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FYI

The Awesome Music Project Canada

Published this week, the hardcover book explores the transformative power of music. Contributors include Sarah McLachlan and Chris Hadfield, and proceeds benefit music and mental health research.

The Awesome Music Project Canada

By FYI Staff

The transformative power of music is at the heart of The Awesome Music Project Canada: Songs of Hope and Happiness, a hardcover book published tomorrow (Oct. 10).


Written by co-authors Terry Stuart and Robert Carli for the music lover in all of us, this compilation of intimate recollections by Canadians from every province and territory comprises stories from Canadians from all walks of life. Contributors include such celebrities as Sarah McLachlan, Chris Hadfield, Madeleine Thien and Theo Fleury, all sharing how music changed their lives.

The book reveals that astronaut Hadfield turned to music for comfort through the loss of a close friend, while Grammy-winning star McLachlan used it to escape the torment of high-school bullies. 

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Rounding out the book are descriptions of the neurological research confirming that music is good for us. It improves our mental, emotional, and physical health, wards off depression, and even delays dementia. Put simply: music makes us feel good.

Proceeds from The Awesome Music Project Canada will go to music and mental health research, starting with the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), Canada's largest mental health and addiction teaching hospital and one of the world's leading research centres.

For more information and to order the book, go here

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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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