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BC's Best Teen Band Contest Top 10 Go to Rock 'n' Roll Boot Camp

BC's Top 10 teen bands get an intro to the music industry from the pros.

On Saturday, January 21st, 2012, only eight days after the Top 10 finalists in Youthink's annual BC's Best Teen Band Contest were announced, the musicians filed into Nimbus School of Recording Arts in Vancouver to attend a workshop to help them navigate not only the competition, but also the music business itself.

The students learn about copyright from SOCAN's Terry O'Brien

The day kicked off with a session on working with the media led by Youthink's editor, Janine Verreault, and assistant editor, Oliver Lam. The artists learned how to effectively answer interview questions and also gained some insight into what journalists look for in an interview.

After media training, Terry O'Brien from SOCAN gave the budding musicians a brief crash course about songwriting royalties and how to make money off their music.

Following SOCAN 101, the artists got a lunch break. During the break, they got the chance to talk to Jeff Huggins, lead singer of The Knots, who won the first ever BC's Best Teen Band Contest. They asked him everything from how post-secondary affects a band's dynamic to how to most effectively gain votes.

After what was probably a less-than-relaxing break, the bands dove headfirst into their next session with Chris Brandt of Nimbus School Of Recording Arts about how to use social media. They learned how to use the Internet as a marketing tool and picked up a few useful tips on how to minimize the effort while building up a fan base.

Bob D'Eith of Music BC and Shaun Verreault of Wide Mouth Mason share tips about the music biz

The final session ran through the “Top 10 Mistakes Not To Make in the Music Biz” with Shaun Verreault from Wide Mouth Mason and Bob D'Eith, the executive director of Music BC. With five Juno nominations between the two of them, they were able to provide valuable tips  and examples on all the different angles of the music business. To finish off the day of listening and note taking, the artists took part in a songwriting activity led by Verreault.

The BC's Best Teen Band Contest workshops were filled with advice, lessons and a fair bit of lecturing, but they also provided the Top 10 bands with an opportunity to meet each one another and network with important figures in the B.C. music scene. And who knows? The bands might have even learned a thing or two at the same time!

To vote for the Top 3 in BC's Best Teen Band Contest, visit bandcontest.youthink.ca. You can vote once per day!