Stingray Life

The power of music

Stingray Curators — Wed, 21 Jul 2021 18:51:36 +0000

The power of music Stingray Curators Wed, 07/21/2021

As an entertainment medium, Stingray understands the need to speak up, call for justice, normalize and advocate for inclusion, diversity and equality, demonstrating why we value and celebrate diverse voices. “We can have an immense impact on how society views these things.”

Here is a sampling of the diverse voices and Stingray Music channels that you can check out now on Stingray.

Black History Month & Black Music Month

We released a new collection of “Black Playback” channels highlighting the impact black artists have had of all genres of music.

Listen to these channels, celebrating Black Music

Pride Month

Check out our “Pride Essential” playlists, as well as some guest curator pride channels.

Pride essentials channels

Guest Curated Channels

National Indigenous Peoples Day

We recently released a brand new collection of Indigenous channels for National Indigenous Peoples Day

Browse our collection of indigenous music channels

Women’s History Day/Month

We have an extensive collection of women empowerment channels, such as:

Stingray Equality Campaign: why and how?

Laura B. — Wed, 21 Jul 2021 18:38:40 +0000

Stingray Equality Campaign: why and how? Laura B. Wed, 07/21/2021

Stingray is campaigning for and championing equality because we realize that not doing so hurts us all: “Even those of us who are benefitting from inequality are not free from it,” said Steve Jones, VP Brands and Content at Stingray Radio. Here's what the Stingray Equality Campaign means to him, and to Stingray.

LB: So when people hear this and click the link, this blog post has to answer the question: What did I just hear? And WHY. Why are they hearing this on the radio? Let’s start there and you could explain your rationale…

SJ: Well, so we are privileged to have a license to broadcast and, while we’re a for profit company, we feel that we have certain obligations to the community to use our license and our voice responsibly. Last year, when George Floyd was murdered and Black Lives Matter movement really took off we met as a group and said how do we do something that’s not token… because so often brands are guilty for trying to do good work but really engage in tokenism for their own benefit… we didn’t want to do that.

We wanted to do something more substantive so we put together a campaign to air and dedicate a certain amount of airtime to this equality message, and the message changes every few months.

And we engage people on our team who are BIPOC and have a story to tell… One story that was very moving was from an Indigenous employee in Red Deer, who talked about growing up feeling ashamed of being Indigenous and it was only when he grew up and learned about his heritage that he was able to be proud of it. Another woman who works at Stingray of South Asian heritage is fourth generation Canadaian and still gets asked where she’s from… So little things like that shine a light on these things for the majority of people who are not part of any particular group besides, you know, caucasian, european heritage Canadians.

And we’ve gotten a lot of great reaction and then we created an initiative called One City - so we run these in all of our communities, we have an on air program called One Toronto - it dedicates air time each month to different specific causes, we have the on air messages on equality that’s on continuously and then layer that in with specific messaging about the BLM community centre going up in downtown Toronto, this month has focused on Indigenous issues we have very specific issues we address - and we have One Calgary, One Edmonton, One Vancouver and so on … so when we updated creative to new message, this Oh Canada message, this message really resonated with people and I think there are a bunch of reasons why: I think it’s a well written, produced, voiced piece of audio, and it immediately got a lot of reaction, so we added a video layer to it in order to allow us to share the message on social and other places where audio isn’t applicable. It’s been fantastic. It makes people think. It forces people to think and it’s important that people are forced to think, when we think about these things they are suddenly so simple. I have the privilege of seeing the world for a lens through a 50 year old, white male… when someone who is not a 50-year old white male says “here’s how I see the world,” that opens my eyes.

And we need to do that for each other. And so I think this messaging gets people's attention and forces people to think about the world from a different POV. .. Even saying something as simple as: some people don’t have the same freedoms that we do makes you wonder why… What I like about this message is that it forces your eyes to open a bit to other viewpoints and worlds. The people who are not enlightened to the world as someone else sees it, aren’t always bad people, they are just unaware people…. I deal with bad people, one who complained to the CRTC because racism is everywhere and never going away, why are we interrupting his enjoyment of the message, it’s good MLK… there will always be people who are simply wrong, you aren’t going to write that but what I am trying to do is reach people who are actually well intentioned but have never bothered to see the eyes through someone who might be indigenous or black or transgender, or disabled, or whatever. So when you say to people, there are people out there who can’t hold hands with the person they love, that opens people’s eyes a little bit.

LB: You made mention of how brands have used the moment for their own gain. So I am curious, in your mind, what is the role of brands like Stingray in the fight for equality, specifically how much power do you think there is in the medium of radio to affect changes and actions?

