Canadian Music Week is being reimagined as an event called Departure
After more than 40 years (est. 1982), Neill Dixson, the founder of Canadian Music Week, has sold the conference to a two-company consortium. From now on, CMW will be run by Loft Entertainment and Oak View Group. Naturally, the new owners have some ideas of where they want to take things.
At an event at the X Hotel in Toronto yesterday (November 12), Loft/Oak View revealed that the new name (or at least it’s sub-name) will be Departure with the first event set for May 6-11, 2025.
Here are the preliminaries.
- HQ for the festival and conference will be the X Hotel on the grounds of Exhibition Place.
- The music and radio portions (specifically Radiodays North America) of the conference will remain, although probably in enhanced forms.
- Plans are to add comedy, culinary events, technology, film, and fashion to Departure over the next few years as things grow and evolve.
- There will be a new festival app to keep track of things and a new “digital infrastructure.”
- Artists wishing to perform can apply starting November 22. There will be no application fees plus there will be paid honorariums for showcase performers.
From left to right: Jackie Dean, Chief Operating Officer of Loft Entertainment; Tom Pistore President of OVG Canada; Kevin Barton, Executive Producer, Loft Entertainment and Randy Lennox, co-founder and CEO of Loft Entertainment
Photo credit: George Pimentel for Departure
