This week in RCS Music News Weekly: Deadline is tonight for 14 grants of $1000 to K-W musicians, Lemon hits RCS this summer, and Arizton Intelligence gives musicians 10% more reason to get stoked about stock music. But first…
Shawn Hook Returns to His Roots in “Take Me Home”
Canadian singer/songwriter Shawn Hook returns to his roots in the official music video for “Take Me Home” (Ultra Records).
Filmed across the scenic Kootenay region of British Columbia, the video (released in December) literally takes Hook home to Nelson, BC, where he grew up and played his first live show. Intercut with VHS clips from Hook’s childhood, the video includes Hook driving his father’s sweet 1976 Trans-Am across the Nelson bridge known locally as BOB (the big orange bridge). He also visits his great grandmother’s house, as well as the living room where he first learned how to play guitar and piano.
Produced by Brass Tacks Films, the video stands as yet another example of why some people who visit Nelson (or anywhere in BC) decide to stay or are always thinking of going back, and explains why Hook would be inspired to write “Take Me Home.”
14 Grants of $1000 Available to Musicians
To help K-W musicians reconnect with and grow their audiences, 14 grants of $1000 are now available to artists from the Create and Connect Fund to produce a song, create a livestream, create a music video, get new band photos, or anything that will help move their careers forward.
Applicants must be 16 years of age or older and live in Waterloo Region.
Deadline for grants (administered by Centre in the Square) is today—March 19th—by midnight.
>> Click here to submit your online application (It only takes a few minutes.)
In support of the Create and Connect Fund (and area musicians overall), Royal City Studios is offering discounts on its rehearsal and recording facilities to Create and Connect Fund recipients to help produce their projects.
Lemon Hits RCS This Summer!
Join Canada’s Drag Race season 1 star Lemon for an unforgettable night when Lemon – The Rescheduled Tour hits the main stage this summer, July 22nd, at Royal City Studios.
Two performances: 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. ET.
Memorable Lemon quote (among many): “I’m gorgeous, hilarious, and sour as hell.” (Yup, this is going right into the Big Book of Awesome Quotes We Wish We’d Said.)
>> Pre-order your Lemon Tour tickets here
Thanks to Nicky Pearson for Choosing RCS!
Big thanks to Nicky Pearson, who dropped by Royal City Studios last weekend to record learning module narration for Respect Group, a company dedicated to empowering people to recognize and prevent bullying, abuse, harassment, and discrimination (BAHD) through interactive, online training courses.
Royal City Studios stands behind Respect Group’s mission, and we were honored that Nicky chose us for her important work.
What message do you have to get out there?
Whatever it is, two things are true wherever you are and however you choose to record narration:
- Audio quality is more important than video quality to engage people and build trust and believability. This applies to anything involving narration: Skillshare courses, LinkedIn Learning courses, marketing videos. You get the gist.
- While people often believe that recording studios are just for musicians, recording studios are for any kind of recording. (Just ask Nicky.)
If you’ve got home recording gear for top-quality audio, great! If you don’t, or if you can’t record until everyone has left the house and the dog stops barking, we’re here when you’re ready to record your narration with clarity and impact in a distraction-free environment.
Book 4 hours in Our Recording Studio for Just $99
Bring your own engineer. Don’t have one? Choose one of ours.
Need more than four hours?
>> Here are our pricing packages
Royal City Studios is a respectful, inclusive, fully accessible environment with COVID safety protocols in effect, a lounge in which to relax between takes, free WiFi, and refreshments to fuel your work.
Whatever you need, we’re here to help ensure you have it.
We’re speaking about the confines of recording and rehearsals, naturally. We all need other things, of course, like dishes that miraculously wash themselves or pets that can inexplicably pick winning lottery tickets. If we discover these, we’ll definitely make sure you’re the first to know.