SJ: I think there is immense power and we underestimate the power of our voice even though radio is a traditional, terrestrial, sort of ‘old-school’ medium, it stils reaches almost 90% of Canadians on a weekly basis. Almost 90% of Canadians are exposed to radio and that is a higher number than are exposed to Facebook. Canada doesn’t have 90% of Canadians who are using the internet. So if 90% of Canadians hear a radio station every week, then we have a really big voice.

And one way this was phrased to me which really as moving was from a friend who is transgender, and she said that when we started airing these messages, she felt like a cool kid had showed up on the playground and made it okay to say things and be a certain way.

Our radio stations, if they are doing their jobs, are kind of the cool kid. We’re an entertainment medium, we play cool music, we are one of the entertainment sources, whether its movies or tv or whatever, we’re an entertainment medium, so when we say something and normalize something we can have an immense impact on how society views these things. We need to think about this both ways: in the positive messaging and avoiding the negative messaging.

Another thing we were talking about when we were brainstorming the radio was how culture is amplified also by giving space to artists and musicians and creatives…and I was sent a list of all these channels you have, which is incredible...

LB: So I am hoping you can talk about the power of music and the art form and how, you are right, it does help to normalize things. (“Stingray amplifies culture” ; “stingray passes the mic”)

SJ: The normalizing or mainstreaming of things like, for example, with suicide, we got involved a few years ago with a project to bring awareness to suicide. It is a leading cause of death among middle-aged men, it’s crazy. And there are communities in Canada, mostly in Indignnous communities that have higher rates of suicide than some of the deepest, darkest places on earth. So one of the things we did is that we went on this campaign, told our on-air talent, you are not allowed to ever say someone “committed” suicide because “committed” carries blame, you commit a crime, or commit an act. We don’t say people “commit” problems, you don’t “commit” cancer… so we just changed the wording to say this person died of suicide. When you say died of suicide, now the listener subconsciously has to open their mind that is a phrase that doesn’t make sense to them … so just changing a few words, we subconsciously open up people’s minds, and as a writer, you know the power of these words in certain orders and in certain ways, they are just incredibly powerful tools.

The music part is awesome because what people don’t realize when they are listening to music, is that they are engaging the right side of their brain that doesn’t care about logic, math, rational thought, it thinks imaginative, very creative way… and so when you are listening to music, that’s the side of the brain that’s engaged. When we can layer in a message about something very important to someone whose brain is in that mode it’s almost like the gates are open or doors are open for the absorption of that message in a way that isn’t there in other mediums. You know, when you are reading a website, newspaper, magazine, or watching a tv show, it’s different than listening to music because there is a visual, there is some logical thought going on. So I don’t think the messages carry the same weight. But when you find yourself singing along to a song, and then this message comes on, your brain is in a mode where it is open to new and unusual ideas. And so there is that to the music that’s important. And then there is also the alignment with the music… like, if that message about equality is surrounded by Billy Eilish and The Weeknd, it’s now been placed in a position to be as important to you as Billy Eilish and The Weeknd. There is something valuable in that.

LB: And the music itself is so diverse, that’s another thing I was thinking.

SJ: Absolutely. We definitely have work to do in some areas there - but as radio is kind of at the mercy of the cycle of music, and if you have a rich cycle of Black artists who are making incredibly good music, suddenly we’re playing a lot of Black artists, but then there are times where, usually by complete coincidence, a lot of core artists are out of cycle and they are working on new material, so there are times where the balance changes, and so I think as an industry we have to do better to always make sure that we are supporting those artists - especially in country music where there are very few black and very few female artists. And the ration to male/female is off there. It’s not like we don’t have work to do to get better and more diverse. A lot of the music we play speaks to a lot of those same issues, you know, almost every hip hop artist touches on the Black experience in their music, and similarly artists in country music talk about their music growing up. Everyone brings their own experiences to their songs.

Music is almost, you have a captive audience, listener, and you are almost able to subliminally send messages.

People sometimes wonder why they can remember the words to a song from 20 years ago but can’t find their keys. The lyrics to a song have subliminally layered themselves into your brain in a way you can never forget them. It’s really magical.

LB: One part of this ad that stood out to me was: And until we are all free, none of us really are. → I thought that was great, as it harkens to past activists, Emma Lazarus, a Jewish woman who first said something similar in the 1800s, MLK who said another version of it, so what does this message signify to you, coming from Stingray? What does it mean to you?

