Toronto-based LyricFind has received funding from the Department of Canadian Heritage Creative Export Canada program “to focus on and globalize Canadian content”.
The two-year project supports the licensing, transcription and translation of Canadian artists and songwriters’ lyrics, and monetizes their lyrics through LyricFind’s roster of clients.
LyricFind will also power lyric translation display at live events globally and translate popular lyrics by Canadian artists like Drake and Carly Rae Jepsen into widely spoken world languages.
The grant also allows for the translation of Indigenous language songs into English and French, and reciprocates by translating top Canadian song lyrics into Indigenous languages like Inuktitut, Cree, and Anishinaabemowin and Maliseet.
“We created the first real global licensing ecosystem for lyrics, but we feel we have yet to bring the full linguistic breadth and artistic range of our home country to the wider world.”
Darryl Ballantyne, Lyricfind (pictured)
Darryl Ballantyne, Founder and CEO of LyricFind said: “We created the first real global licensing ecosystem for lyrics, but we feel we have yet to bring the full linguistic breadth and artistic range of our home country to the wider world.
“Thanks to this project, we’re aiming to expand our catalog of Canadian content by a factor of ten. We’re excited to start sharing translated Canadian content around the globe.”
Robert Singerman, SVP, International Publishing at LyricFind, added: “Automated translation works well in particular instances and with common language pairs, like Spanish to English, but in most cases, it fails to capture the complexity and subtlety of song lyrics in translation
“It’s like we’ve been watching a stunning foreign film without subtitles all this time. Now we get to move deeper into music, whether it’s being played live or heard digitally in languages we don’t know.
“It’s what the troubadours and all songwriters and artists who followed intended; communication with the audience.”
Lyricfind recently responded to allegations made in a Wall Street Journal article that its partner Google has been publishing lyrics taken directly from rival lyrics firm Genius.Music Business Worldwide
