This month’s Front of House spotlight is on Jennifer Bird, Supervisor of Licensee Management. Jennifer began her tenure at CMRRA in 1996, and after a break from 2002 to 2005 during which she taught English in South Korea, she returned to Canada and rejoined CMRRA. Since her return, she has progressed through various roles and in her current role she manages our relationships with broadcasters and digital service providers and coordinates royalty processing tasks.
You started your career in the royalties department at CMRRA in 1996 and then took a break in late 2001 to move abroad. After returning in 2005, you’ve worked in several roles and have now become the Supervisor of Licensee Management. Could you share your observations on the growth and evolution of CMRRA during your tenure, and describe what your current role entails?
My initial employment with CMRRA began as a summer job between university semesters. I started out alphabetizing, stapling, and making photocopies of quarterly paper royalty statements. The royalty team at the time made handwritten and calculated adjustments on the statements, and they were then mailed out, along with cheques to our publisher clients. Eventually, I was hired full-time, working in the royalty department. After the company realigned departments, I worked briefly in licensing and copyright as well.
When I returned to CMRRA in 2005, I was hired as a Tariff Licensing Administrator. Private Copying and Broadcast Mechanical royalties were emerging as important sources of income for our clients. Our team ensured airplay and sales data were accurately matched to CMRRA repertoire works. In 2010, I was promoted to the department’s coordinator position where I assigned matching workflows and coordinated publisher claim verification projects. During this time, I also dipped my toes back into quarterly royalty processing.
Currently, my role at CMRRA is Supervisor, Licensee Management. This newly formed department is about two years old and headed by Associate Director, Lauren Ali. It is exciting to be part of the team which is focused on fostering positive relationships with broadcasters and digital service providers (DSPs) and ensuring that incoming usage reporting and payments are submitted on time. Part of my day-to-day includes monitoring and tracking DSP and broadcast mechanical usage files delivered to CMRRA and following up if logs are late or there are issues with file transfers or in the data itself. I’m also responsible for various aspects of our processing and distribution of Broadcast Mechanical usage reports and royalties. In addition, I’m responsible for coordinating royalty processing tasks for quarterly distributions of major label royalties and working closely with the licensing and royalty teams involved in this activity.
In 2002, you moved abroad. Where did you move to and what was that experience like?
I moved to South Korea to teach English in May of 2002. During my first year of teaching, I lived in Daejeon; at the time, it was a small town of 1.8 million people! For the second two years, I taught and lived in the capital, Seoul. I still reflect on my experience regularly and fondly, as it was such a formative time in my life. I loved teaching in general but had an affinity towards teaching kindergarten-aged students. I met so many fascinating people – Korean nationals, fellow teachers, and other expats from around the world. Being based in Korea was a great jumping-off point to visit other countries in Asia, and I was lucky enough to vacation in Southeast Asia, Japan, and China. The adventure of those few years inspired a greater level of confidence in me, along with a love of travelling and a respect for cultural differences. Feeling a bit homesick, I decided to move back to Canada in the late summer of 2005.
You’ve recently welcomed an adorable new puppy named Zoë into your life. How did this come about, and could you share some insights into her playful character or anything funny she has done?
My partner and I talked about adopting a little dog for several months. We searched and searched and all the animals my partner was drawn to were big ones – far too big for our little apartment! Zoë was the first little dog that he pointed out and we were both smitten just looking at her picture. One night in December of 2023, we drove to meet Zoë and we brought her home that same evening.
Admittedly biased, I think she is the funniest, cutest, and smartest dog to have ever lived! She is five pounds of feistiness and when she jumps off furniture, it looks like she is flying vertically. It can be like living with a flying squirrel; though Zoë, a chihuahua, has an inflated sense of self and thinks she is a German Shepherd!
What are your top 3 favourite albums?
This is a surprisingly difficult question for me to answer! Since I have to pick just 3, I’ll say:
Astral Weeks – Van Morrison. An old friend introduced me to this album many years ago. Practically nothing beats the feeling of listening to it while being snuggled up in blankets on a chilly autumn Sunday morning.
In the Aeroplane Over the Sea – Neutral Milk Hotel. It brings a huge smile to my face every time I listen to it, and I can’t remain sitting hearing “King of Carrot Flowers Pts. 2&3”.
Everything I Long For – Hayden. When I am feeling nostalgic, this is the first record I pull from the shelf. It takes me right back to my first apartment in downtown Toronto in what seems another lifetime ago. And if you need a reminder on how to make Kraft dinner or a club sandwich, it comes with bonus instructions!
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