The award-winning Natalie MacMaster

The East Coast Music Awards are back in Halifax, celebrating the 35th Anniversary in the place where it all began. And when it comes to accolades, the Director's Special Achievement Award is at the top of the list. Natalie MacMaster is as humble as she is talented and deserving.

Episode Transcript

(00:03):
What does it mean to be awardwinning? Now? If a movie wins
an Academy award, it usually translatesinto more money at the box office and
bigger returns For producers. In thecase of an actor, usually increases their
asking price for their next project.For musicians, an award usually helps them
with the business side of their career. Maybe it helps them pick up new
fans willing to buy their music orpay to see them perform. But we
know what we like, regardless ofthe accolades. Recently, to part of

(00:26):
Gordon Lightfoot Award winning Singer Songwriter,a whole page on his website is dedicated
to the honors bestowed upon him duringhis lengthy career. Interesting to me,
who decides who's worthy? The Academyin the case of the OSCARS, is
the Academy of Motion Pictures, Artsand Sciences. A Vanity Fair article says
they're a massive group, more thanten thousand industry professionals, ninety five hundred
of whom get to vote. Theydivide him into seventeen branches based on their

(00:50):
expertise, and they vote for theirfavorites. I say favorites because that's still
a popularity contest. Among people whoare experts in the industry and it is
subjective. Now, Roll Hall ofFame just announced his twenty twenty three nominees.
So how are they chosen? Well, Britannica dot Com says musicians are
eligible for induction twenty five years afterthe release of their first recording and the

(01:10):
nominating committee made up of rock historiansand they choose the nominees each year in
the performer category and they then getvoted upon by an international body of five
hundred rock experts and it always comeswith some degree of controversy. Talk about
a diverse group of inductees this yearKate Bush, Eryl Crowe, Missy Elliott,
George Michael, Willie Nelson, Rageagainst the Machine and the Spinners.

(01:32):
Well, the East Coast Music Awardsare being handed out in a few days.
It's the thirty fifth year for thegala event. Promoter Rob Cohen start
back in nineteen eighty nine. Itwas a one day event called the Maritime
Music Awards. Two years later hejoined forces with a cadre of experts to
form the East Coast Music Association.They're the ones who helped grow this event
to what's now the East Coast MusicAwards Festival and conference. It's a five

(01:53):
day NonStop musical celebration showcasing and recognizingthe best of East Coast artists and music,
and it's in Halifax this year.Originally the Association members who voted,
including musicians, and that changed aroundtwenty fourteen when they went to a jury
system of industry professionals from Atlanta,Canada, and that helped make it less
of a popularity contest, and accordingto a CBC article in twenty eighteen,

(02:14):
it'll eliminated the fact that it mightcome down to which artists had the best
marketing budget. And they also havea conflict of interest guidelines, so jurors
excuse themselves from categories where they mayactually know the nominees. There's still a
Fan Choice Award though, where thepeople get to vote on their favorites online,
and then there's the ten Honorary EastCoast Awards and those are chosen by
the Board of Directors. And thisyear's Special Achievement Award is going to Natalie

(02:37):
McMaster in the music industry now foreighty percent of her young life. She
tells me she was worried in someways. She's not considered one of ours
because she moved to Ontario twenty yearsago. No, Natalie, we haven't
forgotten. You know the saying youcan take the person out of the Maritimes,
but you can't take the Maritimes outof the person. Embrace the love
you've earned it. I'm Sheldon McCloudfor Saltwire.