted to make sure that every collaborator would come up with the right words at the right moment. “When I sing, I don’t want people to go, ‘Ah, she’s singing such-and-such writer,’” says Martel. “I want them to feel that I’m the one telling them something. I’m the one saying those things.”
Picking songs written by others is never a straight and smooth road. Mistakes are sometimes made. “There’s an album, Réflexions [1974], that I recorded way too early in my life. It was a marvellous album, but I sang about Marcel Lefebvre heartbreak,” she says, laughing. “He was going through a rough breakup. I sang lyrics that I’d never experienced. In hindsight, today, I would grab that opportunity to sing about my heartbreaks!” she says, amused.
During the last SOCAN Awards Gala in Montréal, Martel received the Lifetime Achievement Award which was presented by her daughter Laurence. “It was such a moving moment,” says Martel, visibly moved. “I was never nominated for the Female Singer of the Year award at ADISQ and I never complained about it; I didn’t get that Félix award, but I got so much more over the years. I take this homage from SOCAN as one of those recognitions that make you feel good, and confirms a lot of things.”
Next March, Martel will undertake a tour that will offer a historical tale of a show, where she’s the only hero. “It’s me, from beginning to end,” she says. “From my teens to this day, everything that left a mark,” says the Grand Dame of Country.
“So much,” Renée says when asked what she has left to accomplish. “I’m so not done yet. I have so many projects. I never really sang in English Canada, and I know I’m popular in Calgary; I once hosted a show for Radio-Canada there, and it was madness. French Canada knows me well already, and I’d like to tap that over there.”
Renée Martel has more than 70 years of life experience that colour her music, and she believes it’s incredibly enriching. “I’ve come a long way,” she says. “That’s something one can say at my age. After all, I’ve been through in life, I hope to keep speaking to people. I was their daughter, their girlfriend, their daughter-in-law. Some even wanted me to be their wife. Now I’m their granny, and it’s just right.”
Photo by Malina Corpadean
Marie-Mai: A no-holds-barred interview
Story by Olivier Robillard Laveaux | Wednesday November 7th, 2018
The last time Marie-Mai was on the cover of Words & Music, she posed with her musical and life partner, Fred St-Gelais. The title of that story? Hand in Hand in Hand in Hand. It goes to show how deep a hole was left in her career after their break-up in January of 2016. As if that wasn’t enough, Marie-Mai also severed her ties with her management team (Productions J) and her record label (Musicor). Literally overnight, she lost the three pillars of her career that had been with her from the start. So alone, without a huge machine behind her, the singer healed herself, to release her sixth album this week, Elle et moi. Here’s our no-holds-barred interview with her.
This is the very first interview you’ve given since you wiped your slate clean. The first of a long series of interviews to coincide with the release of Elle et moi. What do you expect from the new promotional cycle? I’m still pondering what I’m going to say, and how. Elle et moi is an incredibly personal album from beginning to end. Definitely my most personal album ever. I’ve never devoted an entire album to a period of my life as I just did. This record is like my diary while I was going through all of this turmoil. I had a lot to say, chaotic things as well as beautiful things. I also felt the need to let people know my side of what I went through. People imagined what situation I was in, based on what leaked in the media. I needed to tell my version of it. This record is an open window on my life during these last few years. Each song reveals a little more about me, and I know people will have questions after listening to them. Did she really do that? Did she really feel that way? I still don’t know what I’m going to say during interviews, where I’m going to place the limits.
Your album opens right at the core of everything with the first single, “Empire. You sing, “Jamais été aussi bas, jamais vu ma vie sans toi” (“I’ve never been so low, never saw my life without you”), before moving on to the chorus: “J’ai un empire à reconstruire” (I’ve got an empire to rebuild”). How demolished were you by the events?
“Empire” is the first song I wrote for this album. Every single insecurity I felt is in that song. I no longer had a record label, since my contract ended when M came out in 2014. The contract with my management team was also about to expire. I was facing nothingness. And I had to go in a studio without Fred for the first time. I was scared. I was questioning whether I actually was a bona fide songwriter. I worked the same way for 11 years. All that turmoil made me compromise my self-confidence. Without Fred, without my fans, without a stage, without a team around me… I felt friggin’ small.
You and Fred intertwined love and work for more than 11 years. Toward the end, knowing his absence would have a deep impact on your career, did Marie-Mai the artist try to convince Marie-Mai the lover to save your relationship? Music was central in our lives, but it wasn’t at the core of our relationship. When everything was fine, we always said we’d keep making music together even if we split up as a couple. That’s easy to say when everything is fine, and you’re going 180 miles per hour. What with recording albums, collaborating with other artists, touring, and showing up in the media, you don’t have time to think about that stuff. You’re under the illusion that everything’s fine. I was 18 when I met Fred. I’m 30 now. At a certain point, I wondered who I really was, and whether what I was doing was aligned with the woman I’d become. It’s as if living in a suitcase for so long made me forget where I belonged. But life goes on. I’ve moved on. Fred too. He has a gorgeous girlfriend and, besides, I don’t want to be constantly talking about him. This whole situation is a bit unfair for Fred, since I’m the one being interviewed. We spoke recently. I told him I would stop publicly addressing the couple we used to be out of respect for him. But I will always praise him and give him all the credit he deserves. Before I met him, I wrote poems in my daily planner. I didn’t even know I could write songs.
