What I wish I said over the last few weeks. (Clickbait title, I'm tired.)
Vol. 22 - Podcasting in Montreal's music scene, William H. Macy, awards, meetups and more!
Hihi!! Happy Pod the North Tuesday! 64 days until I might see a whale!
In this issue:
A roledex of career hangxiety.
Also Cool Sounds Like has a symbiotic relationship with Montreal’s music scene.
Canadian Indie: F*ck Buddies Podcast.
True North Podcast Feature: Anti-Racist Educator Reads.
Canadian podcasting data, Maya Hawke, William H. Macy and Richard Stengel.
AN UPDATE: There are currently 28 long-term drinking water advisories in effect in 26 First Nations communities across Canada. So far in 2023, 1 long-term drinking water advisory was added and 5 have been lifted.
Over the last two weeks I was invited onto two podcasts to share my insights on Canadian podcasting.
I think I did okay.
The first was The Sound Off Podcast with Manitoba-based Matt Cundill. The show is about podcast and broadcast, and has featured the likes of Let’s Talk and Today In TO’s Dani Stover and
’s . Matt clearly did his research on me and stumped me with a lot of great questions, but it was a great chat!The second was CBC’s Commotion, where I joined Elamin Abdelmahmoud, and Vulture podcast critic and industry notable, Nick Quah, which was totally surreal.
Amongst a wild month of freelance work and indie podcasting craziness, the exciting chance to guest on these wonderful shows came and went in seemlingly the blink of an eye. Since recording with Elamin yesterday morning, I’m only really getting a chance to savour these past weeks now - yes, the Monday night before this newsletter goes out.
Finally getting a chance to reflect, I’ve been doing that thing where you spiral through everything you said the night before, after a few too many cocktails, and everything you wish you said instead when the opportunity was right there in front of you. It’s like a little roledex of career hangxiety.
Sure, for podcasts being some of my first times being the interviewee rather than the interviewer when it comes to talking podcasting, I think I did a solid 3.5/5 job - a B+. Despite my parents saying they’d actually score me a 4.5, I’m also willing to bet that Nick Quah didn’t also immediately text his family afterwards about it.
Anyhow, I figured, “hey I’ve got this thing on Substack” where I can actually get to the thoughts I had brewing and couldn’t get to or articulate during those podcasts.
So here’s some stuff I wish I said over the last few weeks that I prepared in my phone’s notes app but didn’t quite make it out of my mouth for whatever reason…
Canada’s *overall vibe* is generally risk-averse compared to the USA, and that theme trickles into podcasting.
With the USA pouring millions into podcasting generally across the board, that means teams have been bigger, resources more abundant, and opportunities more in reach, including for Canadian-based podcasters.
But being risk-averse might have actually benefitted the Canadian ecosystem too, as we’ve seen massive layoffs at Spotify, Gimlet and NPR recently. Those kinds of monumental downturns haven’t quite happened here and I think it could be because we’ve been playing it safe up until now. Canadian podcasting seems to be slow and steady, just maybe it’s time to turn up the heat a little.
Funding for podcasting in Canada is generally disappointing, but I’m optimistic.
To see governement and grant funding out there for podcasts that aren’t distinctly “artistic” in nature is rare, and not funding conversational podcasts is a big miss in my opinion.
Funding for Indigenous podcasting in particular is lacking, and that means we’re missing out on important stories. However, I’m starting to feel a change in the winds. Canadian Arts Journalist, Jesse Wente, recently revealed on a soon-to-be-released episode of the Matriarch Movement podcast that the Indigenous Screen Office would be launching a new podcast initiative. When I talked to the ISO recently, they also directed me to Creative BC’s Pilot Podcast Program launched this year and just wrapped in April (more to come on both these things, stay tuned!).
Also seeing more thoughtful and varied calls for pitches in the last year from the likes of Frequency Podcasts and Canadaland has been really encouraging to see, so it looks like leaders and funders are really starting to take podcasting as a whole seriously around here.
We can’t talk about podcasting without talking about internet access.
The Minister of Rural Economic Development was quoted saying Canada was on track to having 98% of Canadians connected to highspeed internet by 2026, and all Canadians by 2030. According to the cangov website we’re currently sitting at 90% of Canadian households already connected to high-speed Internet, but the fact that less that 43% of households on reserves were hooked up as of 2021 feels like a big difference to me over two years. Maybe I’m speculating too much here, but we should all keep an eye on this stuff if we really want to talk about a healthy podcasting ecosystem in this country.
