Eric Boyko, President, Cofounder, and CEO of Stingray Digital Group has increased his holdings in the firm by 500K multiple voting shares (MVS). Before, Boyko had control over 10,794,285 MVS and 14,035 subordinate voting shares of Stingray, representing approximately 21.0% of the total shares outstanding of Stingray and 54.5% of the total voting rights outstanding of Stingray.

— Audio streaming company Mediazoic has teamed up with agency group snapd Inc. to launch the snapd Music Series, a year-round schedule of live music events featuring buzz acts playing intimate venues, supported by full print, digital and social coverage, in targeted markets across Ontario.

“We are delighted to be a part of this ongoing series,” stated snapd CEO Paul Dutton. 

"We are all about supporting local musicians, local venues and bringing exciting events into communities across the province.”

 The first show in the series will be the Julian Taylor Band at Newmarket’s Market Brewing Co., a 10,000-sq. ft. facility. Further details can be found here.

— Corus radio station 96.3 Big FM Kingston has added stand-up comic and city radio vet Ange Stever as morning show co-host with Brian Bailey.

Also added to the line-up is CKWS-TV Anchor Bill Welychka who will also now be hosting a segment called Bill’s Excellent Adventures on the FM. This new short program airs weekdays at 11 am and “features Bill‘s highly entertaining and sometimes unbelievable stories from years of travelling, interviewing and partying with the biggest stars on the planet. Plus a different classic rock song of the day.”

— Winnipeg community FM CJNU 93.7 has announced that well-known music historian John Einarson is joining the station’s line-up where he will host his popular “My Generation” show. Additionally, he will be writing and be hosting weekly one-hour “Off the Record” music history specials Wednesday afternoons at 12:00 pm.

Einarson, born in the windy city, is an acclaimed musicologist, broadcaster, educator, and award-winning author of 14 music biographies.  Among them: Neil Young, Randy Bachman, John Kay of Steppenwolf, Ian & Sylvia, The Guess Who, The Byrds, Flying Burrito Brothers, Arthur Lee & Love and Buffalo Springfield. According to one source, he has played onstage with Neil Young, Randy Bachman, and Burton Cummings, jammed with Frank Zappa’s Mothers of Invention, and at age 17 opened for Led Zeppelin and Iron Butterfly.

—Former CTV CEO Ivan Fecan is named the interim chief executive officer of multi-platform production company Thunderbird Entertainment. He also serves as Executive Chair and producer with the Vancouver-based company.

— Media in Canada cites a new study by Media Technology Monitor that finds streaming TV and SVOD services on smartphones has remained unchanged from last year, and users would still prefer a larger screen.

— Rogers Media is being accused of breaching conditions of its CRTC licence for the new OMNI Regional channel by contracting out its Chinese-language newscasts.

— CHED Edmonton has launched a new website for its Santa charity drive to put toys in the hands of deserving kids.

— Canadian Radio News has published its latest summary of CRTC decisions and on-air changes in its August update.

—Spotify Ltd. is parting ways with Tom Calderone, the head of original video and podcasts, after the music-streaming company’s initial round of programs failed to catch on with audiences. The streaming service was locked into intense competition with a growing number of specialty services and is also preparing for an IPO later this year or next —Bloomberg News

— The Village Voice has laid off 13 of its 17 union employees, following its announcement last week that the NYC alt-weekly publication would end its print edition. The cuts mostly affected the business side and positions associated with the selling and production of the print paper.

Worth Noting

Local news gets a facelift: developments at City, CTV, other stations

To better capitalize on the more than 100,000 Montrealers who watch one of the local English-language newscasts on an average weeknight, and with the help of some extra money redirected from community TV stations, two local broadcasters are making big new investments in local evening news — Steve Faguy, Montreal Gazette

Coverage of aftermath of Texas disaster slips toward rescue porn

There’s an endless appetite for rescue scenes, but little emphasis on what caused the tragedy, and what could have been done to prevent it — Rick Salutin, Toronto Star

Seagram co-chairman Charles Bronfman on running a family business

This second-generation leader of one of Canada’s most iconic companies talks about writing his memoirs, selling the Montreal Expos and why he doesn’t drink — Joe Castaldo, Canadian Business

In perspective: The future of radio

Radio as an industry is aggressively evolving and enhancing its audio and digital assets to prosper in 2017 and beyond. And based on its track record, it’s a safe bet that radio will continue to prove pundits wrong — Bob McCurdy, Radio Ink

Here are the three most important files awaiting new CRTC head Ian Scott

Issues expected to require Scott’s immediate attention include the digital Canadian content policy Heritage Minister Mélanie Joly is expected to release in September — Emily Jackson, Financial Post

Google’s disturbing influence over think tanks

Google’s “Don’t Be Evil” suggested that the company valued transparency. But the extent of its influence is anything but transparent — Jonathan Taplin, The New York Times

‘Blockchain Revolution’ co-author Tapscott plans IPO for VC firm

NextBlock Global Ltd., the venture-capital firm that invests in blockchain start-ups, plans to raise $50M in an initial public offering this year on the Toronto Stock Exchange, Chief Executive Officer Alex Tapscott reports — Olga Kharif, Bloomberg News