Winnipeg musicians reflect on changing industry ahead of album releases
Posted January 10, 2024 11:45 am.
Last Updated January 10, 2024 11:49 am.
The live music industry is still bouncing back after being impacted by the pandemic, with Winnipeg musicians continuing to create and release new work.
Folk musician Scott Nolan and singer-songwriter Jess Rae unpack how times have changed.
“I’ve seen changes, I’ve been affected by them but I made an agreement with myself somewhere along the way that I accept the terms of however it works,” Nolan said. “I’d like to get up every morning and think that I’m an artist. That’s kind of my goal in life, has been my goal all these years. And so in order to do that I have to ward off cynicism, and in order to ward off cynicism I have to just check out of that stuff.”
Nolan is gearing up for the release party of his new album “Before Tonight.” He says it was important to him to be able to pay his band a fair wage during their recording sessions, and sought out a music grant from Manitoba Film and Music to help.
“The people I made this record with, they all go back to the very beginning of my career,” he said. “We cut the record here, very live. I was in the house but I sang and played live with the band.
“I might not be able to do that again anytime soon because to pay musicians fairly is important… Just the reality of trying to pay people a fair and living wage to come do this… That was a special thing to me, to get to work with these musicians and not ask them to do it for free.”
The Hollywood writers and actors’ strike, which saw many artists calling for higher, livable wages, may have benefitted artists of all kind, Nolan believes.
“To be honest, the actors might have done a lot of us in the creative world a massive favour in that musicians have chosen thus far not to do these things,” he said. “What the actors did with the strike is what the musicians didn’t do with streaming. If you were doing well, you smiled and played along because money was being invested in you and what else are you going to do but be gracious, right? The truth was 90 per cent of songwriters were being hurt by the various systems.
“We could be a lot further ahead with these platforms and do better with them. That’s what happened with the writers’ strike.”
Nolan feels the music industry needs the same kind of shake-up to see fewer people struggling.
“If you’re an artist in Winnipeg, there’s a lot of examples where you can look and see what happens,” Nolan said. “Some people get super rich and everybody else is really struggling to make ends meet and it’s sad. It’s why I went through the trouble to apply for that grant in the first place.”
Nolan says the Manitoba Film and Music grant money went towards hiring “these great musicians.”
“My crew, beyond being great musicians, they’re amazing people and they deserve the dignity of coming over here and being able to focus on the work and not worry about their bills and how they’re going to feed themselves. Most of my band, not all of them but most of them play in (up to) eight different groups just to pay their rent.
“Why shouldn’t everyone live well?”
WATCH: Folk musician Scott Nolan gives a small tour of his music studio, “The Song Shop”
Singer-songwriter Rae is also seeing the impact of the changing industry due to the impact of COVID-19.
Her debut album is due to come out this year, and she says her creative process was different than usual — allowing her time to hone the songs she developed during the pandemic.
The album was developed in early 2020. Rae then went to a cabin with her collaborator Scott Hills in mid-March, with the pandemic influencing the rest of the album’s development.
“I think what was different with this is the timeline,” she said. “If you had wanted to finish certain things by a certain time, just everything got slowed down. Which in this case I also think there was some blessings because then you get more time to reflect and go, ‘oh maybe I didn’t like that idea or I want to try something else here or develop something more.’ I’m happy with where it’s at, it was just a different process than usual.
“It was just kind of just flying by the seat of our pants and working with what we could timewise. But it was inspiring just to work on the songs with such great people.”
Rae says among the many things that have changed is also touring. She says it’s put into perspective for her how much time she wants to spend on the road and where she wants to play, allowing her to be more selective.
“I feel like the people that are coming out to shows are still really appreciative so that hasn’t changed. It feels really good,” she said.
Nolan says he’s also seen positive changes in the way people adapt to the evolving industry. It’s easier to connect with others and self-promote works, he feels.
“There’s something really beautiful and encouraging about always thinking forward,” he said. “Keeping your head in the solution instead of dwelling in the negative parts of it. No matter what, one thing makes room for the other.”
To celebrate his new album, Nolan is returning to the stage in Winnipeg Friday night at the Times Changed High and Lonesome Club with Rae as the opening act. It’s the first time he’ll play the club in eight years.
Nolan was supposed to return to Times Changed before the pandemic hit – at that point it had been five years since he played the club. But COVID forced him out for another three years.
“I’m hoping for one of those olden day ‘Times Changed’ nights,” he said. “I’d say every show I’ve played there has been special so I’m just hoping to continue that. Eight years seems like a long time. I’m looking for some sort of homecoming I guess.”
Nolan says he’s used to being a “low attendance guy” – something that comes with less pressure. But he says he’s going all out to make sure music lovers are at Friday’s show.
“The shows of mine that have sold out even in Winnipeg over the years, I’ve worked hard… I’m working hard right now just to sell this one out.”
