The Mourning of a Song

Canadians are stunned. Or at least the hockey-loving Canadians are stunned.

The Hockey Night in Canada theme song, considered to be our second national anthem, will not return.

CBC Sports tried to renew the licensing fee, but composer Dolores Claman and her reps refused the deal. Details are not available, but it seems as though CBC offered to continue to pay Claman the richest licensing fee in Canada for use of the song. They previously paid $500 per use, and that was going to go up 15% after 2 years. CBC also offered to buy the song for a 'high six-figure sum', but that offer was rejected.

If CBC was willing to continue to pay Claman the richest licensing in the nation, and if they were going to increase those fees to reflect 'industry standard', then what's the problem? Is it greed on Claman's part? That's what it seems like to me...

So now, CBC has launched (or will soon be launching) a contest to replace the theme song, with the winner receiving $100,000 and all royalties going to minor hockey.