Here’s what I’ve learned from music fans on my cross-Canada speaking tour.
[This was my weekly column for GlobalNews.ca. – AC]
I’ve spent a chunk of 2025 out on the road doing sold-out speaking engagements, covering (so far) Victoria and Nanaimo, B.C., to Ottawa. Fredericton, N.B., Halifax, Toronto and Whitby, Ont., are coming up before the end of the month (only Fredericton still has tickets) and there’s talk of doing something in Quebec in more points east in the fall.
I call these talks “salons,” an opportunity for like-minded music fans to gather to discuss what’s on their mind when it comes to the current state of music, the industry, radio, technology and more. I also find them very useful because I spend most of my time in a soundproof room talking to myself with absolutely no idea if anything I do and say has any impact on the public. Like I tell audiences, there’s nothing like having a room full of strangers tell you the truth about your work in real time.
I’ve done more than a hundred salons over the last five years, and I always find it instructive to learn what’s on the minds of Canadian music fans. Here’s what I’ve learned so far.
