Episode 81: Kat Griffiths

Meet Kat Griffiths (again!), a fangirl of the highest order who shines a light on the artists who make the songs she loves with a podcast called Start the Music. I say "again" because I had Kat on the show way back in Episode 19 to talk about her experience as a member of the rotating cast of smart women who discuss Doctor Who on Verity!. She continues to appear on Verity!, as well as on an improv show called Doctor Who's Line, Is It?... Anyway!. Those are both the products of ensembles, whereas Start the Music is her baby. That means she has all of the control, and has to do all of the work, which we talk about.  You'll hear about the technical and logistical challenges of a show based on remote interviews; the pros and cons of passionate preparation; the need for more small venues for bands to get started at; her desire to be part of what replaces the late lamented MuchMusic show The Wedge; podcaster problems for couples (her partner is one-third of Radio Free Skaro); and the very important prompt from a fellow podcaster that got her to pull the trigger on Start the Music.  We also talk about the complications of playing music on a podcast. Kat has a SOCAN licence, which you can look into here. Where the grey area comes in is whether that licence covers downloadable podcasts as opposed to streaming ones, such as the ones you can find on MixCloud. In addition to SOCAN, it would be wise to look into the requirements of CMRRA (Canadian Musical Reproduction Rights Agency) and Re:Sound. And remember, these agencies apply only to Canada. There's a lot that remains to be determined in this area, as podcasting becomes more popular, so do keep all of that in mind if you're looking at a podcast that plays licensed music, and seek out expert advice.   Kat made the following recommendations: The Tear Down, Caleb Caswell's interview show about the musician life; GigCity.ca, Mike Ross's website covering Edmonton's arts and entertainment scene. And I recommended Kat's blog, specifically her post bringing together her two podcast worlds, Representation & My Search for the 13th Doctor of Bass Players. You can find Start the Music in Apple Podcasts and Stitcher, as well as at stmpodcast.com. It's also on Twitter (@startmusicpod) and Facebook (@stmpodcast). Kat herself is @xanister on Twitter. Seen and Heard in Edmonton is a proud member of the Alberta Podcast Network, powered by ATB. You can hear some network shows on GRadio.ca every night after 6 p.m., and you can sample the network on the CKUA app. Many thanks to Castria for editing this podcast.  This episode of Seen and Heard in Edmonton is brought to you by the Edmonton Community Foundation, which acts as a bridge between donors and charities to help create a strong, vibrant community for generations to come. Applications for the first round of Vital Signs grants this year close on Jan. 15, 2018. If you have an idea to reduce social isolation in Edmonton, apply here. Hear more about what the ECF cares about on The Well Endowed Podcast. This episode is also brought to you by ATB Financial, founding sponsor of the Alberta Podcast Network. In this episode, you’ll hear about The Branch for Arts and Culture, a new way to serve creative Albertans and our province’s cultural industries. Learn more about this initiative, which is setting up shop on the main floor of the CKUA building in Edmonton and is already in action in Calgary, at atb.com/thebranch. Musical credits: Beethoven’s Sonata No. 1 in F Minor, Op. 2 No. 1, played by Daniel Veesey, from freemusicarchive.com.