SJ: That line is very important to me and I am aware of those who have used it, Marcus Garvy used a version of it, and symbolically used it in Canada in a speech that Bob Marley later turned into a song called Redemption Song, where he said “Emancipation from your mental slavery.” So, you know, until we as a society are collectively all free from this awful inequality, none of us are free from it. Even those of us who are benefitting from that inequality are not free from it. Nobody is free from it. So I think that line is important because it signifies that, whether you are white or Black, or Jewish, or women, or men, or gay or straight or whatever you are, you have a role to play here, and that role it can be significant no matter who you are. Because we’re all sort of chained to that and until we break those chains, we’re all captive.

t’s so true and that phrase gets overused but it's so accurate: we are all in this together. You walk out on the street and if the person next to you isn’t equal to you or free to do the same things that you do, then you are not really free either. You are guilty of benefitting from that freedom they don’t have. That’s kind of the point that I was getting at earlier: the people who want to deny other people’s freedoms believe somehow that by giving the freedoms to other people, they somehow lose the freedoms themselves. That’s what’s amazing to me in going about this project and learning about this topic is that it’s not a zero sum game, if you don’t have freedom and I have a certain freedom that I can help you gain, I don’t lose anything. I helped you with something, and I didn’t lose anything myself. It’s not like you needed to borrow $10 and so I lost $10. We all win, we all benefit. It multiplies.

LB: Is there anything I forgot to ask you or anything we didn’t touch on about this campaign or Singray’s ambitions or actions that you’d like to say?

SJ: I personally believe that we do these things for two different audiences: the audience we reach with Stingray, whether it’s radio or tv or apps or any other products, we have an immense audience. But there is also our own culture inside our company, and I think it’s important that companies like Stingray do these things because it’s like, you are being reminded all the time that you are part of an organization that believes these things and you have a role to play in that organization, and in making these things a reality. I want to create a culture where people who might be uncomfortable somewhere else can be comfortable here. So this is a reminder to our own team and a reminder to people who see job ads. I want people to see that ad and say, I want to work for that company because they believe in important stuff. So there are multiple audiences. It’s not just about opening minds to radio listeners or tv listeners, it’s about communicating to all these different groups who are stakeholders in a better future.

Promoting equality: until we are all free, none of us are

Stingray — Wed, 21 Jul 2021 18:21:06 +0000

Promoting equality: until we are all free, none of us are Stingray Wed, 07/21/2021

In Canada you should be glorious and free to live without fear.

From showcasing curated cultural content for global audiences, to passing the mic to diverse musical artists, to platforming their voices across Stingray’s portfolio, to promoting a safe and accepting environment, equality matters to us.

Harnessing the power of Stingray radio, television and apps to support and nurture a range of talented voices, our goal is to communicate a clear message that calls-in all Canadians to stand with us for equality in word and deed.

“When George Floyd was murdered and Black Lives Matter movement took off, we met as a group and asked ourselves how we could do something that’s wasn’t tokenizing, [since] brands often are guilty [of engaging] in tokenism for their own benefit — we didn’t want to do that,” explained Steve Jones, VP Brands and Content at Stingray Radio.

“We are privileged to have a license to broadcast and, while we’re a for-profit company, we feel that we have certain obligations to the community to use our license and our voice responsibly.”

Stingray Music has always been incredibly diverse, collaborating with Black, Indigenous, People of Colour (BIPOC) and LGBTQ2S+ artists to curate playlists, promote music videos, broadcast live concerts, and dedicating airtime to promoting them — sending a clear message that continues to change every few months with input from our audiences and employees.

“Even though radio is a traditional, terrestrial, ‘old-school’ medium, it still reaches almost 90% of Canadians on a weekly basis,” explained Jones. “We tend to underestimate the power of voice.”

As an entertainment medium, Stingray understands the need to speak up, call for justice, normalize and advocate for inclusion, diversity and equality, demonstrating why we value and celebrate diverse voices, he added. “We can have an immense impact on how society views these things.”

The power of music

Here is a sampling of the diverse voices and Stingray Music channels that you can check out now on Stingray.

Ten Black Playback channels highlighting the impact black artists have had on all genres of music from hip-hop to blue, pop, R&B, house, jazz and country.
Pride Essential playlists and channels, curated by guests like Trixie Mattel, Sofi Tukker, Ria Mae, Barbada de Barbades and Sandy Duperval.
A brand new collection of nine Indigenous music channels for National Indigenous Peoples Day that covers retro, rock, pop, folk and hip-hop.
Every fall we highlight Hispanic-American artists for Hispanic Heritage month in the United States, with channels that include Herencia Hispanoaméricana, Latin, Exitos Tropicales clasicos, ¡Viva México! 16 de Septiembre and Central American Mix.
And we highlight and celebrate the strong contribution of women in song through an extensive collection of 16 women-focused channels like Badass Women Drummers, She’s So Electro, Female Rap’s Finest and Women of Bluegrass… and many more!

⏯ Browse our collections of music channels!

Until we are all free, none of us are.

