TD Ottawa Jazz Festival kicks off in less than two weeks!
TD Ottawa Jazz Festival kicks off in less than two weeks!
The 37th edition of the TD Ottawa Jazz Festival from June 22 to July 2 showcases the headlining Concerts Under the Stars series at 8:30 pm (one concert at 9:30 pm) on the TekSavvy Main Stage. (more…)
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X Ambassadors bring arena rock feel to final night of CityFolk
X Ambassadors bring arena rock feel to final night of CityFolk
Day four of CityFolk Fest offered clear blue skies, warm temperatures, and short shorts. Rounding out a weekend of unique musical experiences, the final day of this annual Ottawa tradition actually provided some of the strongest and quite possibly most dynamic performers. (more…)
Ottawa has been called a sleepy town which stops at 6:30 in the evening. Is this true?
Yeah! Sleepy for sure, just the wrong time! You can pretty much count on two in the morning until 6:30 in the morning being the time that people sleep. The rest of the time, the city hums. The hipsters are being taken care of by Spectrosonic, our festival industry covers all genres, including Blues, Jazz, Chamber music, Folk, and Beer-drinking’ good times. The National Arts Centre steps it up a little for the political in town, so there’s ample action for all.
After 36 years in this business, how do you see the future unfolding?
Your guess is probably better than mine! I’m just hoping I can get another great 24 years out of selling music, and I’ll have enjoyed going to work every day doing it. As for artists, pretty tough, but Taylor Swift proved you can still sell CDs. And, God bless her, she’s off Spotify! Good for her. Record companies? I still think they’re important to what I do. We look forward to them continuing to bring us great music.
Describe the changes you have seen since starting out in 1978.
Well, when we first started, we had to make a decision on whether we were going to include 8-tracks in our inventory mix. Fortunately, we made the right decision. Since then, (brother) James and I have seen the demise of vinyl, the rise of cassettes, the demise of cassettes, the 32 year run of CDs, which continues to plod along, the advent of MP3s, the digital delivery of music, the streaming of music, and now the remarkable resurgence of the format we all know and love, vinyl. As for streaming, it’s a good sales tool, but as a retailer I can’t think of anything good about it!
What's your take on the A&R process and the new acts coming through the door?
A&R is a tricky business. But the record companies seem to get it right, on an on-going basis. I like what every record company does. After all, I’m a retailer. I’ve got no choice but to trust they get it right. Not only do I like their established acts, but I’m forever interested in breakout acts, and have been for the past 36 years! And probably for the first 20 years before that! I hope when I’m 80 years old, there’ll still be some 20-year-old whippersnapper that blows my musical mind.
Finally, do you think contest TV shows are a good way to find talent?
Hell no! But then, I’ve never watched The Voice, American Idol, Canadian Idol, The X Factor, America's Got Talent… have I mentioned them all? If not, I haven’t watched those, either! Talent needs to be developed from a very early age, and then launched when the time is right. And then, it’s up to the record companies to decide what’s on the roster, and what’s not. And then, it’s up to me to sell it for them. Which I’ll be happy to do, day in, day out, as I’ve done for the past 36 years. Naturally, we wish everybody the best in this industry, and if you’re looking for help from Compact Music, don’t hesitate to call.
