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Want to Join NxEW.ca

If after reading all of this (or enough to answer your questions) you think you might be one of us, please join the blog using the Meta section at the bottom of this page (bottom right) then drop me a note at [email protected] and I'll confirm you as a contributor and send you an invite to the secret Google group that serves as our office.

What is NxEW.ca?
Why all Canadian?
This isn't a job, we have no money.
Aren't there other music blogs out there?
What does NxEW contribute that isn't already there?
What are you looking for from contributors?
I am in a band / a promoter / a producer etc., Can I participate?
What is the editorial policy?
Who Should Write for NxEW?
Who Shouldn't Write for NxEW?

What is NxEW.ca?

NxEW.ca is an attempt to bring together Canada's various arts and cultural communities in one spot to share information and ideas. Currently we have more than 250 (and growing) contibutors covering 45 Canadian cities and towns in 10 provinces and one territory as well as Canadian music fans living in Northern Michigan, New York City and Los Angeles watching for tours by Canadian acts. Some of our members are just fans who want a voice. Some are journalists or journalism students, others are artists, promoters, managers, producers, people who work for various labels, bloggers, podcasters, photographers, videographers, radio hosts, DJs and more looking at Canadian arts and culture from every angle. Some post to the site weekly and others once a year, whenever the mood strikes them.

Why is it all Canadian?

Canadian artists, of ever strip, have a hard time gaining press attention both at home and abroad. People in Vancouver will tell you that all the coverage goes to artists from the East, people in Halifax will tell you that all the coverage goes to artists from Toronto and Montreal, people in Toronto will tell you that all the coverage goes to American artists. You don't even want to hear what some of the artists will tell you. (It's not very polite.) It's not that we don't think that there are good artists outside of Canada but we're hoping that by focusing our energies that we can contribute to the effort, along with whatever partners we gather, of finally giving Canadian  artists the attention they deserve.

This Isn't a Job, We Have No Money

If you're considering joining NxEW you should know right up front that we don't have any money. While we hope to, eventually, have enough for a small full time & part time staff to keep things organized as well as money for promotions / publicity etc., that is not even on the horizon right now. If you're looking for a job, this isn't it. It's a volunteer driven organization that works for the love of art. This approach also keeps the focus on genuine enthusiasm. We are not ad driven, we have no sponsors to please and are not concerned with gathering a mass audience.

What Does NxEW Contribute that isn't already there?

The Canadian arts press as it stands has three major weakness'. They tend to have small staffs, they are heavily concentrated in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver and they tend to focus much of their attention on US and other international artists.

Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver all have strong arts scenes and (if you include their suburbs) about 1/4 of Canada's population so it is somewhat natural for the arts press to congregate there. Unfortunately that means that 75% of Canada's population does not get the coverage it deserves.

Because of the small staffs of most news organizations much of what goes on even in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver slips through the cracks. NxEW is a volunteer driven organization which allows us to have a very large staff (which is more of a community) in every nook and cranny. It allows us to 'hire' everyone who applies - because we believe that everyone has something to contribute and a unique perspective.

Finally we believe that Canada's arts scene is the strongest it has ever been. There are literally hundreds, possibly thousands of Canadian artists that we feel are worth covering. By limiting our focus to 'Canadian arts and culture' we have the time and space to focus on artists who might otherwise be overlooked and to cover in some depth artists who might barely get a mention elsewhere.

Additionally, though we are a 'news' source and some of our people are (in their day jobs) journalists - we are fans first and foremost. This site is about the love of art, not journalistic objectivity. In short, we're boosters. We aren't neutral.

Aren't there other arts blogs out there?

Absolutely there are and we love them. Many of our contributors have their own blogs. We regularly post links to other blogs when they have good information. The problem is that there are so many blogs out there. There are literally hundreds of individual music blogs covering the national, international and various local music scenes and a wide variety of blogs covering other areas of the arts. Additionally, many artists now have their own blogs (some have more than one.) There are simply too many for most people to keep up.

