46 HEADLINER
CANADIAN In a world where record companies are fading fast, it speaks volumes that Canadian supergroup, Blue Rodeo, have been with the same label for 27 years. Headliner took a trip to the south of France to talk to the band’s frontman, Jim Cuddy, and fellow Canadian singer-songwriter Barney Bentall, about Canada’s evolving musical culture, as well as the pair’s work with Gold Medal Plates, an organisation which has helped pave a more fruitful path for Canadian Olympians. Blue Rodeo are now in their 30th year, and their musical journey began in the bars of Toronto; from there, they honed their craft, built a sizeable following, and began the evolution from bar band to one of Canada’s most loved country rock acts. The band have since sold millions of records, and were inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame at the 41st Juno Awards in April, 2012. Jim Cuddy and co. entered the music industry at a time when record sales were in the many millions, which has helped the band to forge a super-healthy relationship with their label, Warner Bros. - something that is, sadly, almost unthinkable today. “Things have certainly changed over the years, and our record deals have changed, but we’re now looking at a lifetime deal with Warner [Canada], which is great,” Cuddy
explains, as I take in the glorious view from the idyllic ‘Halifax House’ setting in Provence. “A lot of big bands have parted with their back catalogue, but we have a partnership deal with our label, so we were able to turn our success into that deal, so to speak. I can understand why people don’t want to enter into big agreements now, as labels can’t deliver what they could 20 years ago, but both Barney [Bentall] and I came into the business in the era of the biggest record sales ever, in the late ‘80s, when records were selling 20-30 million in the States, so to have a relationship with a label in those days was a great advantage.” Bentall had a different musical pathway. His band, The Legendary Hearts, signed to CBS (which became Sony) in 1987, but got caught in the crossfire further down the line. “I had a wonderful relationship with CBS,
but my manager, who I should add, brought more records to CBS Canada than anybody else, tried to get a new President fired, and it didn’t work,” Bentall smiles, acknowledging that, ‘sometimes these things happen’. “After that, my incredibly supportive record label became actively unsupportive in an instant which, I have to say, was very unfortunate timing. I don’t lose a lot of sleep over that now, and I’ve taken various twists and turns in finding my musical route, but I’ve always continued to make music.”
LOOSE CHANGE The industry has turned on its head since, and these days, Bentall suggests, the smart move is to play more live shows, which keeps you closer to the money trail. “In today’s industry, you’re going to have to