AM to FM Promotions

Here's something worth understanding if you're a Canadian indie artist.

𝟯𝟱% 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗰 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘆𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗻 𝗖𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗼 𝗺𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗳𝘆 𝗮𝘀 𝗖𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁. That's not a courtesy — it's a regulatory requirement.

𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗺𝗲 𝗱𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗾𝘂𝗼𝘁𝗮 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗺𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗰 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗲𝘀.

If your music meets the 𝗠𝗔𝗣𝗟 standard, you're not competing against the full global market.

You're competing for a protected slice of Canadian radio that major international acts can't touch.

That's a real structural advantage. Use it.

In 2004, Andrea Morris was working for independent labels that kept folding. Good work, wrong setup.

She'd spent years on both sides of the industry — 𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗼 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆, 𝗺𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗰 𝗱𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿, 𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗲𝗹 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗱𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗶𝗻 𝗖𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗱𝗮, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗨𝗦, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗨𝗞 — and she kept watching the same thing happen.

𝗜𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝘀𝘁𝘀 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝗺𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗰 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗻𝗼𝗯𝗼𝗱𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝘁.

A mentor at Corus Entertainment finally said it straight: you're too well-connected to keep going through this. Start your own company. You can do it — you just don't know it yet.

That summer she worked five jobs to build a nest egg. In 𝗢𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝟮𝟬𝟬𝟰, 𝗔𝗠 𝘁𝗼 𝗙𝗠 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝗱𝗼𝗼𝗿𝘀.

More than twenty years later, the premise hasn't changed. Indie artists deserve the same shot as anyone else. We've been proving it ever since.

The conventional wisdom says Gen Z doesn't listen to radio. The data is more interesting than that.

According to Edison Research's 2025 Gen Z Audio Report, 𝗔𝗠/𝗙𝗠 𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗼 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝟭𝟲% 𝗼𝗳 𝗚𝗲𝗻 𝗭'𝘀 𝘁𝗼𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗱𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗼 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 — ahead of podcasts and SiriusXM combined.

Among 13 to 17-year-olds, 10% cite AM/FM radio as their top music discovery source. (Radio Ink)

The youngest listeners are still finding music through radio.

If you're building a long career and not just chasing one demographic, that matters.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗜𝗬 𝗖𝗲𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴: There's a ceiling on what you can do alone. Most indie artists hit it and don't realize that's what happened.

You can record, distribute, post, and promote — and still not move the needle, not because the music isn't good but because 𝘆𝗼𝘂'𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝗱𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗷𝗼𝗯𝘀, none of them as well as a specialist would.

A 𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗼 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗿 knows programme directors by name. A 𝗽𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗶𝘀𝘁 has relationships with media contacts. A 𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗻𝘁 knows which venues are right for where you are in your career.

These aren't luxuries. They're how you break through the ceiling.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗜𝗬 𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗴𝗲𝘁𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗲𝗱. 𝗔 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝗴𝗲𝘁𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗳𝘂𝗿𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿.