When drama strikes the East Coast Music Association, artists feel they're caught in the middle

Maddie Ryan · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 27, 2025 12:13 PM EDT | Last Updated: 8 minutes ago

Musicians successful Newfoundland and Labrador person grown bushed of swirling contention up of the East Coast Music Awards, and accidental they feel like they're taking the deed arsenic calls for boycotts continue. 

When Jing Xia started moving arsenic an acquisition and outreach co-ordinator for the East Coast Music Association (ECMA) past year, she said it was "like a imagination travel true." 

Xia's declaration with the enactment ended successful December. Now, the Paradise-based guzheng subordinate and ethnomusicologist is overwhelmed.

"I conscionable consciousness similar this shouldn't person happened," she said successful an interrogation successful her home's euphony room, referring to the January firing of erstwhile CEO Blanche Israёl.

"I bash recognize wherefore radical are upset, due to the fact that I'm upset arsenic well."

Xia said her erstwhile presumption arsenic an outreach co-ordinator planted a effect for aboriginal assemblage programming. Without Israёl there, she doesn't cognize if those efforts volition continue.

The ECMA published a six-point enactment program Tuesday to code increasing concerns astir the association's direction. Xia was frank astir what she saw.

"I was benignant of pissed disconnected speechmaking that," she said. 

Xia was specifically upset with the equity, diversity, inclusion and accessibility conception of the document, which primitively lacked notation of the Asian assemblage and different racialized groups.

After she sent an email pointing that out, it was rapidly amended to say, "the committee volition make an advisory committee connected equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility (EDIA) with members from each equity deserving groups (i.e. Francophones, Indigenous, African Canadian, BIPOC, 2SLGBTQAI+ persons with disabilities and those who place arsenic women)."

But it inactive rubbed the creator the incorrect way.

"I consciousness similar determination are deeper issues astatine play and they should beryllium much alert and beryllium much informed astir these things," she said. "I particularly privation to talk for each these caller immigrants … the scenery is conscionable different. It's not conscionable the violin, guitars anymore."

Improvements to the organization, Xia suggested, would ideally see amended connection and engagement from the ECMA's committee of directors to its members and those successful the euphony communities it represents.

It's a constituent St. John's-based instrumentalist Kelly McMichael echoes.

Jumping done hoops

McMichael spent overmuch of past autumn touring her latest album, After the Sting of It. 

The 2024 grounds saw captious acclaim from publications similar Exclaim! and Riddle Fence, but nary East Coast Music Awards nominations. 

That's an contented that galore autarkic touring musicians ran into this year, said McMichael, due to the fact that of a lengthy exertion process that seemed intolerable to implicit without a squad connected hand. 

"I was amazed to find that it was a precise long-form, demanding exertion that would person required 2 days of my time, which is not truly imaginable erstwhile you're connected the road," she said successful an interview. 

"I find it truly frustrating to beryllium judged connected my euphony done penning effort questions," said McMichael, adding that having to leap though administrative hoops can effect successful barriers for galore artists.

WATCH | What N.L. artists person to accidental astir the upcoming East Coast Music Awards: 

On apical of that was the expanding magnitude of play the ECMA recovered itself successful this year. Keeping up with accelerated developments is exhausting for an artist, according to McMichael.

"I don't person clip to, like, excavation into the medication and however it works … and I conscionable don't deliberation it should beryllium connected artists to get dragged down with this controversy," she said. 

Increasing pressure

As grant nominees similar Jeremy Dutcher propulsion retired of the show, calls to boycott the May 7-11 events proceed to grow.

McMichael said enactment is needed to bring up important conversations, and artists shouldn't beryllium punished for making a prime to either boycott oregon participate — especially with the information of the fiscal load galore island-based artists face.

"I truly had hoped that this would beryllium a large twelvemonth to observe astatine location and see my set and not spell mode retired of pouch for it," she said, citing question expenses that travel with performing successful different provinces. 

The artist, who won an ECMA for champion stone signaling successful 2022, has not yet decided if she's attending this year's events. 

Going forward, she hopes the East Coast Music Association takes musicians into relationship erstwhile making large decisions.

"We're the ones making the music," she said. "None of this would hap without the artists."

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