World Stamps
Canada Post celebrates four decades of music television
By David Hartwig
On Oct. 10 Canada Post issued two
stamps celebrating the Canadian music television channels MuchMusic and
MusiquePlus.
The permanent-rate (currently 99¢)
stamp features the channels’ studios in Toronto (MuchMusic) and Montreal
(MusiquePlus) from the perspective of the fans who would gather at the studios
to watch artists perform.
Billed as “the nation’s music
station,” MuchMusic launched from Toronto on Aug. 31, 1984. The Canadian French
language music channel MusiquePlus started broadcasting out of Montreal in
1986.
The stations worked similar to a
radio station, but aired music videos with visuals accompanying the songs. In
the same way a disc jockey broadcasts music on the radio, MuchMusic and
MusiquePlus utilized a team of video jockeys, better known as veejays, to
broadcast the music videos on TV.
The music video format on MuchMusic
began with “The Enemy Within” by Rush, as Nick Patch said in the 2009 Toronto
Star article “Remembering MuchMusic’s birth days,” which was followed by an
interview with the band’s lead vocalist, bassist and keyboardist Geddy Lee
before moving to a playlist that included the Fixx, Frankie Goes to Hollywood,
Yes and Slade.
“Those moments — created
spontaneously, with no scripts to speak of — have left an indelible mark on
those who grew up basking in Much’s glow, the fans who curated VHS cassette
compilations and scribbled down the names of tunes played during the station’s
countdown of top videos,” Patch said.
Canada Post commented on the
interaction of fans in an article on its Perspectives blog. “The
stations took great lengths to put its devoted viewers first,” Canada Post
said, “creating interactive content that encouraged audiences to regularly
participate.”
“MuchMusic was all about reflecting
community,” former veejay Sook-Yin Lee told Canada Post. “Whether it was the
community of kids hanging out outside the window, or all of the amazing
Canadian bands that would come to visit us, play in the environment, and hang
out.”
In the four decades since their
launches, MuchMusic and MusiquePlus have exposed these viewers to artists such
as Bryan Adams, Corey Hart, Blue Rodeo, Michie Mee, Alanis Morissette and Avril
Lavigne.
Lowe-Martin printed the stamps in
120,000 booklets of eight. The Canada Post ordering number is 414262111.
Canada Post produced first-day covers
for the MuchMusic stamp canceled in Toronto (Canada Post ordering number
414262131) and for the MusiquePlus stamp canceled in Montreal (414263131), in
quantities of 6,000 for each FDC.
Paprika designed the stamps and the
FDCs using illustrations from artist Michael Haddad.
Canada Post stamps and related items are are available online online. Stamps and FDCs are available by mail order from Canada Post Customer Service, Box 90022, 2701 Riverside Drive, Ottawa, ON K1V 1J8 Canada; or by telephone from the United States or Canada at 800-565-4362, and from other countries at 902-863-6550.
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