I am writing this in the airport on my way to Bucharest, Romania to the showcase festival Mastering the Music Business. This is my first live attendance at an event in just over a year and a half and it feels strange to be on a airport again.

I'm really glad to be going and given the opportunity to make it happen. I'm still amazed how the global entertainment industry is still in hard lockdown. While I sit in the terminal you can just see clearly how the politicians just count us as something extra that is not important; the theory being music, especially live music, is just something you can be without and not an essential part of life.  If I would go forward with an event in Sweden right now, I'm only allowed to have 50 people in the audience, seated with 1.5 meters apart, if you serve alcohol. Currently, right in front of me, are at least 80 people crammed in the bar drinking alcohol. If I put a girl with a guitar in there would it suddenly be considered unsafe?

Now we are crammed in a totally full to capacity plane. If I stand up and sang a song would all these people get COVID?

Blues alt-country soft-rock duo Fresh Breath are asking How Did I Get Here with the release of this, their new album.

And Fresh Breath is a perfect name for this dynamic duo, KT and Josh, as they truly are a fresh breath of music when there is so much music being released right now that is just not as captivating as this band.

The six-song EP is a culminating reflection of the band’s married members, KT and Josh, and their own relationship stories — from the early days of when the couple first met, to their take on the world navigating isolation, all the way to the darkness they were forced to find in order to keep their own lights shining.

This year’s previously released lead single “World Gone Crazy” covered ground as an alternative protest piece around social injustices and pandemic fatigue, whereas newly unveiled songs “You & Me,” and the album’s title track, “How Did I Get Here,” land as sweetly tender and raw with revelation.

“It’s no secret our world has changed,” Josh marvels, “and when you read through the track list of the album, it pretty much sums up what we went through in 2020.”

This is a story about a new song that I will share with you This message was from an artist I used to work with around ten years ago. “Fun!”, I thought, it’s always fun to see if someone has evolved as an artist, especially in this case since I haven’t really had any contact just followed what he was doing online from time to time.

I took a listen to the link. I can also kill a myth here. Yes, I usually listen to everything I get in. The thing is that I don’t really have time to respond to all things I get in. If something is interesting, I will get back to the artist but just having conversations around stuff that is not interesting is just taking part of my precious time. And most people in the business are doing the same. They listen but rarely have time to answer anything back.

Five-time JUNO Award-winning and Gold- and Platinum-selling Canadian ‘First Lady of the Classical Guitar’ Liona Boyd presents her newly minted version of the instrumental hit “Popcorn” in new single, “Popcorn (Remix)” .

Check out “Popcorn (Remix)” on YouTube here:

A vibrant arrangement for classical guitar, complete with a retro disco feel, “Popcorn (Remix)” is certain to get audiences up, and out of their seats dancing.

“This version of ‘Popcorn’ has been several years in the making,” Boyd reveals of the newly reimagined tune. “I’m so happy to finally be sharing both this instrumental song and video!”

Filmed in Toronto, as well as Palm Beach, Florida, the playful and colourful video radiates Boyd’s love of life — all while continuing to highlight her tenured career enthralling millions with her signature romantic spin on classical, folk, and world music.

The changes to the music industry are not just the COVID situation. You must consider also climate change as a part of the new industry. Tonight another city in Sweden was flooded and all roads were cut off, the fifth just the past month. And these floodings are nothing  compared to the flooding in Europe or in Chine earlier in the summer. At the same time, there are big fires in Greece and Turkey. Canada and USA had their fires earlier that were also devasting. All these factors will affect the music industry.

This week we spotlight ICNA Relief Food Bank 6120 Montevideo Rd. Unit #4
Mississauga, Tel: 905-858-1067
Email: mississaugafb@icnareliefcanada.ca Because of COVID, please contact prior to going.

Support your local food bank. The need is real.

A joyous and blissed-out dance cut, ‘Cold Heart’ sees the pair come together on record for the first time. The seed of the collaboration was planted after Dua invited Elton for an Instagram live, discussing his experiences with Studio 54 ahead of her remix album ‘Club Future Nostalgia.’

This week we spotlight Thornhill Food Bank 1 Leaside Park Dr Unit 5B, Toronto, East York Office phone 647-428-9755

Email thorncliffefb@icnareliefcanada.ca

COVID19 -- Food bank open by appointment only, call and leave message Wed to Sun.

Recognizing the cultural division in not just his home country, but all over the world, Americana-centric musician Jordan Page has released his latest track, “Hour of Change”.