How about musically? How has his departure changed the composition for this new album? Fred and I were a good team because we came from totally different universes. He was always a rock dude, and I was a pop dudette. I liked Green Day and Blink 182, but I’m a pop girl from the tip of my hair to my tippy toes. So removing Fred from the equation means removing the guitars. That’s the main difference. It’s not better or worse, it’s different. But you know, many times during the composition process, I would wonder: “What would Fred do?” He helped me with my lyrics as well as my melodies. I tend to over-complicate melodies. Fred would work with me to simplify them and make them more efficient.
You also had the opportunity to work with new collaborators in the studio. How did you go about choosing them? I went to L.A. for a writing session. I wanted to flex my songwriting muscles, which were going a little soft after being unused for so long. Cut off from the outside world, far from my daily reality, I wrote without any pressure. One day, I was paired with a British composer, Oliver Som [who’s co-written with James Blunt and Robbie Williams]. We wrote an excellent song for another artist. We clicked. We quickly found a chemistry that was very similar to the one I had with Fred. It made me feel really good. I understood I could find my bearings again with another composer. Then we didn’t talk for about a year. When I was ready to go back in the studio, he came to Québec and we made the album together.
How much do you need a composer/producer to work with you? When I’m writing, I need someone of whim I can bounce ideas. Send in demos, get his feedback, improve the song. I often start with a beat, onto which I can hang a melody. I needed Oliver to flesh out my songs and challenge me. That’s how I work. My boyfriend, David Laflèche, stepped in toward the end to improve the mix.
Throughout this whole creative process, did you think about the Marie-Mai sound? How do you see it, in 2018? Do you listen to what Katy Perry or Taylor Swift are doing, for example? I never wrote music thinking about what others were doing. My mix of rock and pop was never even close to what Katy Perry might do. This record is no different. I like the Euro pop of Robyn, but I can’t say that there are singers that inspire me, musically. I admit Katy Perry has some good songs, but you’ll never hear me say, “We must do something like Katy did.” In the end, when I listen to this new album, I believe it sounds like me. The words are the same, the melodies are similar. People will recognize my signature sound. It’s my strength, my universe. I wrote this record to regain my self-confidence.
When did you find your self-confidence? Gradually, every time I would finish a new song. When I get to that place, anything that makes me feel insecure vanishes. When you’re stripped of what defines you as a person, you lose your senses. I found mine back one song at a time, and even more so when I was in the studio with Oliver. It felt like things were happening, like nothing had stopped. That’s when I understood that my career wasn’t over, it was just paused. That’s what I sing about on “Exister.” From that point on, every step forward brought me closer to who I am today. I want to keep doing what I do, to inspire people through my lyrics. And I think I can touch them with such a personal album. We all go through periods of self-doubt and existential crises, for different reasons. I had to go through it to learn, and go forward.
What did you learn? To be myself. Learning to live with the duality between the Marie-Mai everyone knows and Marie-Mai Bouchard, the woman nobody knows. Marie-Mai is like a concrete pillar. Marie-Mai is not allowed to feel insecure when she sings at the Bell Centre, at the Stade de France with Johnny Hallyday, or at the Olympic Games ceremony. But for Bouchard, it’s the opposite. She’s shy and insecure. She goes through a ton of emotions. That’s what the song “Elle et moi” is about. For a very long time, I was convinced I couldn’t be both. Marie-Mai took over Bouchard. The only side of me people know is Marie-Mai. And that star system creates a whole bunch of falsehoods. I let too many people say stuff about me that wasn’t true, and that won’t happen anymore.
Like what? I read somewhere that I was a diva. That is so not true. And I wouldn’t react because Marie-Mai was beyond that. When Bouchard had an opinion on something, Marie-Mai wouldn’t share it, just to avoid upsetting part of her audience. The thing is, I don’t have to be some kind of ever-smiling and kind wonder woman. Tons of people told me what to do, or what to say. Now, I put my foot down. I just got back from taping The Launch in Toronto, a music show on CTV where I’m a judge. I can guarantee you that the people there saw a woman who’s at ease with herself, and not afraid to speak her mind.
Is that why you decided to change your management team and record label? Prod J really was the best team for me in those early years. I needed a team that would propel the boat as fast as I wanted it. And yes, they protected my output. It’s normal, too, they controlled my image, they wanted it to be big. The main reason I left was artistic. I need 20 people at the table to take my projects to fruition. Prod J no longer had the staff required. As far as Musicor is concerned, that’s a more delicate subject. It’s not easy, because I know my departure will have consequences in the media, but I take responsibility. It’s what I wanted for my personal growth.
You mean that by leaving Musicor, which is owned by Quebecor, you will no longer benefit from the convergence of all of the holding’s media outlets? I’m not complaining. There’s worse than that in life, but that remains a fact. Nowadays, the only time the Journal de Montréal will mention me is when they comment on some of my tweets. They know I’m good for clicks. But I’m not angry. Other doors are opening. I’m going to be on Tout le monde en parle. I’m on The Launch [which airs in early 2019]. I refuse to let my choices be dictated by the possible media consequences. I need to feel my heart is in the right place.
That’s much to your credit. Thank you for being so frank. The operative word is transparency.
A quick search will reveal that 
I once hosted a show for Radio-Canada there, and it was madness. French Canada knows me well already, and I’d like to tap that over there.”
This is the very first interview you’ve given since you wiped your slate clean. The first of a long series of interviews to coincide with the release of Elle et moi. What do you expect from the new promotional cycle?
You also had the opportunity to work with new collaborators in the studio. How did you go about choosing them?