Breaking Down Racial Barriers

Black History Month didn’t begin as a celebration. It began as correction. In 1926, Carter G. Woodson established Negro History Week because Black contributions were being erased from the historical record. February was chosen deliberately, tied to Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln. The intent was visibility.

In Canada, Black History Month was officially recognized in 1995 because of the work of Jean Augustine, the first Black woman elected to Federal Parliament, who pushed the country to formally acknowledge Black presence, contribution and history. Canada’s relationship with Black and Black Canadian history has always lagged behind reality.

Fast forward and we watch proudly as Canadian hip hop royalty is LITERALLY stamped into Canadian history.

Chuck D once said, “Most of our heroes don’t appear on no stamp.” For years, that line rang true. Our heroes shaped culture without institutional recognition or official validation. This moment doesn’t rewrite history. It validates what we’ve ALWAYS known. The SYSTEM was late.

Seeing Maestro Fresh Wes, Michie Mee, and Muzion honoured through a Canada Post stamp matters. Black Canadian culture is foundational to Canadian history. INSEPARABLE.

This moment can’t stop at celebration. Progress since 2020 is already being clawed back under economic pressure and so-called efficiency. The pattern is familiar. Systemically excluded groups, often the last to ENTER institutions, are the first to go. Equity that isn’t STRUCTURAL collapses when the numbers tighten.

So, a moment of thanks. Congratulations to Wes “Maestro” Williams, Maestro Fresh Wes, whose early dominance proved that a Black Canadian rapper could lead nationally without compromising his Blackness. To Michie Mee, who kicked doors open with skill and fearlessness for women in a male dominated space (and made me proud to be Jamaican). And to Muzion, who carried Montréal, language, politics, and Haitian diasporic identity into the centre. Thank you for the inspiration, the courage, and the permission you gave so many of us to imagine ourselves fully in this story.

Black Canadian History is Canadian History.

Publishing remains one of the most powerful drivers of long-term revenue and protection for artists, yet it is often misunderstood. Yesterday’s session gave the F.A.M.E. cohort a clear understanding of how rights work, how royalties move, and how managers protect the systems that ensure creators are paid.

For our final full session, Breaking Down Racial Barriers was proud to welcome Vivian Barclay, one of the most accomplished and longest-serving Black music executives in Canadian history. As former Managing Director of Warner Chappell Music Canada, she oversaw a major global catalog and played a key role in signing talents like Patoranking, Machel Montano, producer Aliby, and the catalog of Garnett Silk. Her background spans radio and audio production, hosting and programming, artist and event management, music supervision, and publishing. She is the co-founder and President of ADVANCE, with additional board service at SOCAN, CMRRA, Music Publishers Canada, and Phemphat Entertainment Group. Billboard has recognized her as both a Women in Music executive and an International Power Player. In 2025, she launched Hot House Songs, a boutique publishing company focused on supporting songwriters from Canada and the Caribbean.

Vivian guided the cohort through the distinction between publishing and master rights, how copyright is created upon fixation, and how compositions and recordings generate income. She explained how writer and publisher shares work, how ownership is retained or assigned through co-publishing or administration deals, and why audits, accurate registrations, and clean metadata remain essential to royalty collection.

The session also covered major royalty types, the role of PROs, sampling and clearance, and how sync opportunities grow when rights are well organized. Vivian closed by reminding the cohort that publishing is the financial engine of a creator’s career, and managers who understand these systems protect both revenue and legacy.

Publishing and royalties sit at the centre of an artist’s financial life, and managers are responsible for protecting that foundation. Yesterday’s session guided the F.A.M.E. cohort through how rights are created, how income moves, and how managers prevent revenue from slipping away.

For the final F.A.M.E. Workshop, BDRB proudly welcomed Vivian Barclay, one of Canada’s most respected publishing executives. Vivian is the former Managing Director of Warner Chappell Music Canada, where she oversaw a global catalog and signed writers and producers including Patoranking, Raghav, Machel Montano, Begonia, Aliby, and Tom French. Her career spans radio, production, artist management, supervision, and publishing. She has served on the SOCAN board, contributed to licensing and deals committees at SOCAN and CMRRA, and remains a powerful community leader as Co-Founder and Board President of ADVANCE, Canada’s Black Music Business Collective. She also sits on the boards of Music Publishers Canada and Phemphat Entertainment Group, and has been recognized as a Billboard Women in Music executive and International Power Player. In 2025, she launched Hot House Songs, a boutique publishing company focused on supporting songwriters from Canada and the Caribbean.

The session covered copyright basics, the distinction between compositions and masters, and the rights tied to each. Vivian walked participants through performance, mechanical, and sync royalties, and explained how PROs license, track, collect, and distribute revenue.

The cohort also explored administration, co-publishing, and exclusive songwriter agreements. Vivian broke down splits, services, advances, and how managers decide which deal fits an artist’s stage and goals.

The class closed with practical steps: register works promptly, maintain clean metadata, monitor statements, clear assets for sync, and understand where revenue can leak. Vivian reminded the cohort that informed publishing oversight protects income, opportunity, and legacy.

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📍 F.A.M.E. (Foundations

Publishing and royalties sit at the centre of an artist’s financial life, and managers are responsible for protecting that foundation. Yesterday’s session guided the F.A.M.E. cohort through how rights are created, how income moves, and how managers prevent revenue from slipping away.

For the final F.A.M.E. Workshop, BDRB proudly welcomed Vivian Barclay, one of Canada’s most respected publishing executives. Vivian is the former Managing Director of Warner Chappell Music Canada, where she oversaw a global catalog and signed writers and producers including Patoranking, Raghav, Machel Montano, Begonia, Aliby, and Tom French. Her career spans radio, production, artist management, supervision, and publishing. She has served on the SOCAN board, contributed to licensing and deals committees at SOCAN and CMRRA, and remains a powerful community leader as Co-Founder and Board President of ADVANCE, Canada’s Black Music Business Collective. She also sits on the boards of Music Publishers Canada and Phemphat Entertainment Group, and has been recognized as a Billboard Women in Music executive and International Power Player.

The session covered copyright basics, the distinction between compositions and masters, and the rights tied to each. Vivian walked participants through performance, mechanical, and sync royalties, and explained how PROs license, track, collect, and distribute revenue.

The cohort also explored administration, co-publishing, and exclusive songwriter agreements. Vivian broke down splits, services, advances, and how managers decide which deal fits an artist’s stage and goals.

The class closed with practical steps: register works promptly, maintain clean metadata, monitor statements, clear assets for sync, and understand where revenue can leak. Vivian reminded the cohort that informed publishing oversight protects income, opportunity, and legacy.

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📍 F.A.M.E. (Foundations and Acceleration for Management Excellence)
Rooted in Culture. Driven by Excellence.
🔗 www.bdrb.ca/fame