If groups like Broken Social Scene and the New Pornographers taught us anything it is the power of the collective. Our goal is to bring all of the various people in the Canadian arts scene together and create a kind of one stop shop where people can find good information on arts and culture from across Canada including information on other blogs of interest. By pooling our ideas, our information, our perspectives and our talents we hope to create something bigger than any of us could working on our own.

What are you looking for from Contributors?

In short we're looking for whatever you've got. We have people who simply post photos, people who link back to hi-lights on their own blogs. No one tells you what to write, what to write about, when or how often. If you have information or a perspective you'd like to share then do so but there is no minimum number of posts. Post when you have time, when the urge strikes you or when you have a thought or find a piece of information and say to yourself 'people should know about this.' You can devote 40 hrs a week or 40 minutes a year to NxEW.ca - all contributors are valuable to us.

I am an artist / a promoter / a producer etc., Can I participate?

Yes! Conflict of interest rules were primarily created because of business and politics. We're not electing world leaders, we're not helping people make important financial decisions so we don't care about conflict of interest. NxEW.ca exists because of the love of art. If you're a Canadian artist, or are otherwise involved in the business of art you likely have good information to share. Please do so.

What is the editorial policy

In a word anarchy. No one tells you what to write, what to write about or what to say. There are no assignments, no deadlines and no editors - you post directly to the blog when you're ready, no one reads it beforehand. The only thing we ask is that you don't do anything that's actually illegal - so plagiarism, hate speech and generally anything that will get us sued. The following general guidelines will give you an idea of the culture that's developed. These aren't really rules just sort of guidelines we've developed

• We don't 'compete' with others. There are other sites but we don't try to 'beat' them. We'll frequently link to other sites if they have good stuff. As long as we're rowing in the same direction then we're on the same team.
• We've tossed out the rules on 'conflict of interest' because we're not electing political leaders, or selling stock, or really selling anything, so who cares?
• People are encouraged to write about what they like, rather than what they don't. There is alot of good stuff out there, so why devote any part of your life to work you don't like?
• People generally only cover things they wanted to do anyway - no one is sent to shows that they didn't want to go to, no one is asked to review albums if it isn't something they were interested in before hand, which makes it all way more honest. (We're not sending paid journalists who are really into jazz to cover punk shows, we're not forcing people to go cover shows that they had no interest in to begin with.)

Who Should Write for NxEW.ca

People who are passionate about art and want to share that passion with others from across Canada and around the world as well as people in their local community.

NxEW has almost no rules. There are no assignments (no one tells you who or what to write about), no deadlines (no one tells you when to write), no editors (no one tells you what to say), no minimums or maximums - you write what you want, about what you want, when you have time. There are no 'standards and practices' and no style guide the only rule is don't do anything that is going to get us sued. (For example don't copy and paste someone else's article in it's entirety - quoting it is fine though and don't post people's music without their permission.)

Regardless of your experience level, what you do for a living, where your tastes lie etc., if you are passionate about art, music, theature, literature, etc., and want to share your passion, you should be part of our team.

Who Shouldn't Write for NxEW.ca

First of all people who are overly negative, if you like a handful of bands or a certain style of music exclusively and want to bash and ridicule everything else, we don't need you. You're welcome to share your thoughts about the music you love, but spare us the hate, we're not haters here.

Also, if you're an artist you are welcome to join us, but if your work is all you know and you want to post daily updates about every show, every rehearsal and every personal anecdote - that's probably overkill.

If, on the other hand you want to post occasionally about your work and/or reflections on the industry you work in, info about other artists and performers you know and work with, then come on board. We'd love to have you.

Finally, people who are looking for jobs or want to get rich. At the moment NxEW has no revenue, we can't pay you - we hope to and plan to change that and eventually have money, we have smart people with good ideas but we're not there yet. So for now think of it as a hobby - something you do for fun and to share your passion, it's not a job.

If after reading all of this you think you might be one of us, please join the blog using the Meta section at the bottom of this page (bottom right) then drop me a note at [email protected] and I'll confirm you as a contributor and send you an invite to the secret Google group that serves as our office.