Jim Payne wins Musicnl’s Denis Parker Industry Builder Award

Internationally acclaimed Newfoundland and Labrador folk musician Jim Payne has been named the 2021 recipient of Musicnl’s Honorary Denis Parker Industry Builder of the Year Award.

Payne was selected for the award by the Musicnl board for his longtime career in the music industry as a performer and owner of Newfoundland and Labrador’s largest traditional music label, Singsong Inc.

Singsong collaborates with organizations and institutions such as Memorial University’s ethnomusicology division, the Newfoundland and Labrador Federation of Labour, The Rooms, the Museum of Civilization, Wren Music, and the Newfoundland-devonshire Foundation in the U.K.

Payne is also a producer of cultural programming for conferences, conventions, festivals, celebrations, and educational and historical programming.

He is a recipient of Nlarts awards for arts education and outstanding cultural achievement; the NL Cultural Tourism Award; the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal; the ECMA Stompin’ Tom Connors Award; and, most recently, the Newfoundland and Labrador Folk Arts Society’s Lifetime Achievement Award.

Despite winning the past awards, Payne was surprised to be chosen for the builder-of-the-year award.

“I was surprised to hear it, delighted of course, and appreciative that the Musicnl board would even consider me for it,” Payne said. “It’s always gratifying to be recognized for what you do, in any line of work, and a great motivation to keep on doing it.”