Powerfully paraphrasing an idea first expressed in the 1800s by Jewish writer Emma Lazarus, and then adapted by social justice luminaries like Martin Luther King Jr., Marcus Garvey and Bob Marley, collective freedom means we all have a role to play.

Ultimately, Stingray is campaigning for and championing equality because we realize that not doing so hurts us all: “Even those of us who are benefitting from inequality are not free from it,” said Jones.

“Going about this project and learning about this topic, I realized it’s not a zero sum game,” he added. “If I have freedom and can help you gain yours, I don’t lose anything.

“We all win. We all benefit. It multiplies.”

🔎 Read our interview with Steve Jones.

Pierre Kwenders @ Stingray Café | Cinq-à-sept / Happy Hour

Mikel — Wed, 12 Jun 2019 20:06:48 +0000

Pierre Kwenders @ Stingray Café | Cinq-à-sept / Happy Hour Mikel Wed, 06/12/2019

Chaque vendredi, les employés de notre Quartier général à Montréal se rejoignent au Café Stingray autour d’un verre pour célébrer les bons coups de la semaine et fraterniser entre collègues.

On a parfois le privilège de recevoir un artiste invité. Vendredi le 7 juin, nous avons eu le plaisir d’accueillir Pierre Kwenders!

C’est sous un beau soleil d’après-midi que le chanteur et auteur-compositeur-interprète Pierre Kwenders s’en est donné à cœur joie lors du 5 à 7 hebdomadaire chez Stingray Musique.

Récemment revenu d’une tournée en Europe, il a joué pour la foule quelques-uns de ses succès, en plus de nous promettre quelques nouveaux singles au cours des prochains mois.

Écoutez Pierre Kwenders

Découvrez Pierre Kwenders en 5 questions

Comment décririez-vous votre style musical en un hashtag (mot-clic) ?

#AfricanismeCaméléon

Quel est votre plus beau souvenir sur scène ?

Il y en a beaucoup, mais un des plus beaux souvenirs est lorsque j’ai joué à l’Apollo Theater à New York. C’était un moment magique car il y a beaucoup de grands, des héros de la musique qui sont passés par là. Ça a donc été un plaisir et un honneur pour moi de pouvoir jouer sur cette scène.

Vivant ou mort, avec qui aimeriez-vous faire un duo ?

Douk Saga, c’est l’inventeur, l’ambassadeur, le roi du coupé décalé et c’est une personne qui définit selon moi la joie de vivre.

Si l’on devait nommer un sandwich en votre honneur, de quoi serait-il composé, et comment l’appelleriez-vous ?

Je ne sais pas comment on va l’appeler mais il va être assez bizarre! Poisson salé avec un peu de piments verts et rouges et des haricots. Ça a l’air d’être un mélange bizarre mais en fait c’est très bon!

Qu’est-ce qui mijote pour vous dans les prochaines semaines et les prochains mois ?

Je repars en Colombie en tournée pour une série de spectacles, ensuite je vais en Haïti. J’ai très hâte même si je ne suis pas Haïtien! (rires). Je travaille également sur mon prochain album - il y a aura des singles qui sortiront dans les prochains mois – restez à l’affût!

Follow Pierre Kwenders!

Site Web

Facebook

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YouTube

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Pierre Kwenders- Official Photo

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Bleu Jeans Bleu @ Stingray Café | Cinq-à-sept / Happy Hour

Mikel — Fri, 03 May 2019 19:49:23 +0000

Bleu Jeans Bleu @ Stingray Café | Cinq-à-sept / Happy Hour Mikel Fri, 05/03/2019

On a parfois le privilège de recevoir un artiste invité. Vendredi le 26 avril, nous avons eu le plaisir d’accueillir le groupe Bleu Jeans Bleu !

Le café corsé, les patates frites, les ailes de poulet et la bière en pichet sont quelques items qui composent le régime alimentaire des membres du groupe Bleu Jeans Bleu. Ce sont aussi des sujets traités dans leurs chansons – toutes aussi originales les unes que les autres!

Le quatuor qui se décrit comme un groupe de musique country-soul-alternatif-samba-disco-funk-rock vient récemment de lancer son dernier album intitulé PERFECTO – un album qui se veut toujours aussi déjanté et divertissant.

Écouter Bleu Jeans Bleu

Découvrez Bleu Jeans Bleu en 5 questions.

Comment décririez-vous votre style musical en un hashtag (mot-clic) ?

Caramel.

Quel est votre plus beau souvenir sur scène ?

La fois où on a mangé du caramel dans un festival de chocolat. Y’avait juste du chocolat et on trouvait qu’il manquait de caramel alors on est allés en chercher et on a viré folles!

