5 ways to improve the ECMAs

The East Coast Music Awards have been a godsend to the music community of Atlantic Canada over 28 yearsand Thursday night sees the latest celebration of Atlantic Canadian talent, at the gala being held in Sydney, N.S.

Starting at a time in the late 1980s when there was almost no infrastructure, interest or investment in local talent, the awards shined first a local, then a national, and finally an international spotlight on new music from the region.

With a reputation for traditional music, there was also something for everyone, and soon rockers and rappers and blues belters and opera divas were identified as East Coast across Canada.

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That was then, and these days it's a much different music world out there.

East Coast artists now have to fight to get their name out amidst all the Instagram traffic, and viewerswatching the latest Kardashianpost.

But the ECMAs can be buzz-worthy too. Here are some ideas that may revitalize them.

1. Stream that awards show

Have you seen the ECMAgala lately? Probably not, maybe even never.

Since CBC dropped the national TV show a decade ago, the association has struggled to find a broadcast/online partner to do it justice.

The current Eastlink deal just doesn't work, since you have to be a customer of the cable network, and lots of spots in the region aren't serviced by that company.

Plus, there's nothing for the rest of the country.

An online service is desperately needed, with repeat streaming after that.

It has to be the No. 1priority in the digital age.

2. Bring us the stars

Currently artists or their reps have to submit their songs or albums to be eligible for awards.

That really hurts, as several big names have been noticeably absent over the years, including Great Big Sea, Joel Plaskett and MeashaBrueggergosman.

Either they were just not bothering, or decided they had won enough trophiesand had bigger fish to fry.

The trouble isthe stars attract the fansand then the fans discover more music to enjoy.

Nobody gave a hoot about East Coast music until Rita MacNeilcame along, but after thather fans discovered a lot of other singer/songwriters and Cape Breton groups.

So the ECMAs needs to find a system where they nominate the best groupsto insure the brightest stars are involved.

3. Update the categories

There are too many awards, almost all of them for the same thing, recorded music.

Best song, best album, solo recording, songwriterthe end result is multiple nominations for certain acts, such as Hey Rosetta! with sevenand Jenn Grant with six.

Nobody is actually selling great amounts of music these daysand almost every artist makes money from their live shows.

How about dumping some tired award categories and giving out trophies where it really counts, such as best live performer, best new live band, or concert of the year?

4. Do more outreach

Right now, all we hear about the ECMAs is the awards show, once a year.

But East Coast Music is a pretty well-known brand in Canada, so get out there and promote it.

How about a partnership with a few festivals across the country, to present all-East Coast stages?

Believe me, there are lots of folks in Calgary or Vancouver or Shawiniganwho would gotoan East Coast stage even if they had no idea who the groups were, because they knew it would be great music, and probably an awesome party.

5. Don't wait until they die

Of course the ECMAs should be honouring Ron Hynesthis year, but I'd like to see a new focus on celebrating great East Coast artists or recordings while they are still around.

Perhaps some sort of ECMA Hall of Fame, or classic recordings could be honoured.

You could induct, say, five songs a year, from various time periods.

That would certainly be a cool part of the awards show, with current artists celebrating legacy performers.

Maybe Mo Kenneysinging Anne Murray's What About Me? Or Hey Rosetta! covering Sloan's Underwhelmed? The possibilities are endless.

Of course, we could all stream those performances live on our laptops, or catch the podcastthe next day.