Round-Up: Hockey Night in Canada Theme to CTV

So the rights to the Hockey Night in Canada Theme have been purchased by CTV, and will be now be known as the Hockey Theme. There's not much we can add to the conversation, but here are some fun blog posts from the past week on the topic:

• James Duthie: "I will be composing lyrics to go with the music and performing it live (with Dreger and McKenzie on background vocals) to open every broadcast... I was asked about “The Song” in roughly 497 radio interviews this week (They all went pretty much like this: “Yes, I’m excited. Yes, it will be a little weird at first. No, I don’t know how the monkey feels about it.”)"
  
  
• Scott Feschuk: "..forget the Exciting National Contest. Instead, try to salvage some dignity and manufacture some new tradition ... by a) securing the rights to Stompin’ Tom’s The Hockey Song, and b) swiping a page from the TV show Weeds ... by having the tune performed each week by a different musical artist – The Hip one Saturday night, Arcade Fire the next, Anne Murray after that and Trooper when some band phones in sick at the last minute..."
  
  
• Scott Feschuk (again): "So CTV has purchased exclusive rights to the Hockey Night in Canada theme song, presumably for use on TSN and beyond. This feels a bit like Superman ripping off Batman’s theme song to score chicks..."
  
  
• Ken Campbell: "If I were a hockey fan – and I am – I’d be a lot more concerned about some of the things that are going on around the game than whether or not I’ll be able to hear The Hockey Theme next season when I watch hockey on Saturday night."
  
  
• David Staples: "The rhetoric is getting out of control here. The CBC wasn't going to burn all copies of the song, after all, just stop playing it on Hockey Night in Canada. Some of you may be truly grateful for CTV's big-hearted "salvation" of the song, but I see it as Claman and her people pulling off a brilliant negotiating ploy, using the very real attachment that Canadians feel for the song to win a better rights deal for themselves."

Listen to the Hockey Night In Canada Theme Song

For all the Canadians lamenting the loss of the Hockey Night in Canada Theme, check out Fong Songs for four versions of the song by the Shuffle Demons, Mother of Pearl, Moxy Fruvous, and the Jimmy Smith Band.

Goodbye to the Hockey Night in Canada Theme?

Update June 7:

Watching CBC this morning, and they're reporting that CBC Sports offered composer Claman $65,000 a season for the rights to the song, as well as a total rights buy-out of $1,000,000.

CBC's being raked over the coals for this by Canadian hockey fans -- but I think some of the anger has to be directed to Claman (and her representatives) as well. If the report of the $65,000 per season is true, certainly that's more than fair compensation for a 60-second theme song on the broadcast.

Does the public really want CBC to spend that much money for a song? And if the song is so important to Canadian culture -- should Claman be allowed to charge CBC a ransom in order for Canadians to enjoy it?

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Update June 6:

• Globe & Mail: Talks break down on Hockey Night in Canada theme song
  
• Kukla's Korner: Because Canadians are Insane…
  

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Although we love hockey here in Canada, it's not often that hockey music is debated on Parliament Hill. Here's a transcript from a media scrum today with Jack Layton, leader of Canada's New Democratic Party (via The Commons):

Reporter: Mr. Layton, there’s talk that CBC may cancel the theme music for Hockey Night in Canada, you know the duh duh duh duh duh —

Jack Layton: What do you mean do I know?

Reporter: What do you think?

Jack Layton: It’s kind of second to the national anthem. Why would they do that?

Reporter: (Inaudible)

Jack Layton: Why would they? Oh my God. Well, I think we need an emergency debate in the House of Commons. I think we need to mobilize Canadians in defence of that amazing tune that just gets our blood coursing through our veins. It’s a signature. It’s the musical signature of who we are. How dare they? That music belongs to the people. I call on Canadians to rise up and sing.

The q & a was in regards to several media reports that CBC has decided to stop using the immensely popular Hockey Night in Canada Theme song next season, due to a rights fee dispute with the song's composer. Based on the reaction in Canada today, hockey fans clearly think that decision is "offside". Here's a sampling of blogger comments:

• Scott Feschuck: cbc = dumb-dumb dumb-dumb dumb DUMBdumb
• Kukla's Korner: You're playing with my song
• Kukla's Korner: The Replacements
• FlackLife: CBC drops the theme?
  

But wait! Apparantly the decision is not final, and the theme song just might be coming back next year. Moore, the executive director for CBC Sports says:

"We've been reaching out to [composer Dolores Claman] and her representative, and haven't heard back," Moore said. "We're prepared to do a deal, we're prepared to talk, but we're not prepared to do a deal at all costs."

If an agreement can't be reached, Moore said a nationwide contest would be held for Canadians to submit a new theme song.

"We have to responsibly have another plan if, for some reason, we're not able to do a deal. We've had this plan in place for more than a year," said Moore, adding the controversy and debate created by a contest wouldn't necessarily be bad. (via CBC Sports)