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Hey all! This here is a list of Canadian music websites that will slowly grow over time as more sites are found and added. These websites will all be a great resource for users to follow, share, and discover Canadian music, music events, and perhaps even a bit of music history.
If you have any sites you are aware of that aren't listed here, please feel free to leave a comment pointing them out! While this post will not be pinned to the community, it will be added to the sidebar as a helpful pointer to Canadian music resources to new community members and those passing by.
THIS LIST WILL GROW AS MORE RESOURCES ARE DISCOVERED
Digital Music Magazines:
- Exclaim! - Canada's biggest music magazine! On top of having a digital publication, one can find print copies of Exclaim! for free all around Canada.
- HipHop Canada - Canada's go-to digital magazine for Canadian hiphop and rap news. These people give the Canadian hiphop scene the true attention it deserves as Canada has a huge pool of undiscovered hiphop talent. Please give them your readership.
- Roots Music Canada - Your go-to stop if you love roots music and want to give Canadian talent your listening ear. Please feel free to support them with a donation or volunteer writing as they are independent and donor-funded.
Canadian Music News:
- CBC Music - The CBC has it's own section of it's website dedicated solely to music news! Please, of all the music news listed, your readership here is appreciated as the CBC is publicly funded with your tax dollars. Put those tax dollars to use by reading the excellent news provided here!
- CityNews' "The Music Beat - Centred specifically on Calgary, The Music Beat is a segment of CityNews' programming that gives attention to Canadian music and the Canadian music scene as it pertains to Calgary.
Other Publications with Music Segments:
- Calgary Guardian's "Five Minutes With" series - The Calgary Guardian does a weekly "Five Minutes With" segment in which they highlight music talent in a five-minute interview with the artist. While artists typically are Calgarian themselves, interviews also include other artists throughout Alberta.
Canadian Music Databases & Directories:
- Calgary Cassette Preservation Society - the Calgary Cassette Preservation Society (CCPS) is a small preservation group based in Calgary focused on preserving Calgary's local music history. One can discover older music recordings from cassettes and records, as well as links to download rips of these historical tunes.
- Alberta Music - Alberta Music is a website and organization that seeks to expand the reach of Albertan music talent. Alberta Music has incredible resources, such as a directory of Alberta-based musicians, Alberta-centric music news, and a list of resources for growing music acts in Alberta.
- Indigenous Music - Indigenous Music is a music organization based out of Manitoba, highlighting the rich presence of Indigenous music the province has to offer. Included in their website is a directory of Indigenous musicians based in Manitoba, a listing of upcoming live music events, and music resources for aspiring indigenous musicians in Manitoba.
Canadian Music Streaming:
- CBC Listen - CBC Listen provides music playlists and live music radio for free to Canadians. Again, please utilize this resource extensively as you pay for it with your tax dollars! Put those sweet dollars to good use!
- Nikamowin - A music streaming platform for indigenous artists, by indigenous artists. There is endless indigenous talent to be found here, please check it out!
Canadian Music Awards:
- The Junos - Canada's single largest and most important music awards. The Junos are held every year with a wide variety of categories artists can be nominated for. It is always a blast, please be sure to follow them closely as you may find incredible new music based on the nominations.
- CCMA Awards - The Canadian Country Music Association (CCMA) does a yearly music awards ceremony in which they recognize Canadian country music talent. If you're a country music love, tune in!
- The Canadian Folk Music Awards - Canada has an incredibly rich folk music scene, indicated by the countless folk music festivals that occur around the country each year. These awards give recognition to the cream of the crop in a deep pool of music ability.
- The Polaris Music Prize - This award is for the best album of the year based purely on artistic merit, not sales, genre, or label.
Useful, Non-Canadian Resources:
- MusicBrainz/ListenBrainz - MetaBrainz is a non-profit organization based out of California that seeks to create the world's ultimate music information database. MusicBrainz is their primary project, which serves as an incredible resource by providing users the option to search for music talent based on area. One can find musicians throughout Canada, in specific provinces, or specific cities or towns. ListenBrainz is a joint project which serves as a music tracker much in the same way lastfm is. ListenBrainz's radio feature allows users to find musicians utilizing specific tags, such as the country they're from, the genre they specialize in, or both.
- ReverbNation While owned by Singaporean company BandLab Technologies, ReverbNation's search feature allows one to find musicians within certain countries and localities using their Location search.
- BandCamp - BandCamp, while American, has incredible search features to help one find Canadian music and musicians. One can combine genre tags and the area in which they wish to find musicians. BE CAUTIOUS: sometimes non-Canadian music will appear in results as they are posted on the pages of Canada-based music publishers. Big example of this is non-Canadian electronic musicians appearing in results due to their music being published on the pages of a record label based in Canada, such as Monstercat.