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Canadian Podcast AMPLIFY Aims To Uplift Black Voices In The Music Industry

In its new second season, AMPLIFY shares the stories and experiences of prominent Black voices in Canadian music, from artists like Jully Black to executives, choreographers and producers.

​Jully Black

Canadian artist Jully Black, who's in the first episode of season two of AMPLIFY.

Courtesy of ADVANCE

A Canadian podcast dedicated to uplifting Black voices within the music business has released its second season. AMPLIFY, produced by Canadian Black Music Business Collective, ADVANCE, aims to educate and inspire underrepresented music workers navigating the entertainment and music industry.

ADVANCE was launched in 2020 by founders Vivian Barclay, Craig Mannix and Miro Oballa. As Black professionals in the music business, their goal was to create a space to increase Black presence in the industry. AMPLIFY is a product of this push for change.


Season 2 features interviews with people like artist Jully Black, Canada’s Drag Race choreographer and artistic director Hollywood Jade and Grammy nominated-producer LordQuest, as well as a number of Black executives from record labels and ADVANCE. Originally launched in 2022, the podcast’s second season will explore the teachings of guests and navigating the music industry by providing mentorship to aspiring Black Canadians.

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This season aims to widen the scope from its first set of episodes. Media personality Jesse Jones makes her return as narrator, while TV host Marieme Ndlaye will narrate two episodes in French that explore stories and experiences from a francophone lens within Canadian music.

“Offering conversations with an even more diverse lineup of guests with unique journeys, and expanding the conversations surrounding success, season two advances AMPLIFY's goal of being an accessible resource in our community with universal truths that all people can benefit from,” says Jones in a press release.

“It’s important for us as a part of the quilt of hip-hop, to understand we’re laying in the pages of history,” says Jully Black in episode one, which debuted on Oct. 5. “The next is now.”

First Steps, Big Dreams | AMPLIFY by ADVANCE Season 2 Episode 1

Amplify is currently airing on YouTube. Full audio episodes will come out Nov. 24 on all major podcast platforms.

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Executive of the Week: Justin West of Secret City Records on the Secrets of Independent Music Success​
FYI

Executive of the Week: Justin West of Secret City Records on the Secrets of Independent Music Success​

The man behind one of Canada's most successful indie labels talks about the late-blooming success of French-language streaming record-holder Patrick Watson, why he builds long-term relationships with artists, and why it's important for the indie sector to work together.

Justin West is a leader and advocate in Canada’s independent music scene, but he didn’t plan it out that way. When he started his record label Secret City Records in Montreal in the mid-2000s, it was out of necessity. He had met an artist he loved and wanted to build a career with, and the label was a means to do it. That artist was Patrick Watson, and 20 years later he — and Secret City — are more successful than ever.

West — a multiple time Billboard Canada Power Player – leads one of the biggest indie labels in Canada while also advocating for the sector on multiple boards both locally and internationally. When we speak to him for this Executive of the Week interview, he’s just returned from Banff for the National Summit on Artificial Intelligence and Culture, and is a central figure in discussions around the Online Streaming Act and collective negotiations with online streaming platforms.

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