There have been a lot of changes at CHUM since CTVglobemedia took over the broadcaster’s specialties last summer, but organizers say this year’s MuchMusic Video Awards, like the 18 editions that came before it, is still about getting fans close to the music.

And getting it all on camera, of course.

‘The central core has always been about fan access,’ says music and youth SVP David Kines, who held the same job at CHUM prior to the handover. ‘It’s the only awards show that’s out there on the city streets, where someone can just hop on the subway, walk by and see the show.’

Live performances will take place on four stages, which helps create the best experience for the more than 6,000 fans expected to descend on Toronto’s Queen and John neighborhood for the June 15 show. Hot acts including Rihanna, Hedley, Girlicious and Simple Plan are due to appear live.

‘We’ve cranked up the staging…and we’ve got the budget to prove it,’ says Kines, putting it somewhere over $1 million.

The four-stage setup presents some unique production challenges. It requires four distinct camera setups. Eighteen cameras in all will be rolling, including a 120-foot airborne track cam suspended 20 feet above the crowd, which travels at 40 feet per second to capture the fans enjoying the show in the MuchMusic parking lot.

In addition, four sets of audio mixing and PA equipment will capture 600 channels of audio from more than 250 mics, making sure that not a note is missed.

Produced entirely in-house, it takes roughly 14,000 working hours to get the event off the ground. And while planning for this year’s broadcast started the day after last year’s, Kines says it’s important not to overdo it.

‘We have enough of it planned out so that it’s not going to be a train wreck, but I think the other thing that’s important about what we do is that we leave room for spontaneity,’ he says.

Last year’s broadcast reached 3.5 million viewers, and Kines says he hopes to do ‘way better’ this year. It airs live at 9 p.m. ET, with a red carpet arrivals special running one hour before.

‘The audience we’re targeting has a pretty short attention span, so we’re trying to make something really intriguing that really captures the eye and the mind and gets them sucked in.’