Extra bits…
I’ve shouted out Let’s Make a Rom-Com a bunch lately, which is definitely one of my favourite podcasts to come out this year, but never got a chance to squeeze in a true shout out to max collins, my peer and pal, who happens to be the talented editor and sound designer on the show. EXCELLENT JOB MAX.
Thoughts from the ecosystem:
Also Cool Sounds Like has a symbiotic relationship with Montreal’s music scene.
The first time I visited Montreal I was immediately in love with the city, and pretty much anyone I talk to about it echoes my sentiments; mostly, that the music scene is just so alive, so diverse, and just SO GOOD! In fact, some of Canada’s most beloved (and most controversial) bands and musicians have come out of Montreal.
So what the heck is in Montreal's water that has formed such a vibrant creative community? Aviva Lessard and Gwen Roley have been using their indie podcast, Also Cool Sounds Like, to figure that out.
Aviva is a Montreal-based Podcast Producer for Canadaland and Gwen an American-born Journalist who bonded with Aviva over podcasting and hoping to one day use it as a creative outlet to talk about music. So when the opportunity came to take on the second season of Also Cool Sounds Like, the two were the obvious dynamic duo to do so.
Also Cool Sounds Like is a part of the Also Cool music and arts digital magazine; an arts community that is completely volunteer-run based out of Montreal and Ottawa. On their website you’ll find articles that cover local musical acts, craftspeople, markets, events, theater, and info about events they run as well.
Aviva and Gwen’s roles? The “podcast gals”.
Since picking up the show after the podcast’s first producer moved away, Aviva and Gwen have not only picked the creative brains of local musicians and had the chance to experiment with their own podcast, but they’ve also picked up on the subtle ways Montreal’s music scene has changed over the last few years. Many of the musicians that they’ve featured on the show didn’t actually get started until during the pandemic — writing tracks in their apartments while in lock down.
Now, they say all that pent up music and creativity has started to “pop off” in the city, as many musicians have started to play their first-ever live shows and build a following.
I nerded out with Aviva and Gwen about Montreal’s music scene and creating community through podcasting. Give our chat a read below!
This interview has been edited and condensed for brevity.
Kattie Laur: Why make a podcast about the Montreal and Ottawa music and arts scenes?
Gwen Roley: This is gonna sound so cheesy, [but] I'm a great admirer of a lot of musicians, but I feel like I don't have a strong musical background myself. I have a real, ‘what do I do with my hands’ vibe at shows. Having this connection [through the podcast] made me understand [music] a little bit more and it made me feel more comfortable just going to a show.
Aviva Lessard: Gwen also used to host a CJLO chart show, so Gwen actually does know more [about music]!
GR: I always forget about that!
AL: I grew up in Montreal and I grew up in a super musical family. It was a huge part of my life. I studied music in Cegep. I studied jazz vocals and I also studied social science at the same time, so I was kind of one foot in.
The competitiveness of [music] really made me not do [it] for many years, so this show was a way for me to understand how people push past that. I'm always impressed with people's confidence and [how] they're like, ‘I just need to get it out!’ Just understanding how people decide [that they’re] gonna do music, that's a big question for me because it's something I've definitely struggled with.
There's a definite influence from Song Exploder; breaking down particular songs. We love to do that. Another show called Burn Out, it was based in Toronto interviewing creatives and their relationship with creativity, that was another inspiration for sure.
And it's always my favorite part of each episode when [musicians] say their lyrics [were] about [their] ex-boyfriend, [and] you're like, ‘can you spill the tea?’ They also allow us to use their tracks, so it makes the episodes super creative and immersive.
KL: Okay, you mentioned Song Exploder. But I'm also curious if Nardwuar [the Human Serviette] has been an influence for you?
AL: Well, one band we interviewed, we were trying to get some details on them and they were like, ‘oh my God, are you guys Nardwuar-ing us!?’
GR: I think Nardwar would be a great inspiration, he's a very special person.
KL: That’s the ultimate compliment!
KL: So what's your sense of the Montreal music and arts scene now after what you've discovered through the podcast?
AL: I think [the episode] Taverne Tour is a good example of it. All the venues [featured in the episode] were within walking distance, and in Montreal there's always gonna be a show any night of the week. It's so crazy, after the pandemic it's all still going on and it's definitely in full force right now.
This project makes me feel like I'm part of the scene way more than I ever have been, for sure.
KL: Gwen, as someone who is not a native Montreal-er, is there anything that's made an impact on you from the Also Cool community and Montreal's music and arts scene?
GR: Well, just how big of an art scene there is!