Vivant ou mort, avec qui aimeriez-vous faire un duo ?

On m’a dit que Le pape Jean-Paul II chantait beaucoup donc probablement lui!

Si l’on devait nommer un sandwich en votre honneur, de quoi serait-il composé, et comment l’appelleriez-vous ?

Le p’tit gros. Il serait composé de baloney, de la margarine et juste une petite « liche » de moutarde sur un pain blanc carré.

Qu’est-ce qui mijote pour vous dans les prochaines semaines et les prochains mois ?

On a une grosse soupe au feu qui mijote au chalet et on a un aussi un vidéo clip qui s’appelle Coton Ouaté qui vient de sortir – allez voir ça ! On est aussi en tournée un peu partout au Québec pour les prochaines semaines.

Restez à l'affût des dernières nouvelles musicales. Suivez-nous sur Facebook, Instagram et Twitter.

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Soran @ Stingray Café | Cinq-à-sept / Happy Hour

Lucille — Thu, 04 Apr 2019 15:38:42 +0000

Soran @ Stingray Café | Cinq-à-sept / Happy Hour Lucille Thu, 04/04/2019

On a parfois le privilège de recevoir un artiste invité. Vendredi le 29 mars, nous avons eu le plaisir d’accueillir Soran !

Soran est une étoile montante de la scène musicale canadienne. Alors qu’il a rencontré ses premiers succès sur internet, il remplit aujourd’hui les salles de concert et rencontre un succès populaire. D’une créativité débordante, Soran aime composer et écrire ses propres chansons. Ce n’est donc pas étonnant que, malgré la sortie de son premier EP en septembre dernier à peine, l’artiste meurt d’impatience de nous faire découvrir ses nouveaux morceaux. Retenez bien son nom, vous ne pourrez bientôt plus passer à côté. C’est ici que vous l’aurez lu en premier ! ;)

Écouter Soran

Découvrez Soran en 5 questions.

Every Friday, employees from our Montreal Headquarters meet up at the Stingray Café, hang out, and cheers to the week’s accomplishments.

Sometimes we are lucky enough to have live performances. On stage on March 29: Soran!

Soran is a rising star on the Canadian music scene. While he encountered his first successes on the internet, his shows are now sold-out his songs are popular hits. Overflowing with creativity, Soran enjoys composing and writing his own songs. It's no wonder that, despite the release of his first EP last September, the artist can’t wait to release his new songs. Remember his name, you will soon see it everywhere. You read it here first! ;)

Listen to Soran

Soran in five questions!

Comment décrirais-tu ton style musical en un hashtag?

#Vrai car tout ce que je dis dans mes chansons est vrai.

Quel est ton plus beau souvenir sur scène?

J’ai beaucoup de bons souvenirs, et des mauvais aussi…! Mais je dirais qu’un des meilleurs s’est passé il y a 2 ou 3 semaines, à l’Astral (N.D.L.R. salle de spectacle à Montréal), avec mon groupe. Tout le spectacle était incroyable pour moi, je n’en revenais pas car tout le monde chantait mes paroles !

Et sinon, je garde aussi un très bon souvenir du lancement de mon EP en septembre dernier… J’ai juste pleuré pendant 30 minutes !

Vivant ou mort, avec qui aimerais-tu faire un duo?

Ed Sheeran, Post Malone et Sting.

Si l’on devait nommer un sandwich en ton honneur, de quoi serait-il composé, et comment l’appelleriez-vous ?

J’aime les choses simples, je déteste la nourriture trop sophistiquée. Ce serait un sandwich avec de la viande froide et des croquettes de poulet à l’intérieur ! Je le ferais moi-même, ce serait un peu dégoutant mais bon quand même. Et il s’appellerait le Soranitor !

#SORANITOR

Qu’est-ce qui mijote pour toi dans les prochaines semaines et les prochains mois ?

J’ai teeelllllleeeement de musiques dans mon ordinateur et je suis impatient de les partager ! Je vais travailler en studio et je suis sur le point de signer aux États-Unis!

Soran prévoit également de faire plusieurs concerts cet été, suivez-le pour ne pas le manquer !

→ Website
→ Facebook
→ Instagram

How would you describe your musical style in one hashtag?

#Truth because everything I say is true in my songs

What is your best memory on stage?

There are a lot of good memories, and there are also some really bad ones too…! But I’d say a good one happened two or three weeks ago, at l’Astral (ED. a concert venue located in Montreal), with the band. The whole show was unreal for me, I just kept saying WTF all the time because everybody was singing the words!

Other than that, I would say my EP launch in September… I just cried for like 30 minutes!

Dead or alive, with whom would you like to sing a duet?

