Paying tribute to departed and living musicians via memorial tributes and awards is a way of lifting up artists’ significant roles defining and shaping musical innovation and cultural identity.
All-female rock bands like The Beaches are both a breath of fresh air and also heirs to a tradition of women in rock that includes early Black female guitarists and the 1990s riot grrrl movement.
Canadian R&B artists, including Drake, have built lifestyle brands that simultaneously reinforce and challenge dominant beliefs about R&B music as Black and American, and Canadian identity as white.
Canadian folk singer Gordon Lightfoot passed away on May 1. His legacy includes songs that memorialize tragic shipping disasters and the 1968 Detroit Uprising.
The Online Streaming Act is set to soon become law in Canada. The act is a step in the right direction, but more needs to be done to support BIPOC content.
There is a distinction between deliberate use of a song to support a particular political campaign, and incidental music in the background at a social function hosted by a political party.
Here’s how radio Canadian content policy started, and how Canadian legislation, C-11, could contribute to supporting and growing home-grown music in the digital era.
A Spotify boycott wouldn’t fix the working conditions of most musicians. Fostering a more equitable, community-based music culture requires changing how we listen to music and support its production.
Known variously in Juno history as ‘Best Single,’ or ‘Best-Selling Single,’ and now ‘Single of the Year’ this award always garners attention. Reflections on select singles since 1979.
Three-quarters of the high-profile category Juno 2020 nominees were Ontario artists. This year’s awards have been cancelled, but new efforts to boost music development across the country are needed.
Good songs are like good poetry. Literature professor Robert Morrison reflects on The Tragically Hip’s best song, “Ahead by a Century,” and explains the politics of hope within the tune.
Composer John Burge speaks of his drive to create a musical piece to mark Canada’s 150th year of confederation and to capture our collective experiences.