Jannetta Honoured for Royalty Fight
Patti Jannetta holds the Freedom for the Song Award, presented to her at last month’s SING! Vocal Arts Festival in Toronto. She’s flanked by John Harris, founder/president of the renowned music school Harris Institute, and Kathy Hahn, from the Canadian Independent Music Association.
Mississauga News, By Joseph Chin
MISSISSAUGA — Twenty-five years ago, Canadian songwriters were among the lowest paid in the world. The royalty they received from record companies was a fraction of what their counterparts in other countries got.
Fed up with living hand-to-mouth, a group of Canadian songwriters travelled to Ottawa to lobby the federal government. Their mission was to change an antiquated copyright law in effect since 1924. This law limited songwriters and their publishers to a two-cent royalty, split equally, for every recording sold. That compared to 11 cents in Switzerland, 10 cents in Japan, 9.7 cents in Germany, 6.7 cents in Australia and 6.2 cents in Britain. Even composers and publishers in then communist Hungary received 3.3 cents.
The group that went to Parliament Hill read like a “Who’s Who” of songwriters in Canada. It included Bryan Adams, David Foster, Burton Cummings, Tom Cochrane, Randy Bachman, Dan Hill, Jim Vallance, Ronnie Hawkins, Ian Thomas, Eddie Schwartz, The Good Brothers, Murray McLaughlin, The Mercey Brothers and Mississauga’s Patti Jannetta, who was the youngest and only female invited to go. The campaign was dubbed “Freedom for the Song.”
Jannetta recalls the excitement of travelling with such a distinguished group of songwriters and the private audience with Communications Minister Flora McDonald. She recalls the anxiety she felt when she was asked to speak at the press conference on behalf of young Canadian songwriters.
“I remember the bright lights, the hundreds of eyes watching me. I took a deep breath and spoke from the heart about our mission to right an unfair and archaic law that was negatively impacting all Canadian songwriters,” said the singer/songwriter.
“Later to see and hear the bill being discussed, debated and passed in parliament was both emotional and rewarding.”
Cummings also spoke at the press conference, and didn’t mince words.
“The reason I live and work in Los Angeles is that the U.S. rate is more than double what it is in Canada,” he said. “The pay rate for songwriters in Canada is a disgrace.”
Last month at the SING! Vocal Arts Festival in Toronto, of which she’s a founding director, Jannetta became the first to receive the Freedom for the Song Award, created to recognize the efforts of the group. All of the songwriters who travelled to Ottawa will receive this award over the next year.
Jannetta was presented with her award by John Harris, founder/president of the Harris Institute, a renowned Canadian music school.
“It was an overwhelming honour, and I was amazed by the outpouring of gratitude from other songwriters who were there,” said Jannetta.
Back in 1987, Jannetta was just making her mark in the songwriting industry. She went on to record three albums. All fared well domestically and earned her acceptance on an international level. A multiple Juno Award nominee, she toured the U.S., Asia and Europe, starred in her own CTV show and co-wrote and toured with many great music talents, including the legendary Bo Diddley. The pair co-wrote Make Up Your Mind which was released internationally and featured in the movie sound track of Meatballs III.
Currently, Jannetta is the entertainment chair for the Hospital for Sick Children’s Herbie Fund. Her song Healing Hands Changing Lives is the fund’s new anthem and will be released nationally this fall. She performs regularly with the Jannetta Band, and is in demand as an emcee, host and event manager.
To mark the 25th anniversary of the campaign that changed the copyright law, a book, Freedom for the Song, will be published later this year. It was written by Canadian Music Hall of Fame inductee Mel Shaw, who headed up and directed the campaign as director of the Copyright Change Committee. The book will document perspectives by industry participants, the artists and the songwriters who stepped up to be counted.
“I know after 25 years that it’s time for a true factual presentation to show what transpired to abolish the compulsory royalty law that brought Canada in line with royalties paid out to songwriters in other countries,” said Shaw.