Ed Sheeran, Post Malone and Sting.

If you were to have a sandwich named after you, what would it be called and what would be on it?

I like simple stuff, I hate fancy food. It would be like a cold meet sub, but with some chicken nuggets inside! I would make it myself, it would be a bit disgusting, but good. And the name would be Soranitor!

#SORANITOR

What’s coming up for you in the next weeks and months?

I have soooooooo much music in my computer that I can't wait to share. I’m also working in studio and planning to sign in the US!

Soran will play several gigs this summer, follow him so you don’t miss him!

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Restez à l'affût des dernières nouvelles musicales. Suivez-nous sur Facebook, Instagram et Twitter.

Stay on the pulse of the most recent news in music. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

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Tamara Weber-Fillion @ Stingray Café | Cinq-à-sept / Happy Hour

Lucille — Fri, 08 Mar 2019 19:32:22 +0000

Tamara Weber-Fillion @ Stingray Café | Cinq-à-sept / Happy Hour Lucille Fri, 03/08/2019

On a parfois le privilège de recevoir un artiste invité. Ce mois-ci, c’était Tamara Weber-Fillion !

Tamara a connu ses premiers succès lors de son passage à l’édition française de l’émission La Voix, et débute aujourd’hui une carrière prometteuse. Chanteuse hors pair et d’une générosité incroyable, nous avons eu le plaisir de l’écouter chanter ses compositions. Vous retrouverez sa musique très prochainement dans son EP, dont la sortie est prévue au cours des prochains mois.

Découvrez Tamara Weber-Fillion en 5 questions!

Every Friday, employees from our Montreal Headquarters meet up at the Stingray Café, hang out, and cheers to the week’s accomplishments.

Sometimes we are lucky enough to have live performances. On stage this month: Tamara Weber-Fillion!

Tamara had her first success at the French edition of The Voice and is now starting a promising musical career. She is an outstanding singer with an incredibly generous personality. We had the pleasure of listening to her sing her own compositions, and her EP will be released in the coming months. Stay tuned!

Tamara Weber-Fillion in five questions!

Comment décrirais-tu ton style musical en un hashtag?

#PopFolk

Quel est ton plus beau souvenir sur scène?

Sincèrement, j’ai eu plein de bons souvenirs sur scène au cours de ma carrière musicale, mais c’est sûr que mon audition à l’aveugle à The Voice en France était un moment magique et historique pour moi.

Vivant ou mort, avec qui aimerais-tu faire un duo?

Il est mort… donc ça n’arrivera pas! Mais mon artiste préféré est Eliott Smith. Mais si ce doit être quelqu’un de vivant, je suis une grande fan de Ed Sheeran.

Comment s’appellerait la chaîne musicale de tes rêves, celle que tu créerais de toutes pièces?

C’est une bonne question! Ça n’est pas le genre de question qui est posée en entrevue d’habitude! Je l’appellerais ‘Aquarius Records’ car j’ai comme une obsession pour l’astrologie dans la vie!

Quelle est ton actualité pour les prochaines semaines et prochains mois?

Je m’en vais en Allemagne pour différents spectacles, ça va être fun! J’ai aussi enregistré un EP dont je suis très fière. Je n’ai pas encore de date de sortie mais je vous tiendrai au courant sur mes réseaux sociaux!

Écoutez Tamara Weber-Fillion sur la chaîne ‘Folk Roots’ sur Stingray Musique!

How would you describe your musical style in one hashtag?

#PopFolk

What is your best memory on stage?

Honestly, I had a lot of good experiences on stage during my career, but my blind audition at The Voice in France was a magical and historical moment for me.

Dead or alive, with whom would you like to sing a duet?

He's dead ... so it won’t happen! But my favorite artist is Eliott Smith. If it must be someone alive, I'm a big fan of Ed Sheeran.

What would be the title of the musical channel of your dreams, the one you would create from scratch?

It's a good question! This is not the kind of question that is asked in a regular interview! I would call it 'Aquarius Records' because I have an obsession for astrology!

What’s coming up for you in the next weeks and months?

I'm going to Germany to perform various shows; it's going to be fun! I also recorded an EP of which I am very proud, I don’t have a release date yet but I will keep you updated on my socials!

Listen to Tamara Weber-Fillion on the 'Folk Roots' channel on Stingray Music!

Restez à l'affût des dernières nouvelles musicales. Suivez-nous sur Facebook, Instagram et Twitter.