Crafted for ‘all people of all nations,’ the soulful, electric-acoustic ballad is very much on-brand for the Northport, Washington-based artist. An advocate for equal human rights and general liberty — in not just a musical sense, but in morality too — the inspiring single not only offers a gorgeous variety of chord progressions and soothing vocal melody sure to make arm hairs stand on end, but reflects on current times, celebrating unity in an era plagued by fear and division, too.

This concept is echoed in the song’s touching music video which accompanies it; there, the viewer is met with a montage of shocking news broadcasts, struggling people in poverty, protesters, and frontline healthcare workers who all come together as one, in unity, against corruption and darkness which has shrouded the world for the last few years.

With close to 280,000 views on YouTube check out “Hour of Change” here:

I was talking to a friend who is an amateur artist. He has some success in his genre but it’s a hobby for him. During the past weeks, I had this conversation with several artists so I thought of writing a piece around it to explain how the digital distribution is divided and how it works.

My friend had uploaded on a kind of famous site to be shade. This site is very common but for us the professional industry it has a long time being really shady. First of all, you can upload your songs through an app for no cost but most of the cost is hidden so, in reality, it’s not free. My friend knew that but actually bought an upgrade some he became a pro member to get better service to be able to talk to support and get things out in 48 hours.

When two multi-Platinum and Gold-selling Canadian artists pass time together the best way they know how, the result is certain to turn ears. And such is the case for award-winning musicians Barney Bentall and Geoffrey Kelly and their newly announced album, RanchWriters — available this Fall via True North Records.

RanchWriters will be released September 17,  2021 but can be pre-ordered:
truenorthrecords.com/ranchwriters/

Beloved around the world for his JUNO Award-winning band, the Legendary Hearts, Barney Bentall went on to release multiple acclaimed albums as a solo artist; most recently, he’s also a part of bluegrass-folk band, The High Bar Gang. And as one of the primary songwriters in Spirit of the West, Geoffrey Kelly is one of the nation’s most lauded Celtic musicians and folk-rockers who has also performed with the Irish Rovers and as one of the Paperboys.

I am always amazed at how stupid you can ever be in this business. Just got a message on social media about our festival from a random dude with Hello, and then a link to a page. You can see the page is booking agency. Just by curiosity, I went out there to look. The page holds around a hundred lookalike artists.

First of all, a festival normally is not looking for a look-a-like artist or impersonator. They probably have access to the real deal if the artist is still alive. This is more for cheap weddings, birthday parties  and boat cruises, still usually the standards of these bands are better than this. Obviously, nothing appealing for the festival. I just sent the dude back a link to the application site, the worst thing would be that he applied with a hundred utterly bad look-a-like acts.

Then I directly get a message back, what fee can we get? I just wanted to write back, for real if you pay me 1000 euros, I will consider having mercy on one of your acts. I didn’t of course;  I used the standard answer, I didn’t reply at all.

This week we salute the folks behind Beeton Cupboard Foodbank at St. Michaels All Angels Church.611 St. Clair Ave. West. (416) 653-3593. Our outreach program remains a high priority at this time. The Beeton Cupboard Food Bank is an essential service and will continue serving our community on Wednesdays. Steps have been taken to adjust service delivery in line with up-to-date Public Health advice.  Open 11:30am - 12:30pm on Wednesdays

Coming off the success of his second #1 at Canadian country radio, Jade Eagleson has teamed up with celebrated Canadian icon Dean Brody to bring fans what is sure to be the good-time anthem of the year, “More Drinkin’ than Fishin’.” Celebrating the small-town roots that make them two of country music’s favourite voices, the pair feels completely at home in the familiar twang of this fun, light-hearted track about a couple of good ol’ country boys just enjoying some time on the lake.

To be an artist is like running a business. Any business; it’s not anything special just because it’s about music though many want you to believe that. As an artist you will face the same obstacles as any entrepreneur that starts a restaurant or landscaping you name it, you are all in the same boat.

With that in mind, I just can’t understand why people try to make it so magical. If you start a restaurant where the food is mediocre, but you are in a place where a lot of people pass by. Yes, you will make the restaurant  go round. It won’t be famous; people won’t talk about it, but it fulfills its purpose. I guess this will be like a the troubadour in the music industry. Yes, you play at different places, but you play old hits in the corner. Nothing wrong with it but people won’t talk about it in that kind of sense. You get your money but there are thousands of these people playing what people want to hear as entertainment.