The topic of this week’s show is HOW TO RETURN TO MUSIC AFTER A HIATUS and joining me on the show is Winnipeg blues guitarist and singer-songwriter Romi Mayes.

Romi just released a new single on May 17th, after not releasing any new music for 9 years and she also has a new album coming out at the end of June!  We had a great conversation about what led to her extended break from her music career and how she made the decision to come back.

It was a really great chat and I hope you enjoy it!

FRESH CONTENT LINKS
Romi Recommends: Brandi Carlile - The Story
Jen recommends: Taylor Swift - I Can Do It With A Broken Heart

SOTW
Romi Mayes - C'mon Baby

**Read Romi's Op-Ed for Range Magazine - Dear Music, You've Changed

Learn more about Romi Mayes at romimayes.ca
Learn more about Fritz Media at fritzmedia.ca
Learn more about The FM Podcast at thefmpodcast.com

The topic of this week’s show is CHOOSING A CREATIVE LIFE and joining me on the show is Vancouver musician Etienne Siew.

Etienne and I had a great conversation about how he made the decision to quit his 9-5 job to become a full-time musician. And we discuss what it actually means to live a creative life.

It was a really great chat and I hope you enjoy it!

FRESH CONTENT LINKS
Etienne Recommends: Chris Stapleton - Devil Always Made Me Think Twice
Jen recommends: Bon Jovi documentary - Thank You, Goodnight


SOTW
Etienne Siew - Chasing Dreams

Learn more about Etienne Siew at etiennesiew.com
Learn more about Fritz Media at fritzmedia.ca
Learn more about The FM Podcast at thefmpodcast.com

The topic of this week’s show is MUSIC COMPOSITION FOR FILM + TV and joining me on the show is Film Composer, Singer and Vocal Coach - Red Janes. 

We had a great discussion about how she went from musician to film composer, how AI is affecting the film composition world, and how one becomes a composer for film and TV. 

It was a really great chat and I hope you enjoy it!

Content Warning: Just an FYI that there are more F-bombs that usual in this episode, so be careful where you're listening to it! 😬

FRESH CONTENT LINKS
Red recommends:
Justice - Live at Coachella 2024
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan - Woh Hata Rahe Hain Parda
Maria João Pires - Chopin's Nocturnes

Jen recommends:
Drive - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

SOTW
Cinnamon Sandhu - Materialistic Rani

Learn more about Red Jane at redcomposer.com
Learn more about Fritz Media at fritzmedia.ca
Learn more about The FM Podcast at thefmpodcast.com

The topic of this week’s show is MUSIC PRODUCTION + SONGWRITING TIPS and joining me on the show is British electronic musician, producer and podcaster Marc Matthews.

This was a really fun conversation because I was a guest on Marc’s podcast - Inside The Mix - last month discussing music promotion and social media, which is a great ep by the way, and it was great to switch things up to interview him on my podcast.

We had a great discussion about the basics of music production and writing songs, and he also had plenty of amazing tips and advice to pass along - so be sure to take notes!

It was a really great chat and I hope you enjoy it!

FRESH CONTENT LINKS
Marc recommends: Progressions Podcast  - The Music AI is Coming For Us!
Jen recommends: Future Islands - The Thief

SOTW
Marc Matthews ft. INDIGO - Let You Go

🎧 Listen to Jen Fritz on the Inside The Mix podcast HERE

Learn more about Marc Matthews at synthmusicmastering.com
Learn more about Fritz Media at fritzmedia.ca
Learn more about The FM Podcast at thefmpodcast.com

The topic of this week’s show is TOURING AS AN INDIE BAND and joining me on the show is Vancouver Island-based musicians Andrew Baskin and Lucas Antoni from the indie-rock band Vogue Villains. 

When we had this conversation, the guys had just finished a tour supporting their new album Built on Bones so they definitely had a lot to say about life on the road. We had a great discussion about the pros and cons of touring as an indie band in 2024, what kind of challenges they’ve faced, as well as some tips for indie bands that might be heading out on tour this year.

It was a really great chat and I hope you enjoy it!

