2016 Inductee: Cliff Hunt

Cliff Hunt Induction written by good friend and Entertainment Lawyer: Sander Shalinsky

It is my honour today to induct Clifford Gordon Hunt onto the Mississauga Walk of Fame. It was 23 years ago when I met Cliff, who looked pretty much the same as he does now only with more dark hairs than white ones.

By that time he had already established himself as a pre-eminent Canadian music mogul. Right out of high school, Cliff played in a band called The Brass Union and he then did what many players did when they figured out touring is grueling and went over to the business side. His first gig was sitting alongside future Rush managers Vic Wilson and Pegi Cecconi booking bands at Concept 376 which at the time was Canada’s biggest booking agency booking bands like The Guess Who, April Wine, Crowbar, The Stampeders, etc.

Later he was the Associate Producer of the CNE Grandstand where he worked with artists like The Beach Boys, Chicago, The Jackson 5 and Frank Sinatra. If I stopped right now, Cliff probably would have done enough to have his name added to the Walk. But Cliff had another 40 years of deals to do.

Later he managed, worked with, and did record deals some exciting award winning acts through the years including Triumph, The Diodes, Zon, Refugee, Red Ryder and many others. I met Cliff in 1993 and together we managed a band signed to Warner Music called the Killjoys who went on to win the Juno for best new group.

Cliff saved his master stroke for last. In 1999, Cliff started a company called Musicrypt. The digital age was upon us and record companies were looking for a more rational solution for delivering music to radio stations.

Until Cliff came along, record labels would deliver a physical record to a courier or radio promoter and have them hand deliver a copy to the radio station music director. While incredibly personal, it was also bereft with problems. You can just imagine ego driven arguments between radio stations over who would get the new U2 song first. And what if the courier lost or worse copied the song before it was widely available?

In one grand swoop, Cliff changed all that. With Musicrypt, Cliff would deliver music instantly to all, fully, securely so that no stealing could take place, and better still open a direct channel of communication between radio station and the labels.

Cliff’s solution was widely embraced. It was not too long before Cliff’s solution was used by over 95% of the Canadian music business and widely used throughout the U.S.

Today, the company, now called YANGAROO Inc., is publicly traded, and is the world leader in music and video delivery being used North America wide as well as Europe and Latin America.

If that wasn’t enough, Cliff’s team designed a software platform to become the voting tool for The Junos, the GRAMMYS, the Emmys, the Golden Globes, the Academy of Country Music Awards, MTV Video Music Awards and the BET Awards and is now the industry standard.

Cliff’s contribution to the international music community is significant. Long after he is gone – and based on his mother who is here with us I suspect that will not be for a long while, Cliff’s fingerprints will continue to be all over it. It is seldom recognized but should be a source of pride for all Mississaugans and Canadians alike.

I would like to talk for a moment about Cliff the man.

Cliff has lived his whole adult life in Mississauga, right now living just down the road in Port Credit. His two children, Adam and Shauna, both married, live nearby in Mississauga as well.

Cliff has always been proud of his Mississauga background and couldn’t be happier that his kids and his children’s children still reside in the same place. If you stop and ask anyone about Cliff, I’m sure they’d all say the same thing. He is affable, genial and never ever has anything negative to say about anyone. He is a gentleman’s gentleman. His picture is in the dictionary beside the phrase Class Act.

If the Mississauga Walk of Fame was just about accomplishments in industry, Cliff would be a shoe in. If the Mississauga Walk of Fame was only about devotion to family and community, Cliff would be a shoe in. And if the Mississauga Walk of Fame was solely about the measure of a man’s inner qualities, Cliff would be a shoe in.

With Cliff, you get a three-for-one. A pioneer of the entertainment business, a devoted family man and community oriented person and a class act all the way.

So it is my great honour to present to you, the newest member of the Mississauga Walk of Fame, Mr. Clifford Gordon Hunt.