Words & Music is pleased to extend its helpful “how-to” series for our members, “The Breakdown,” into the realm of short, question-and-answer videos.

Obviously, an emerging artist doesn’t always have the budget to pay a radio tracker to help them conquer the airwaves, but it is possible to directly solicit radio programmers.

With these tips from Martin Véronneau, radio tracker at Local 9, you’ll have more tools to convince them to play your song.



Classified leads the pack for the 2021 East Coast Music Awards (ECMAs) with eight nominations, while Rose Cousins follows closely with six, and Beòlach, Catherine MacLellan, David Myles, Neon Dreams, and Rich Aucoin have each earned four.

The nominees include:

Songwriter of the Year
Catherine MacLellan
Classified
David Myles
Joel Plaskett
Rose Cousins

Song of the Year
Classified – “Good News” featuring Breagh Isabel
Like A Motorcycle – “Wide Awake”
Neon Dreams – “Sick of Feeling Useless”
Rachel Beck – “Warrior”
Rich Aucoin – “Walls”

Classical Composition of the Year
Andrew Staniland – Peter Quince at the Clavier
Bekah Simms – Granitic
Derek Charke – Tree Rings
Dinuk Wijeratne – The Spirit and the Dust
Emily Doolittle – Doolittle: Minute Études Excerpts (Live)
Peter-Anthony Togni – Sea Dreams

Francophone Recording of the Year
Émilie Landry – Arroser les Fleurs
Joey Robin Haché – TRENTE
Les Hay Babies – Boîte aux lettres
Matt Boudreau – Armageddon
Menoncle Jason – La grosse piastre

This year’s awards lineup features a new category – African Canadian Artist of the Year – with Joe Bowden, Keonte Beals, Miokal, Owen O’Sound Lee, Shelley Hamilton, and Zamani all vying for the honour.

The 2021 East Coast Music Awards will take place May 5-9 in Sydney, Nova Scotia, though what that festival and show will look like is still being determined by COVID-19 restrictions. Last year’s show migrated online, and was postponed from May to July 11, with pre-recorded performances and no audience.



Words & Music is pleased to extend its helpful “how-to” series for our members, “The Breakdown,” into the realm of short, question-and-answer videos.

 In this episode, former SOCAN Editor in Chief Howard Druckman talks with grandson (aka Jordan Benjamin), who won the 2019 SOCAN Songwriting Prize for co-writing (and performing) “Blood//Water.” The song, whose hard rock and social comment is typical of grandson’s approach, was also certified Gold in the U.K., and Platinum in the U.S. and Canada. His single “Apologize” reached the Top Five on the Billboard Canadian Rock Chart , while “Dirty” was Top 10, and also reached No. 11 on the Billboard U.S. Alternative Chart. He’s toured with Smashing Pumpkins; worked with his early heroes Mike Shinoda of Linkin Park and Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine; and performed on Late Night with Seth Myers.

Our question for him this time is about building a loyal fanbase.