Stay on the pulse of the most recent news in music. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

Crédit photo: Kelly Jacob

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Big Ride for Africa | Giving Back

Anouk — Tue, 26 Jun 2018 15:31:02 +0000

Big Ride for Africa | Giving Back Anouk Tue, 06/26/2018

Intense!
That is how Robert, James, Wouter, and Anouk (that's me!) from Stingray's Amsterdam office would describe the 300 km Big Ride for Africa. Challenging and sharp climbs, speedy descents, stunning landscapes, and lots of fun for a great charity. And, well lots and lots of pain the day after.

Our team raised £12,000 pounds for the charity Lessons for Life, an organization that gives the gift of education and helps more children have the chance to finish school and realize their dreams. Like Lessons for Life, we believe that education changes everything. Every child, no matter where they are born, has the right to an education that equips them for life. We were happy to help provide much-needed support to carry out crucial work on the ground in Africa.

Intense was the moment we clipped in and kicked-off our 2-day cycling.

Intense was the number of hours we spend on the saddle.

Intense was the amount of power Wouter exerted climbing Wicklow’s Mountains.

And the beautiful surroundings of Castlemartin Stud Farm in County Kildare and Wicklow Mountains were also intense… of course!

We’re intensely happy to have completed this great challenge and, of course, to have met great people on our way to the finish line. And now, it’s time to sit back, relax, and celebrate our achievement. When we return to the office, we’ll probably be commuting to work by train this time!

Stay on the pulse of the most recent news in music. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

Brian Joseph | The Face Behind the Tunes

Olivia — Thu, 10 May 2018 21:12:24 +0000

Brian Joseph | The Face Behind the Tunes Olivia Thu, 05/10/2018

The profile series is all about getting to know someone from Stingray Business. Meet one of the many faces responsible for bringing you great music, Brian Joseph!

Brian is part of the Music Design team, and he has been with Stingray Business since 2014. Before joining the music design team, Brian worked on the technical support team, which has given him a unique perspective on the customer experience that he brings to the field when curating music for his clients.

He has extensive music experience and has been working in the world of radio since he was 17. In 2009, he became Hip Hop Music Director for the radio station CJLO, where he won the Special Music Director of the Year award. Since then, he has represented the station at various music festivals worldwide. Brian’s musical taste spans over a variety of genres and has many key clients in the retail, personal care, and restaurant industries. Brian enjoys the personal touch and added value that custom music programming can bring to a business setting and strives to always represent our clients’ brand identity with each specialized program.

We sat down with Brian to discuss everything from his fave tracks to his #GeektastiqCypha podcast.

Q&A

If you were a music style, what would you be?

I would be a fusion of hip-hop, and '60s soft rock. Think Kendrick meets Paul McCartney.

What is your favorite type of client to make playlists for?

I like the defiant clients. The ones who like to go against the norm of their brands. Where some might think its easiest to outdo everyone else by just having the most current music, some clients prefer to do something new and interesting. My favorite type of client and the ones I work with the most are clothing stores.

How do you put your personal touch on a client’s playlists?

For some clients, I like to find the samples from some of the music that is already on their playlists, like if a client asks for the new Drake “Nice For What” track, I would sneak in the Ex-Factor by Lauryn Hill.

Favorite Stingray channel?

“What happens at the Bachelor party...” Partly because the name is funny, but I also like the mix of an artist on it.

(Check out Brian’s very own channel on the Stingray Music app, “Rebellious & Beautiful Soul”!)

What are some of your interest other than curating music?

Geek culture combined with sound engineering. Which is why I produce podcasts.

Podcasts, cool! Tell us more.

I host and produce two podcasts for franklinarmstrong.com. The first is a geek/pop culture talk show called #GeektastiqCypha (voted #9 in Montreal!), and the second is called That’s Cannon, which focused on comic books.

Do you ever talk about music on these podcasts?

I try not to, only because it would take over the whole show, cause I’m that passionate about music. We started an episode talking about hip-hop once, and the conversation went on for an hour. The show is only 90 minutes.

Keep an eye out for our next profile series article!

Check out some of our music > Music Samples

Get to know more about who we are and what we do at Stingray Business.

Brian also is a regular contributor to the blog. Check out some of his other work!

Album Review | Dirty Computer by Janelle Monáe

Album Review | No News Is Good News by Phonte

Album Review | Black Panther: The Album curated by Kendrick Lamar

Album Review | Weather or Not by Evidence

Listen now - links

R&B (Rebellious&Beautiful) Soul

What happens at the Bachelor Party…

Fred Ranger @ CES 2018

Stingray — Thu, 22 Feb 2018 18:47:36 +0000

Fred Ranger @ CES 2018 Stingray Thu, 02/22/2018

RDPMAG magazine spoke with Frédérick Ranger, Vice President, Product Marketing at Stingray about his experience at the Consumer Electronic Show (CES), the global stage for innovation, that was held January 9-12 in Las Vegas.

