Canadian Music Week founder launches legal action against Departure Festival

Organizers of the Toronto-based Departure Festival announce the event's rebranding from Canadian Music Week at an event in this November 2024 handout photo. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO - Departure Festival, George Pimentel Photography

TORONTO — The founder of Canadian Music Week is taking the new owners of Departure Festival to court, alleging they’ve breached their contract and failed to pay fees tied to their acquisition of his music industry conference.

Former CMW president and creator Neill Dixon filed a notice of action in an Ontario court earlier this week seeking more than $435,000 in damages and another $50,000 in punitive and aggravated damages.

Dixon alleges Loft Entertainment and developer Oak View Group failed to live up to their side of the $2-million purchase of his Toronto music industry festival, which ran for more than 40 years before he announced his retirement and its sale last June.

He says the defendants began paying him through an Ontario numbered company they co-owned, but that $378,928 has remained outstanding since last December. He also says they owe him another $56,000 in unpaid consulting fees.

None of the allegations have been tested in court.

Loft Entertainment was co-founded by Randy Lennox, the former head of Bell Media and a one-time Canadian record label executive. Oak View is a Denver-based company that recently opened offices in Toronto.

On Thursday, Lennox sent an email to staff at Loft Entertainment assuring them the festival is moving ahead this year.

“We see things very differently,” he said of the legal action. “We stand firm in our position of integrity, beliefs and values.”

A representative for Departure, who forwarded Lennox’s email, told The Canadian Press he would not provide further comment on the allegations.

Reached by email on Friday, Dixon said: “I want the monies owed to me subject to that signed agreement.”

The four-day CMW was founded in 1982 and built a reputation as one of the music scene’s leading industry events, hosting conferences, awards shows and live performances.

Since buying CMW last year, the event’s new owners have rebranded it as Departure Festival and Conference, expanding its scope to include stand-up comedy and technology.

The inaugural Departure event is planned to begin May 6 and run for six days, with celebrity speakers that include pop duo Tegan and Sara, Arkells frontman Max Kerman and rocker Bryan Adams.

Dixon was previously announced as the recipient of a Departure lifetime achievement award to help kick off the first year.

Article by David Friend.