2021 Archives - Alan Cross' A Journal of Musical Things

Will Lollapalooza end up being a COVID superspreader event?

Give what you know about the rise of the Delta variant of COVID, would you have gone to Lollapalooza last

…and you can see why. The AV Club also has this story. “Is it safe?” That’s the number-one question I

SOCAN, Canada’s performing rights organization, holds an annual awards program that seeks to name the best Canadian songwriter of the

The Mercury Prize is the inspiration for Canada’s Polaris Music Prize: A juried competition to determine the best album of

You know we’re deep into summer when we start talking about the finalists for the Polaris Music Prize. We started

After nearly of year of nominating, lobbying, and listening, the jury for the Polaris Music Prize (200+ people of which

In the Before Times, Record Store Day was held on the third Saturday of April. COVID screwed that up with

After much nominating, lobbying, evaluating, and voting, we now have the shortlist of 10 great Canadian-made music videos in the

First, a couple of observations about last night’s 50th-anniverary Juno Awards. It was a sombre affair with plenty of attention

They saved the performance for the last five minutes of the two hour broadcast. Set up on the stage of

The big Junos telecast is tomorrow night, but that will only feature half a dozen or so of the major

Being your Authentic Self – Richard Crouse in conversation with TBP Podcast EP 035 July 2, 2021
You would be given a free pass if you forgot that before the rise of the social media influencer there were already pundits and personalities on TV, radio and print. There’s just been that much exponential change in the media business over the last 15 years. Yet today, those who were formerly the audience are […]
Mark Silver
The Business of Radio – Elliott Hurst in conversation with TBP Podcast EP 034 June 21, 2021
The commercialization of streaming audio is not a new phenomenon. Going back 100 years, it was simply known by another name, broadcasting. With the launch, rise and now transition to digital and apps, the business models of audio-preneurs have generally been the same, mostly because of the challenge of measurement, a problem audio’s cousin television […]
Mark Silver
The Custodian of Toronto Sports – Richard Peddie in conversation with TBP Podcast EP 033 May 27, 2021
Over a 20+ year span, as the Toronto pro sports scene evolved from older venues and stands filled with blue and white (Leafs, Blue Jays, Argonauts) to a more intense red (Raptors, TFC), and grand coliseums that define the city’s skyline, there is one sports executive in particular who ownership looked to. We’re of course […]
Mark Silver