10% More Reason to Get Stoked About Stock Music
Arizton Advisory & Intelligence recently projected the stock music market is expected to grow by 10% by 2026, fuelled by projected podcast growth and growing demand by consumers for better movie and audio-user experience. In other words, if you’ve been “Meh!” in the past about submitting your music to stock sites like Audio Network or Soundstripe, Arizton advises you to get stoked about stock!
More Assistance for the Canadian Music Industry
The Unison Fund recently received $2 million from the Canadian government to provide counselling and emergency financial assistance to Canadian artists and industry workers impacted by COVID-19. For more about the fund, visit the Unison Fund’s home page at www.unisonfund.ca. For immediate assistance, call toll free at 1-855-986,4766.
Doodeo Announces New Livestreaming Service
The name Doodeo may cause any 10-year-old to giggle, but that hasn’t stopped the Los Angeles-based platform (kind of like LinkedIn for performers) from recently announcing the upcoming launch of its new livestreaming service. According to the company, the new feature will allow artists to host online concerts and fundraisers while producing an income through virtual audience.
How does this differ from any other livestream platform?
According to the company: In addition to allowing artists to play virtual gigs, the new service will make it easy for people to book artists for private performances like company holiday parties and other corporate gigs, which may not seem rock ‘n’ roll. Yet bands have been quietly buttering their bread for years from corporate gigs. So, Doodeo’s new feature is really just an evolution of what has been happening anyway, and Doodeo is just widening the door.
Newly Released Music
- GBR Drops New Music—Today
Alternative hip hop duo GBR (lyricist Gavin Breen and producer ROEZ) drop their newest single “Quiet My Mind (Reflect)” today (March 19th) on all major streaming platforms. Catch it on YouTube or visit Linktree to stream it on Spotify and Apple Music.
- Shred Kelly Releases “For What It’s Worth”
On March 18th, the five-piece BC folk-rock band Shred Kelly released their cover of the Buffalo Springfield song “For What It’s Worth.” Recorded with the BC duo Moontricks, the release became a remote recording collaboration after Shred Kelly had the opportunity to jam the song with Moontricks at the Kaslo Jazz Etc Summer Music Festival.
“Share it with your chickens, kids, strangers on the street, blast it out your car windows to anyone who will listen,” Shred Kelly encourages on their Facebook page. “Or share it in the good ol’ new fashion way on the internet is super too.”
- Alex Bruce Drops “The Parting Glass”
On St. Patty’s Day, Alex Bruce dropped “The Parting Glass,” his rendition of a traditional Celtic folk song sung at the end of a gathering of friends. Evoking the etherealness of a windswept landscape with his clear and stunning harmonies, Bruce somehow turns this evocative goodbye song into a hello to the better, post-pandemic days poised to soon waft down from the Highlands (or whatever hills or mountains exist where you live).
- Jess Wedden Releases “Macopin Pond”
Canadian Folk Music Award nominee Jess Wedden dropped her original song “Macopin Pond” onto YouTube on March 17th. Playing all four parts (acoustic guitar, fiddle, bass, and mandolin), Wedden demonstrates why Canadian fiddling legend Ashley MacIsaac called her “one of the best performers I’ve had the privilege to appear on stage with.”
Droppin’ your own new music soon? Keep us in the loop at RCS Music News Weekly.
Contact us at Royal City Studios or DM us on social.
Share the Music News Love!
Know someone who’d enjoy RCS Music News Weekly or simply the chance to stay in the loop in case we ever do discover self-washing dishes? (We’re really hoping for that.) Earn good karma by shooting them a link if you’re reading this as a blog or forward this on if you’re receiving this as email.
Here’s a message you can share with friends:
Thought I’d share the newest, bakery-fresh edition of RCS Music News Weekly. I keep telling them that they don’t actually need to bake this newsletter before sending it out, but apparently they have some ethos of freshness that defies explanation. It’s weird.
Anyhoo, enjoy! To get RCS Music News Weekly delivered right to your inbox, visit the Royal City Studios home page and subscribe to their mailing list.
Leave a Reply