Terry Mcbride and John Brunton to be Inducted into The Canadian Music Industry Hall Of Fame and Honoured With Lifetime Achievement Award Thursday, March 6, 2008 at Rogers Wireless Canadian Music Week

Rogers Wireless Canadian Music Week is proud to announce Terry McBride and John Brunton as the newest inductees to the Canadian Music Industry Hall of Fame. They will be awarded with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Annual Gala Industry Awards, Thursday March 6th at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel, Toronto.

These awards are presented to honour individuals and organizations that have made a significant contribution to the Canadian music industry throughout their careers.

Terry McBride is the CEO and one of three founders of the Nettwerk Music Group, which includes Nettwerk Productions (Canada’s largest independent record label), Nettwerk Management (artist, DJ and producer management), Nettwerk One (publishing) and Artwerks (graphic and fashion design). Founded in Terry's apartment in 1984, Nettwerk now has major corporate offices in Vancouver, New York, London, Boston, Nashville, Hamburg and Los Angeles. Nettwerk Management exclusive clients include such artists as Avril Lavigne, Barenaked Ladies, Dido, Stereophonics, Sarah McLachlan, All Saints and Jamiroquai. Since its inception, Nettwerk has released over 400 different albums with worldwide sales in excess of 100 million albums. Most recently, Terry’s attentions have focused on advances in digital technology, intellectual property rights and the future of music distribution.

John Brunton is celebrating 28 years at the helm of Insight Production Company Ltd. As President and CEO, his entrepreneurial ingenuity, creative vision and passion for television has enabled him to position Insight as an industry leader in the development, financing and production of world class television programs.

As an Executive Producer, John has produced compelling dramas and documentaries, groundbreaking award shows, record-breaking comedy and variety series, sports, music, reality, game shows and other programs. John is the most sought after Producer in Canada generating number one shows that guarantee the highest production quality while dominating the top of the ratings charts.

John has an abiding love and belief in the power of music. As a very young man, his first project at the helm of Insight was Indigo. This was a seat-of your-pants, mortgage-the-house-to-get-it-made special that brought extraordinary talent to Canadian television. In 1980, he produced Heart of Gold, the definitive history of Canadian popular music. Narrated by Donald Sutherland, it aired across the country on CBC, telling the story of Canadian music from the first ever Canadian idol Paul Anka to the legendary Neil Young.

Since then, John has gone on to produce countless music specials and series. He had the honour of producing one of his most admired artists of all time, Joni Mitchell in her special Joni Mitchell: Painting with Words and Music. Brunton has produced 14 Juno Awards, working with the biggest names in the Canadian and international music scene, including Nelly Furtado, Celine Dion, Alanis Morrisette, Shania Twain, Avril Lavigne, Nickelback, Bryan Adams, The Tragically Hip, Billy Talent, ColdPlay and The Black Eyed Peas. His conviction brought The Junos to Canadian fans, transforming the prestigious music celebration from a Toronto soft-seat industry schmooze to sold-out stadium frenzy, moving across the country from year to year.

A passionate advocate of homegrown Canadian talent, John has always fought to put new and breaking Canadian talent onto the airwaves, side-by-side with the biggest acts in the world. It was Brunton that put a young, unscheduled Ron Sexsmith on The Junos stage to fill in for Our Lady Peace. He also featured Blue Rodeo and a young Jeff Healey alongside The Cult, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Level 42 in Insight’s groundbreaking music series It’s Only Rock ‘n’ Roll in the mid 1980’s.

As the Executive Producer of Open Mike With Mike Bullard for six seasons, Brunton brought no less than 750 musical acts to the attention of viewers on CTV and the Comedy Network. As an Executive Producer of the internationally-distributed drama Falcon Beach, he exposed the music of over 140 Canadian major and indie label acts to audiences in 112 countries around the world.

John is a passionate believer in the importance of creating and developing a Canadian star system. Nowhere is he happier than in the audition rooms of Canadian Idol, looking for that next wave of young Canadian talent. As the Executive Producer of Canada’s most successful television series ever, John has been recognized internationally for producing one of the best Idol formats from over two dozen produced around the world. Putting young kids like Brian Melo and Jaydee Bixby, Kalan Porter, Eva Avila & Jacob Hoggard in the same room as Tony Bennett, Gordon Lightfoot, Jon Bon Jovi, Lionel Richie, Rihanna and Paul Anka has injected an unprecedented confidence into young Canadian singers. And the show’s popularity with Canadian audiences has put new homegrown talent front-andcenter in the living rooms of the country for five seasons and counting. In his capacity as President and Executive Producer at Insight, Brunton recently completed production on Deal Or No Deal Canada (Canwest Global) and Project Runway Canada (Slice). He is currently in production on the Jon Dore Television Show (Comedy Network) and Are You Smarter Than A Canadian 5th Grader (Canwest Global). Accolades for Brunton and Insight Productions include numerous Gemini Awards, four Emmy nominations, an Academy Award nomination, two Cable Ace awards, six American Film Festival ribbons, multiple Hugo and Chris awards and a variety of other film and television awards.

Tickets for the Canadian Music Industry Awards may be purchased now on the Rogers Wireless Canadian Music Week web site at www.cmw.net or by calling 905.858.4747

Rogers Wireless Canadian Music Week is Canada’s leading annual entertainment event dedicated to the expression and growth of the country’s music, media and entertainment industries. Combining two information-intensive conferences; a cutting edge trade exposition; five awards shows and the nation's largest New Music Festival, Rogers Wireless CMW spans a four-day period from March 5 to March 8, 2008 at the Fairmont Royal York and various downtown Toronto venues, attracting participants from across the globe. For more information, visit www.cmw.net.

For media information, please contact: Planet3 Communications Ltd.
Joanne Smale/Sarah Etherden t: 416.922.4459,
e: sarah@planet3com.net

For Rogers Wireless CMW information, please contact:
Verle Mobbs, Conference Director
t: 905.858.4747,
e: verle@cmw.net