Our 10 most popular stories from 2019

For the second year in a row here at Roots Music Canada we’re publishing our list of our top 10 stories of the year based on the number of times people read them. And it’s gratifying to look over this list because of the diverse range of articles that are on it. Stories about the struggles facing artists proved to be most popular this year, but so were community news items such as the Maple Blues Award winners, the Home Routes concert season announcement, and the passing of Mose Scarlett. In addition, several new song/video premieres also attracted huge audiences. If you haven’t yet read some of these pieces or heard the songs we premiered, please check them out. There’s a reason they made the top 10.

1. A brief history of why artists are no longer making a living making music

A wonderful, in-depth exploration of the most serious problem facing artists today… and Roots Music Canada’s first viral story! You can read Ian’s follow-up reflections on the piece and on the experience of “going viral” here:

Facing the future: on compensating artists fairly again

Spotify pays artists shit. So how come they’re still using it?

I wrote this piece because I was genuinely curious to know the answer, and apparently, so are other people. Lots of people have searched this out since we published it in the spring.

Photo by sgcreative on Unsplash.

Here are your Maple Blues Award winners for 2019

We’re proud to be your source for news on the Canadian roots music community, and we’re thrilled that so many of you were keen to hear who won the Maple Blues awards.

Seven Canadian roots songs about the Canadian war experience

We published a follow-up to this for Remembrance Day this year, but this original piece from Remembrance Day last year is still a popular resource.

Photo by Matteo Kutufa on Unsplash.

Exclusive preview: Nick Sherman – “Made Of”

The small town of Sioux Lookout doesn’t usually register on our site’s analytics – the statistics on who’s reading us. But when hometown boy Nick Sherman premiered the title track from his new album with us, suddenly, the northwestern Ontario town was showing up on our radar. But it wasn’t just the northwest that was digging this new track. We had hits from all over the place!

Hamilton-based guitarist, singer-songwriter and producer Chris Chambers releases new video for “Tobacco Blonde”

Chris has been on the scene for 20 years and has made a lot of friends during that time. Judging by the feedback on this story, a lot of them were happy to see him get some well-deserved attention.

Exclusive preview: Mark Perry – “Cold Road”

A veteran artist from northern BC, Mark got attention from well beyond the Smithers area with this song inspired by the Humboldt Broncos bus crash.

Remembering Mose Scarlett

Mose was a legend in Canada and beyond so it’s no surprise that this tribute to him was so popular.

Exclusive preview: Coco Love Alcorn – ‘Rebirth’ (lyric video)

Coco has had a huge year with the launch of her new album and a busy touring schedule. The popularity of this preview of the title track from the new album is evidence of the momentum she’s experiencing.

Home Routes confirms its full house concert schedule for 2019-2020

Again, we’re excited to be your destination for news about roots music happenings, and we’re happy that you’re finding this resource so helpful. Home Routes goes well into the spring, so keep checking this story out for news on who you can see next.

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