Sound Pollution

By: Melissa Bessey

This is Sound Pollution’s first instalment of a monthly series aimed at giving you an insider’s view on how Canada’s music business movers and shakers really feel about the current state of the Canadian independent music scene. SP Editor Melissa Bessey talks to one of the founders of online international music magazine, SoundProof (http://www.soundproofmagazine.com), Chris Stevenson and gains some insight on why not to fight the numbers game when trying to get your music ‘out there’.

In your opinion, how does the independent music scene in Canada compare to other countries in terms of size, popularity and overall support from fans and within the industry?

Chris: Canada is very spread out and doesn’t have a huge population when compared with the United States, which makes it difficult to navigate en masse. I think in the last 10-15 years there has been continually growing interest in Canada from the rest of the world and our music scene as a result of the exposure of Fiest and BSS. I think Canadian fans are now and have always been very supportive of indie bands, but the truth is that the world is a much smaller place now and physical location is not as limiting as it once was thanks to the magic of the interwebs.

How have your experiences as a musician as well as founder of an international music mag., changed your perception of the Canadian music industry today for better or worse?

Chris: I think if you’re playing music because you love it and want to create, things could not be better right now. You have the opportunity to be able to create and promote your music with little money, and build a fan base through online means. If you are hoping to make a lot of money with music, then it is a tougher game to play. Fortunately, as a musician, I never expected to make money – and I haven’t been wrong!

As for running www.soundproofmagazine.com my main takeaway is that there are a lot of REALLY talented, dedicated, wonderful people out there. Musicians, writers, photographers, PR people, managers, labels, and so on. We haven’t made much money with SoundProof either, but we did meet some truly kind and amazing people, who I hope are better for the experience for having been involved. I know I am.

Where do feel there is most room for improvement within the Canadian indie music scene, in order to facilitate new growth?

Chris: I think it is important we realize that the world is out there for us to engage. It’s great to play local shows and build up a bunch of people, who like your band, but the ability to share your music around the world is there for the taking, and we should take it! There are more people in the state of California than in all of Canada. You can’t argue with those numbers. When someone buys your t-shirt or your download online, it doesn’t matter where they are in the world – and I think it is really cool to have people participating in what you do around the world. That’s not to say “forget Canada”, far from it, but to think globally.