Vancouver labels and artists find new ways to innovate in a music industry shaped by tech
Nettwerk aims to build music's 'middle class,' rapper bbno$ praises social media for democratizing industry
For decades, Vancouver-based Nettwerk Music Group has operated with a simple mission statement: release music we love.
Founded in 1984, Nettwerk has signed and developed major Canadian artists, including Sarah McLachlan and The Barenaked Ladies and currently has a roster of approximately 300 artists, according to Terry McBride, Nettwerk's co-founder and CEO.
He says the company, which also has offices in Los Angeles, London and Hamburg, asks some very basic questions when it looks to sign a musical act.
"Do we love the music? Can we add value? Are the artists and managers not a-holes?" McBride told The Early Edition's Stephen Quinn. "It's just that simple."
While the company's ethos may be straightforward, navigating the ever-changing music industry over four decades has been complex.
Social media plays an increasing role in finding an audience, and many artists rely on touring, merchandise sales, and placing their music in TV and films to make ends meet.
Building music's 'middle class'
McBride says it's been a challenge to adapt to an industry that has gone from vinyl records to cassette tapes to CDs to online piracy and now online streaming (with a resurgence in vinyl mixed in for good measure).
"We work in a community model of artists that have overlapping fan bases, creating a situation where a high tide floats all boats," McBride said.
He says approximately half of Nettwerk's stable of artists make "enough from their intellectual property that touring becomes a want, not a need."
"There is now a middle class of musicians that hasn't existed since the '70s and '80s," he said.
Kate Wattie, co-owner of Vancouver's Tonic Records, commended Nettwerk for its approach to streaming. In Tonic's case, artists rely more heavily on live performances and merchandising. The label is also focusing on getting its artists' music placed in TV and films, which can bring in revenue and new fans.
She says labels like Tonic have evolved from offering standard services, such as help with distribution and marketing, to taking on more of a management role where they look after the business affairs of the artist.
From video games to Juno nominations
Juno-nominated rapper bbno$ (pronounced "baby no money") took an approach to success that wasn't available to artists decades ago. The Vancouver-based musician, who is nominated in the TikTok Juno Fan Choice category, has built a following through TikTok, Instagram, even the dating app Tinder and online classified site Craigslist.
Social media has "democratized" the music industry, says the Vancouver-born rapper, and learning how to market yourself online is a key to success. His marketplace research, he says, occurred with a joystick in his hand.
"I grew up playing video games, so it was very simple to transition myself to understand, and sociologically understand, what people consume online," said bbno$, whose real name is Alex Gumuchian.
"Truthfully, it's just been a pivotal backbone of my career to be able to use and market myself as the music industry is becoming more and more progressively democratic.
"Everyone has the ability to just film a video in their living room, and it could be the biggest thing in the world, and you could be the next big hit sensation."
Wattie says social media is an integral part of the music business, but it can be a double-edged sword.
"I think for a lot of artists, it has been a great way to introduce them to people in ways that no one might have heard them," she said. "The other issue with that is there are so many artists doing that, sometimes it's hard to get your voice heard."
Wattie says breaking through the noise can be a challenge in an industry that is constantly changing. In the past, record labels operated similarly, she said, but now, each one has to forge its own path.
"There was a very formulaic way of doing things, and that doesn't just doesn't exist in quite the same way, especially now."
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With files from The Early Edition and Radio West