FRESH CONTENT LINKS
Lucas recommends: QOTSA - In Times New Roman
Andrew recommends: Under The Mountain - Play Our Way and Demob Happy - Hades, Baby (Live at Abbey Road Studios)
Jen recommends: Hurray for the Riff Raff - Snake Plant (The Past Is Still Alive)  

SOTW
Vogue Villains - A Slow Ride (At The Speed Of Light)

Learn more about Vogue Villains at voguevillains.com
Learn more about Fritz Media at fritzmedia.ca
Learn more about The FM Podcast at thefmpodcast.com

The topic of this week’s show is SPEAKING UP FOR SOCIAL CHANGE and joining me on the show is Victoria-based indie-pop musician, Alexandria Maillot, who is an artist that isn’t afraid to speak up about social injustice or political issues, particularly on her social media. 

We had a great discussion about the importance of musicians speaking up for social change and how many artists don’t understand the power they have and how they can actually use their platform to fight for social justice. 

It was a really great chat and I hope you enjoy it!

FRESH CONTENT LINKS
Alexandria recommends:  PURPLE RAIN!!!
Jen recommends: Sierra Ferrell - I Could Drive You Crazy

SOTW
Alexandria Maillot - The Judge

RESOURCE LINKS 
Info about SXSW 2024 Artist Boycott
Social Impact Report From Boygenius' 2023 Tour
Info about United Musicians & Allied Workers (UMAW)
Info about Palestinian-Canadian musician Nemahsis

Learn more about Alexandria Maillot at maillotmusic.com
Learn more about Fritz Media at fritzmedia.ca

The topic of this week’s show is DIGITAL MARKETING TRENDS FOR MUSICIANS and joining me on the show is Peter Carruthers, who is the former Marketing and Digital Manager at Arts & Crafts where he worked for 7 years, so has quite a bit of experience to share with us!

We had a great discussion about the current trends in digital marketing and what musicians should be thinking about when it comes to their digital marketing plans when releasing new music this year. 

It was a really great chat and I hope you enjoy it!

FRESH CONTENT LINKS
Peter recommends: Shellac's upcoming new album - To All Trains
Jen recommends: Waxahatchee - Tigers Blood

SOTW
Lisa Humber - The Devil's Advocate

Learn more about Fritz Media at fritzmedia.ca

The topic of this week’s show is GENRE FLUIDITY IN MUSIC and joining me on the show is Yukon-based singer-songwriter, storyteller, and contemporary guzheng player Erica Dee Mah.

Erica and I had a great talk about how more musicians are creating music outside of the traditional genre norms, what her experience has been like making music that is “outside the box," and how audiences are embracing new (and sometimes unexpected!) music genres a lot more these days.

It was a really great chat and I hope you enjoy it!

FRESH CONTENT LINKS
Erica recommends: Benj Rowland - Community Garden
Jen recommends: Mother Mother - Explode!

SOTW
Erica Dee Mah - The Garden

Learn more about Erica at ericamah.com
And learn more about Fritz Media at fritzmedia.ca

Welcome to Season 5 of the podcast! I’m so happy to be back! I really missed you guys!

For our Season 5 premiere, we have our very first return guest to the podcast! This week, I’m talking to Tyler Bancroft who is a guy that wears many hats in the music industry - he’s the lead singer of Vancouver indie rock band Said The Whale and he’s also a music industry professional who runs a record label and manages artists, among many other things. And we’re going to talk about where we think the industry is headed this year, as we each do our music industry predictions for 2024.

Now full disclosure, I was planning to get the season started a few weeks ago but it didn’t turn out that way. So, 1 - if our references feel about a month old, that’s why. It’s crazy how quick things move these days! And 2 - I apologize for having a 2024 predictions episode in March but here we are.

At any rate - it was a really great talk + I hope you enjoy it!

FRESH CONTENT LINKS
Tyler recommends: Mk.gee - Are You Looking Up
Jen recommends: Kacey Musgraves - Deeper Well

SOTW
Said The Whale - Never Grow Up

Learn more about Tyler at saidthewhale.com
And learn more about Fritz Media at fritzmedia.ca

Hello! Just a quick check-in to let you know that we're back baby! Season 5 of The FM Podcast will premiere next week - on Tuesday, March 12th. I've really missed y'all, so make sure you tune in + join us!