So this week’s show is all about Social Activism in Music + joining me on the show is Vancouver rapper Neon Empty (aka Bryce Lokken) who just released a single last week called 'Red Lives Don't' a song that he describes as  “an expression of frustration and disgust with white Canada’s hypocrisy about racial inequality during the summer 2020 - the summer of Black Lives Matter.”

Neon Empty, who is Métis, uses shocking language on 'Red Lives Don't' to get people’s attention in order to highlight a very important problem that we have in Canada - anti-Indigenous racism. He uses it to be heard in the same way that Black Lives Matter activists use "Defund The Police”. 

And to quote Neon Empty: “This song is a callout to Canada's hypocrisy. You can't tackle systemic racism in Canada without addressing our deepest-rooted, bloodiest, most vulgar problem: the hatred of Indigenous people and our constant attempt to silence, destroy, and minimize those who look like my grandmother.” His grandmother by the way is a residential school survivor + we’ll get into that during the interview.

This is a really great chat + just a heads-up that there are a few more f-bombs than usual in this episode, so it’s probably not suitable for work or around the kids, etc.  I hope you enjoy it!

FRESH CONTENT LINKS
Bryce recommends: Hamilton on Disney+
Jen recommends: Doja Cat ft. SZA - Kiss Me More

SOTW
Neon Empty - Red Lives Don't

You can find Neon Empty at neonempty.com
And learn more about Fritz Media at fritzmedia.ca

This week's show is all about singing, which is something I pretty much have ZERO experience in. And joining me on the show is someone who thankfully knows more about singing than I do - Greg Barker - who is one of the founders of Singdaptive. Greg is going to tell us all about Singdaptive, which is a multi-instructor online learning platform for singer-musicians. As well as his new venture - Exchangely which is  asynchronous + team-based 1-on-1 coaching for singers.

So if you’ve been sitting at home during the pandemic wondering how you could become a better singer, this is definitely the show for you! 

FRESH CONTENT LINKS
Greg recommends: Maytree - iPhone Acapella + Playing For Change
Jen recommends: Billie Eilish - The World's A Little Blurry + TINA (Tina Turner doc)

SOTW
Quinn Pickering - Grapefruit

You can find Greg at singdaptive.com
And learn more about Fritz Media at fritzmedia.ca

Social media is something that most musicians struggle with. Both on the organic side - that is just creating content for all of their social channels each week - and  on the social advertising side. 

It’s something that we see our clients struggle with here at Fritz Media which is why we added additional services last year, including social media strategy + digital advertising. And joining us on the show this week is one of our very own digital strategists here at Fritz Media - Phoenix Bain!

Phoenix has over 8 years of experience in digital ads management, social media marketing, email marketing, event planning and execution, and grant writing in the non-profit and for-profit sector. She’s been an incredible addition to the Fritz Media team, creating amazing social media strategy + advertising plans for our clients, + she shares some of her secrets with us, including lots of social media tips + tricks for musicians. 

FRESH CONTENT LINKS
Phoenix recommends: Umi - New album promo campaign on Instagram
Jen recommends: Lil Nas X - Montero (Call Me By Your Name)

SOTW
Carolina East - Hunger

For more info on Phoenix, check out her bio here
And learn more about Fritz Media at fritzmedia.ca

The COVID pandemic has not been great for the music industry and I think it’s fair to say that the live sector of the industry has been hit the hardest. In fact, since March of last year the live music industry in Canada has suffered a 92% average revenue loss + 64% of the industry is at risk of permanent closure which is scary for all of us because the live sector is the backbone of our business.

So the topic of this week’s episode is Pivoting and Touring and joining me on the show is Grant Paley. Grant is a music industry veteran with over 20 years experience in the business. He started out as a musician, as the frontman & DJ of Moses Mays, and after a decade of touring, he transitioned to behind the scenes + became a music agent and he's never looked back. Grant spent 12 years at Paquin Artists Agency where he developed his own unique roster of live and electronic acts, and he left last year to co-found Midnight Agency with Nick Middleton (who you might know from The Funk Hunters and Westwood Recordings), which is launching this week!

FRESH CONTENT LINKS
Grant recommends: Silk Sonic - Leave The Door Open
Jen recommends: The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend A Broken Heart

SOTW
The Funk Hunters &  Chali 2Na ft. Tom Thum - Word To Spread

You can find Grant at midnightagency.com
And learn more about Fritz Media at fritzmedia.ca

So a few weeks ago we did an episode about the state of music journalism in Canada + I talked to Mike Devlin who is an arts reporter for the Victoria Times-Colonist. And this week’s episode is sort of a Music Journalism in Canada Part 2 episode, where we take a look at music journalism in the digital age + explore the online side of things since we mostly discussed music journalism at traditional media outlets on Mike’s episode. 

And joining me this week is Sajae Elder who is a Toronto-based culture writer + content creator for The Fader, Complex, Vice, Buzzfeed + many others. Sajae + I discuss what music journalism looks like in the online space in 2021, whether music journalism is still relevant, and what it’s like to be a Black woman working as a culture journalist in Canada.

FRESH CONTENT LINKS
Sajae recommends: serpentwithfeet - Deacon
Jen recommends: St. Vincent - Pay Your Way In Pain

SOTW
Matt Storm x Ivan Hartle - More To Find

You can find Sajae Elder's Deep Work playlist on Spotify
And learn more about Fritz Media at fritzmedia.ca

The theme of this week’s episode is Artist Management + I talk to Savannah Wellman from Tiny Kingdom Music. 