Everyone always says that it's super cheap to live here and there's always an opportunity to be an artist here, although that's changing and we talk about that all the time too. It's not as cheap, you can't just rent a studio in the Mile End and make beats and then have a baby with Elon Musk. That's not an option anymore.
But we've gotten the chance to talk to some promoters here and I find all the promoters are super dedicated and super nice, and vibe with Also Cool. Maybe we're all in a very nice symbiotic relationship at this point, but everybody's just so dedicated to making the community work. I don't think there's really a lot of egos at play.
KL: You both have a full-time jobs and make this podcast on the side. What would make creating this indie podcast more accessible to you?
GR: I think having more than 24 hours in each day! The only way that you can make money off of podcasts really is sponsorships. And one of the things that Aviva and I made ourselves crazy about last year is pursuing sponsorships.
What I like is that it is a creative outlet for me and something I can do that's just completely out of desire and curiosity.
AL: It's just so nice having a project where we do have full creative control and it's fun.
What Aviva and Gwen are loving:
Check out this Canadian Indie: F*ck Buddies Podcast
Dating and sex advice setting out to smash toxic masculinity.
Dain Miller and Niall Spain are here to turn all of your sticky, sexy situations into sexy, sticky situations. Pull up your chair as we pour ourselves a glass of whisky and delve into a sex positive look into the troubles of modern dating.
True North Podcast Feature: Anti-Racist Educator Reads
Talking about race and racism in schools.
Learn and unlearn through a great book on racial justice. Each week, your host Colinda Clyne invites educational leaders to be in conversation about sections of selected texts, discussing historical contexts and connections to education.
What’s going on in Canada’s podcast ecosystem:
Podcast Movement Meetup in Vancouver! Come meet local podcasters at Six Acres - Gastown at 7pm this Wed, June 28th! Register for free.
CoHost has released a white paper about podcast analytics. The free download has everything companies needs to know about navigating the podcasting landscape. Check it out.
recently interviewed journalism industry veteren, Richard Stengel, on . Stengel was managing editor of Time magazine from 2006-2013, served under the Obama administration, worked as Mandela's ghostwriter and has authored several other books. Samantha talked to him about his lastest project, Mandela: The Lost Tapes. From Bingeworthy: “Imagine the surprise to Richard Stengel, when he realized that those 70-odd hours of recordings he had recorded back in the early 1990s, on magnetic tape with the crappy built-in mic on a Sony tape recorder, were actually his golden fleece. Most of them were still in their original format collecting dust in the Mandela Foundation archive (and in an overlooked storage box in his own basement). But now, with this project, they come back to us in a whole new way.” Read the whole thing here.
There’s a new indie podcast out from Toronto screenwriters Jeremy Friedmann and David Tobiasz called UnScene Podcast, where they talk to Canadian creatives about their best unmade TV movie ideas. (HT: Broadcast Dialogue)
Vancouver-based production house, Kelly&Kelly, has announced ‘Supreme: The Battle For Roe’, which the team has been producing for the last 2 years. Released in partnership with iHeartMedia, the podcast features voice acting from celebs Maya Hawke and William H. Macy. The season launches June 28th, but you can catch the trailer now!
Acast is keeping an eye on Canadian podcasting, and has released data that they’ve collected around the differences between English and French Canadian podcast listeners. Interesting stuff here! (HT: Pacific Content, Annalise Nielsen)
Pippa Johnstone’s Expectant is getting some well-deserved love in Yonge-Dundas in Toronto, and over on the
newsletter. Read it here.
For your pod: Award season is in full effect!
The deadline to enter the 2nd Annual Signal Awards is this Friday, June 30th. Register here.
Nominations are open for the 2023 International Women’s Podcast Awards, including two new categories: Best Moment of Compelling Storytelling, and Panache in a Language Other Than English. You can also enter more than one category! Enter here.
The 18th Annual People’s Choice Podcast Awards nominations open up this Saturday, July 1st. Register here, entry fee is only $50!
Resource from
: How to actually use Chartable for podcast promos. A must read!Are you a trans/nonbinary/non-cis creator of a podcast? Submit your show for a feature on Podplane!
Just Joe (enjoying a game of chess with his best friend)…
If you have thoughts or Canadian podcasting news, please share with me! Leave a comment or reply to the newsletter email. If you’re feeling generous you can also opt-in to pay for this Substack on a monthly or yearly basis, or just buy me a coffee!
Thanks for supporting Pod the North, I’ll be back in your inbox in two weeks!
Kattie | @Podkatt
(Find me on Twitter, Post, Spotify, and Goodpods)
