Aspiring Songwriters Unlock Keys to Success at New Songwriters' Workshop

MONTREAL, Sept. 16 /CNW Telbec/ - From today until October 10, 2010, Astral Radio and Canadian Music Week will be presenting a series of free local New Songwriters' Workshops targeted to aspiring artists and songwriters. Touring across Canada, these daylong programs will take place in 11 participating cities, including:

Thursday, September 16 - Saint John, NB
Saturday, September 18 - Halifax, NS
Sunday, September 19 - St. John's, NF
Saturday, September 25 - Toronto, ON
Sunday, September 26 - Montréal, QC
Monday, September 27 - Ottawa, ON
Saturday, October 2 - Regina, SK
Sunday, October 3 - Winnipeg, MB
Thursday, October 7 - Edmonton, AB
Saturday, October 9 - Calgary, AB
Sunday, October 10 - Vancouver, BC

Multi-platinum songwriters Dan Hill ("Sometimes When We Touch", "Can't We Try") and Ralph Murphy ("Half The Way", "He Got You"), along with leading industry specialists from music publishing and radio programming, will be on hand to lead the workshops, listen to demos and participate in a Q&A period. Attendees will be inspired by the keys to writing a hit lyric, hints to breaking into licensing for film and TV, as well as tips on marketing your music online.

The New Songwriters' Workshops are a preamble to the launch of Canadian Radio Star - the 18^th annual National Songwriting Competition - and are part of Canadian Music Week's ongoing initiative to develop Canadian emerging artists. Admission to the workshops is free. Registration is limited to capacity and is open now to songwriters through the Canadian Radio Star website - www.radiostar.ca.

"Astral is thrilled to support the Canadian Radio Star project that will tour successful songwriting experts across our country to show aspiring songwriters how it's done and help them develop their careers," says Astral Radio Consultant, Rob Braide. "Music starts with a song. And good songs are at the core of our vibrant industry. Our belief is that this project represents another significant step in maintaining our thriving music scene and developing Canada's stars of tomorrow."

Additional details about the workshops, including times, location, and confirmed presenters in each city can be accessed by visiting the Canadian Radio Star website - www.radiostar.ca - or by listening to the following presenting radio stations:

Saint John, NB - 98.9 Big John FM
Halifax, NS - Q104
St. John's, NL - Hits 99.1 FM
Toronto, ON - Virgin Radio 99.9 FM
Montreal, QC - Virgin Radio 96 FM
Ottawa, ON - Virgin Radio 106.9 FM
Regina, SK - Big Dog 92.7 FM
Winnipeg, MB - Hot 103
Edmonton, AB - 100.3 The Bear
Calgary, AB - CJAY 92
Vancouver, BC - Virgin Radio 95.3 FM

Astral Radio is a member of the Astral family. Astral Media Inc. (TSX: ACM.A/ACM.B) is one of Canada's largest media companies. It operates several of the country's most popular pay and specialty television, radio, out-of-home advertising and digital media properties. Astral is very proud to be among the largest partners of Canadian culture. Year after year, our pay and specialty television channels, radio stations and Astral's Harold Greenberg Fund invest over $170 million to develop and acquire Canadian programming and original productions as well as to support Canadian musical talent. To learn more about Astral and its support to our culture, visit astral.com.

For further information:

Hugues Mousseau
Manager, Corporate Communications
Astral Media Inc.
514-939-5000
[email protected]