Lilith Fair leader Sarah McLachlan is just one of many rising stars coming from Canada

Web posted on:
Wednesday, March 17, 1999 1:05:14 PM EST

From Colleen McEdwards
CNN WorldBeat Correspondent

TORONTO (CNN) -- When you think back to your elementary-school geography lessons, you might recall that Canada's top exports are unglamorous things like wood pulp, newsprint and crude petroleum. Attracting more attention these days, however, is a new Canadian export: Its musicians.

Not so long ago, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young and Brian Adams were Canada's music scene. Now Canada natives -- Celine Dion, Shania Twain, Sarah McLachlan and Alanis Morissette, to name just a few -- seem to be at the helm in one music category after another. And music industry insiders say even more hidden gems are likely to emerge on U.S. and European playlists in the months to come.

"We've finally come of age," says Allan Reid of Universal Music Canada. "I think that Canada has finally started to build its own star system, with Celine Dion, Shania Twain. And the world's now sort of come around to that. I think the talent's always been there, it's just we're finally getting better at exporting it."

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WorldBeat's Colleen McEdwards examines how Canada's finest stars become international icons
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The diversity of musical genres reflects the society.

"Canada has always been referred to as a multicultural melting pot," says Lisa Zbitniew, the president of BMG Music Canada. "And from that diversity and that representation of many different artists from different ethnic backgrounds, we've been very fortunate to be able to experience -- like at the Juno Awards -- everything from the aboriginal categories to artists like Natalie MacMaster playing ... what I think was really brilliant Celtic music from Cape Breton.

"There's a really exciting scene developed with local hip-hop music, which, you know, is indigenous to Canada," Zbitniew continues, "And there's a lot of eyes watching right now the Rascals, who performed at the Juno Awards, and one of our artists I think are really primed to influence the American market."

One in six households in Canada owns a Tragically Hip album

So how do the record companies in Canada transform local talent into global successes?

The strategy is, first, to "build a story at home." Zbitniew says that in some cases, local artists are sent to the northern part of Canada for months, where they perform before smaller groups and "work out the bugs" before they perform in front of a major-market audience in Toronto or Vancouver.

From her base in Winnipeg, Loreena McKennitt aims at markets such as Australia, Brazil, and Spain, with her lyrical evocation of the Celtic heritage.

By contrast, Crash Test Dummies have seen their success driven by that precious commodity, air play in the United States. They'll want more of the same for their new album, "'Give Yourself a Hand."

But some Canadians, phenomenally successful at home, just don't take to alien soil.

One in six households in Canada owns a Tragically Hip album. But the band's focus on their home audience and their very Canadian lyrics tragically impede progress elsewhere.

"They're an extremely talented band, great songwriters. They have ... an immense touring base here. And they've made decent inroads into America. They're with Sire Records right now, and they're dishing up in the 'Billboard' charts," says Universal's Reid. "I'm not really sure what it's been -- whether it's been a lack of belief from the U.S. labels or just wrong timing, wrong song at the wrong time.

Titanic songstress Celine Dion didn't get her big break until she learned to speak English

Moreover, serving a home base as large as Canada is in itself a daunting challenge.

"The geography of Canada really offers some particularly unique challenges," says Kim Cooke of Warner Music Canada. "Four to six months of the year, depending on where you are, you can be traveling in very cold weather great, great distances. It's not like traveling between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh or Pittsburgh and Cleveland. Your next gig can be 900 miles away."

And Canada's francophone artists face yet another hurdle. Dion made the breakthrough only when she learned to speak English.

"That's the turning point in her career, is stopping for a while and learning how to speak English. You have to really understand what you're singing about," says Dion's manager, Rene Angelil. "That's the most important thing she ever did for her career, was to stop and go to school and learn how to speak English."

Zbitniew agrees. "I don't think anybody can dispute that over the last five years, anyone has worked as hard as Celine. And Celine has put in her time in Canada. She puts in her time in the U.S., but she tours globally."

Sheer talent is the prerequisite. But Canadian acts from Lilith leader McLachlan to Barenaked Ladies to Morissette know no equal when it comes to getting out there live.