Savannah runs Tiny Kingdom with her business partner and best friend Meagan Davidson + their company not only manages musicians but they also do grant writing and they recently started their own record label which just released ‘Boxes’ - the killer collab from Vancouver musicians  IAMTHELIVING + Teon Gibbs. 

Savannah’s experiences in the music industry have seen her on both sides of the curtain. Her journey included a degree in music, followed by years of performing + touring in various projects, and continued at Music BC where she was the project manager for artist development initiatives including the PEAK Performance Project. 

Savannah + I had a great chat about what it’s like to be managing artists in 2021 + how her business has been affected by the COVID pandemic. 

FRESH CONTENT LINKS
Savannah recommends: IAMTHELIVING x Teon Gibbs - Distance
Jen recommends: Serj Tankian interview on WTF with Marc Maron podcast

SOTW
IAMTHELIVING x Teon Gibbs - Boxes

You can find Savannah at tinykingdommusic.com
And learn more about Fritz Media at fritzmedia.ca

On this week’s episode I talk to Vancouver musician + Fritz Media client Bukola about what it’s like to be starting out your career as an artist in the music industry right now. Bukola is releasing her debut EP Chronicles of a Teenage Mind this summer + her first single/video is coming out this Friday (March 19th)! 

Bukola is only 19 years old but she’s been pursuing her dreams of becoming a professional musician since she was 9 and has been building momentum ever since! In fact, the CBC recently named her as one of the Top 10 Soulful Female Artists in the 2020 CBC Searchlight competition! Bukola calls her musical style Acoustic Soul - blending contemporary R&B and Jazz music to create her own soulful sound. 

She's been deeply influenced by artists such as India Arie, Daniel Caesar and H.E.R. and with the amount that she’s already accomplished at such a young age, I’m sure she’ll be the one influencing artists in the future!

FRESH CONTENT LINKS
Bukola recommends: 2Pac - Keep Ya Head Up
Jen recommends: Mother Mother - I Got Love + Stay Behind

SOTW
Bukola - A Good Thing

You can find Bukola at bukolamusic.com
And learn more about Fritz Media at fritzmedia.ca

So it’s now officially a full year since we’ve been living with the COVID pandemic + it obviously has had a very detrimental effect on the music industry. It’s affected everyone in the business, from record labels to booking agents to managers to promoters to publicity companies like mine, and of course, the musicians themselves. Everyone has had to pivot to figure out different ways to bring income in.

Many musicians are trying different things to see what works, like ticketed live streams + some artists are dipping their toes into recurring revenue streams + trying subscription models like Patreon. And one of those bands is Vancouver band + provider of The FM Podcast theme music - Said The Whale! And our guest on the show this week is Tyler Bancroft. Tyler is the vocalist/guitarist for Said the Whale + he also runs Be Good artist management, which manages acts like Titus Bank + Big Kill, along with his own band Said the Whale. Tyler + I discuss their recent launch of a Said The Whale Patreon page for their fans + what they’re doing to find recurring + sustainable income for the band during this crazy time. 

FRESH CONTENT LINKS
Tyler recommends: Before The Data
Jen recommends: Hole - Live Through This

SOTW
Said The Whale - Mother

You can find Tyler at saidthewhale.com 
And learn more about Fritz Media at fritzmedia.ca

When I started working as a publicist in the music industry, my job was a lot different that it is now. When I started, there were fewer outlets to pitch for coverage because music blogs were barely a thing AND there were local music writers at nearly every print newspaper across Canada. Which is crazy to think about now, but that's how it was.
 
And out of all of those journalists that I used to call up on the phone, there are not very many that are still working in the industry in the same capacity. Some are out of the business completely, some have started their own online publications, and a very limited few are still in the exact same place.  And one of those people is my guest on the show this week - Mike Devlin!  Mike is an arts reporter at the Times Colonist in Victoria, BC. That's where he was when I started in the biz, and that's where he remains to this day. Mike and I discuss the State of Music Journalism in 2021 - how much things have changed, and what the future looks like for music criticism.
 
 FRESH CONTENT LINKS
Mike recommends: Nick Cave's new album Carnage
Jen recommends: Renegades: Born in the USA podcast 

SOTW
Leeroy Stagger - Strange Attractor

You can find Mike at timescolonist.com
And learn more about Fritz Media at fritzmedia.ca

Here in Canada we are lucky to have a lot of different options for funding our arts projects. And the music industry in particular has an incredible national foundation called FACTOR which is a public/private partnership that supports the production of sound recordings by Canadian musicians and helps Canadian music companies make recordings available to a wider public. We also have funding available through our Music Industry Associations (MIAs) in each province and territory, and some provinces also have additional funding available through organizations that offer funding to all creative industries (like Creative BC + Ontario Creates). And there's many other options as well. Like I said, we're very lucky! This week on the show Jen talks to Erin Kinghorn.  Erin  runs eEK! Productions - a Toronto-based marketing, production management and grant administration company, AND she’s also a partner in Digital Promotions Group. Erin tells us all about how to navigate the music funding system here in Canada and has some good tips for musicians who haven't written a grant before.

FRESH CONTENT LINKS
Erin recommends: Elliot Brood's A.C.R.O.N.Y.M. project
Jen recommends:  Framing Britney Spears documentary

SOTW
Bill Jr. Jr. - Renaissance Man

You can find Erin at eekproductions.ca
And learn more about Fritz Media at fritzmedia.ca