Indie Weekly Podcast

This week on the podcast, from Indie Weekly #62, it’s Indie Week Founder Darryl Hurs’ enlightening conversation with twin sisters Phoenix (She/They) and Mercedes Arn-Horn of Softcult! Learn how, after more than a decade of making music, they seized the opportunity presented by the pandemic to explore something new and different and saw their career hit surprising new heights.

As always, Indie Week sends a big thank you to our sponsors and funders! They are: Slaight Music, CD Baby, ACTRA RACS, the CMRRA, LyricFind, Bandzoogle, CIMA, City of Toronto, Global Affairs Canada, Ontario Creates, FACTOR, Seneca College, and the SOCAN Foundation.

This project is funded in part by the Government of Canada.

We cover all you need to know about syncing licensing and getting your songs into TV, movies, and advertisement in discussion with multi award-winning music supervisor Cody Partridge. Cody shares his insider tips on pitching music supervisors, getting deals done, developing fruitful relationships, and more!

Go to Indieweek.com to see what’s planned and join us LIVE for our next Indie Weekly conversations!

Cody Partridge is the President and Lead Music Supervisor at Pear Tree Music Supervision. With close to a decade of experience in the industry and 150+ credits, Cody has licensed the music for hits shots like Letterkenny and Schitt’s Creek, as well as feature films, documentaries, and various advertising campaigns Telus, Canada Life, Scotiabank, and more.

Superbowls halftime showcased hip hop icons Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Lamar, Mary J Blige, 50 cent clearly stating hip hops place in mainstream media and importance. What does the next generation and future of hip hop look like?

This week's session takes a deeper look at all the business systems and processes! We will be talking with Marquis Murray - CEO & Founder of Ditto, a systems and processes consultancy for organizations who need help creating clarity around the work done inside their companies. The need to create order in the chaos is common in the music business. Thus, creating SOPs, process workflows, and automations can make artists' work easier. Join this session to learn how to eliminate burnout for good so that you can focus more on your work without the stress of not knowing where or how the work is happening.

From NFT copyright infringement, to creators collecting royalties for their work, the digital landscape is ever changing creating new policies to be aware of and to be properly protected.

-Is having a “day job” a benefit or detriment to an artist?
-How can you achieve work-life balance if you’re both the creator and business person?
-Can you stay true to your art while engaging in commerce?
-What are your thoughts on sponsorships?
-Do you have to make a living from your art to truly be respected or to “make it” as an artist?
-I have a manager/agent/etc….how much do I really have to know about the business.
-There are so many music collectives - how do I keep them all straight, who to join, and how do I know that I’m not leaving my money on the table somewhere?

Music Publishers Canada is pleased to present a case study examining how Vince Degiorgio and his company Cymba Music Publishing work with the songwriters on his roster both creatively and on a business level.

When the world came to a screeching halt in early 2020,
twin sisters Phoenix (She/They) and Mercedes Arn-Horn (She/Her) saw the opportunity to begin anew. After more than a decade of making music together, they seized the opportunity to explore something new and different, not knowing where the road would lead them.

Seamlessly combining Grunge, Shoegaze, Dreampop, and punk into their “music with a message”, Softcult has quickly become the band inspiring a new Riot Grrrl movement for the digital age. PRO: feminism, social activism, creative freedom, self-empowerment, gender neutrality. ANTI: sexism, racism, homophobia, trans-phobia, patriarchy.

In immersive events and the metaverse, brands can not abandon real-world efforts when it comes to diversity and representation. Our transition to an online reality gives us an opportunity to positively move forward on topics such as rights, identity, respect and happiness today.

Two years ago in 2020 people were just logging onto ZOOM for the first time, now we have new online worlds to explore through the METAVERSE. For many it is new and unknown - and intimidating. With a host of big companies seeking to make the metaverse happen (Fortnite, Roblox, H&M, Instagram, WhatsApp and Facebook), we know IT IS GOING TO HAPPEN. Microsoft acquired Activision Blizzard for an expected $68.7 billion, explaining the deal was part of an expansion into the metaverse is another indicator that we are closer to the metaverse becoming an industry standard.

What can we expect to see in the near future and how do we get involved?