By Normand Boulanger

(Article published with the permission of RDPMAG. The article was edited for length.)

For the first article of its TECHNO section, RDPMAG magazine spoke with Frédérick Ranger, Vice President, Product Marketing at Stingray about his experience at the Consumer Electronic Show (CES), the global stage for innovation, that was held January 9-12 in Las Vegas.

So, this was your first experience at CES?

Yes, first experience at CES after all these years working in the digital marketing industry. I have attended South by Southwest (SXSW) and MIPCOM, but never CES.

Compared to these other conferences, what impressed you most at CES?

First, its size. There are hundreds of thousands of people. When you arrive on the Vegas strip, it takes 20-30 minutes to get anywhere, and the taxi lines are unbelievably long.

That was my first observation: too many people, too many demands on your time. Also, almost all brands, except for Apple, are present. That includes many startups, which we will see more of in the coming years. I first visited the PsychaSec* kiosk (picture above). They have created a humanoid that brings to mind a Black Mirror episode and in which you can download your consciousness so you can live forever. When I asked them their launch date, expecting the answer to be 3 to 5 years from now, they answered “second quarter of 2018.” It's very strange and brings up a lot of ethical questions.

As a fan of drones, technology, and photography, I was extremely well served. I headed to the DJI kiosk where I saw the smallest drone in the world, which will be introduced in a few weeks. Kodak was also present, obviously not with rolls of film, but with their recently-launched cryptocurrency and other 360 degrees products.

I also saw a lot of 4K. Clearly, high-resolution products are not futuristic anymore; they are very much a reality. You just need to go to Best Buy to realize that non-4K TV sets are rare. To respond to the demand, content creators such as YouTubers must adapt, and cameras and video devices need to be updated.

How would you compare what you saw at CES with the state of technology in Canada?

I would say that CES is 2-3 years ahead of what will happen in Canada. It’s where we can discover emerging trends. Everything is accelerating and offered in real time thanks to players like Amazon. What I saw at PsychaSec, is not showcased at any Infopresse conference. What was once fantasy, such as holograms, it now a reality.

What would you say are the most significant difference between CES and other events?

SXW is more focused on social media while CES is more business-centric and therefore offers the opportunity for a lot of meetings. We had 3 scheduled meetings with companies that could help us with our future needs. Everyone is there: Google, Samsung, etc. The conference center is enormous, the hotels are huge, and you walk a lot. I’ve never seen anything like it.

What major trends did you observe when you were there? We were talking about 4K earlier, but can you be more specific?

The democratization of technology is definitely a major trend. 4K is everywhere, not only in the professional material. For example, Insta360 produces a camera that can be plugged into an iPhone to take 360 pictures. Drones are increasingly small, accessible to all, and can film in 4K. The advancements in miniaturization are quite impressive. I also saw several companies, such as Roku and Sling, that position themselves as creators of content. I would also mention robotization that will help us in our everyday life.

Is the connected home still a hot topic?

Yes, absolutely. Several companies are betting on us being able to control everything in our house with a phone including curtains and heating. As the technology becomes ubiquitous, it is also less intriguing.

Are there other trends that stood out?

Voice search is something we discussed quite a bit in meetings. I believe that 2010-2020 will be the era of voice search through services such as Amazon Alexa, Google Home or Siri that connect everything from the house to the car. The day everything works and connects perfectly, I’ll be the happiest person alive! Technology is great, but when you're an early adopter, you're often the victim of beta testing that does not work as well as it should.

Enough about CES. Let's talk about you and your podcast, The Brand Experience.

There are not as many podcast episodes as I would like, but we make do with the time we have. My goal would be to return to a monthly pace. I've met great people through this podcast, and it allows me to take the pulse of how entrepreneurs and big businesses, such as Stingray or Bell, see marketing and technology. I want to bring more smart, creative, and insightful people to the microphone. I do not want to be the only one expressing an opinion. I want the podcast to evolve and involve other Montrealers and individuals who create brand experiences every day, who either agree or disagree with me. This platform allows me to meet people who are brilliant and smarter than me. It also gives me the chance to work on my personal branding. I want to leave a legacy of the things I’ve learned and, especially, my setbacks.

Wow! That’s a nice way of seeing things. And professionally, can you tell us what’s coming up at Stingray?

We recently acquired Qello Concerts, which means that we are moving from being a fully B2B company to integrating a large B2C component with Qello, Stingray Music, Stingray Karaoke, Yoki Karaoke. That is big news for Stingray.

A big thank you for this wonderful overview of CES. I hope to have the pleasure of collaborating again soon!

*Editor's Note: PsychaSec was a marketing stunt for the new Netflix series "Altered Carbon". This was only divulged a few days after the interview.