Starting out as a musician and booking indie spotlights and store performances at HMV (British music and entertainment retailer that closed all of its Canadian locations in 2017), Darryl Hurs has always had a passion for the indie musician. Now with over 25 years in music, having worked for an online music distributor, developing marketing and branding strategies, negotiating numerous sponsorship and partnership agreements, Hurs is committed to helping artists bootstrap their way to success.
After moving to Toronto, he began working as a booker and venue promoter and working with festivals in and around the City. Recognizing a glaring oversight of local musical talent, he launched a festival to get them a much-deserved spotlight and help to build a local scene, and Indie Week was born. Says Hurs, “They gig swap [and] support each other throughout the year, and you're trying to educate them so that they can also improve and get to the next level. Next year comes around [and] they're very deserving of that showcase spot. That was the whole premise of it.” He also made sure there were industry heavyweights in the room to get the deserving artists some industry attention and momentum. With elements including “Best of the Fest” to showcase rising talents, a stint of Indie Week Ireland for six years, and another stretch in Manchester (England), the festival became somewhat of an institution on the indie circuit. Then came Brexit, and things returned to Canada.
Covid changed the game again, although it ended up as a blessing with the launch of the online DIT (“do it together”) Music Community, made possible in part through a partnership with Ontario Creates, FACTOR, and Canada’s private radio broadcasters. Being DIY in the toughest industry is made even more difficult when we are left to figure it out and do it all ourselves. Says Hurs, “That's what we're taught. Why not do it together and help each other?” Artists meet other artists and join forces on tour, industry executives mentor new signings, and agents book their next acts. The DIT platform provides ongoing informative webinars and live sessions with industry pros and educational videos are being rolled out, but the real value is the growing network of music professionals that support each other, interacting with the community at a personal level in real time (unlike conferences and other in-person events that often consist of long lines and generic speed meetings). Consisting of about 50% Canadian members, with some traction in Eastern Europe, South America, and the United States, the community is constantly growing, and there are more exciting initiatives being announced soon.
Hurs’ core festival is evolving too. “After 19 years in Toronto, with 240 artists from 30 countries in 24 venues, we launched a new festival called Venue by Venue. It's in London, Ontario, and we'll have about 60-70 artists [this year],” says Hurs. “It's more manageable and more curated.” While 2023 was the first year of Venue by Venue, 2024 marks the first official return back to Indie Week since the COVID-19 lockdown and it is now a hybrid model, with three days online and two days for the in-person festival. While this year’s live performances focused on artists from London, Ontario, the plan is to expand to include artists from across Canada, and then build to include international acts for 2026.
In addition to the new hybrid model, this year’s festival includes an additional performance component called ‘Song by Song.’ Says Hurs, “it’s a special songwriter round and we've got some select Canadian performers like Moe Berg from the Pursuit of Happiness, Dave Bidini from the Rheostatics, and Chris Koster, (former) guitarist of The Glorious Sons, sharing songs and stories.” The plan is to expand moving forward to showcase more successful artists who can share the stories behind their songs.
While Indie Week is a great place for resources, networking, and getting discovered, the biggest surprise is often what happens years later. “Artists meet each other, end up in bands, or get signed to a manager or producer, and you find out they met at Indie Week. You find out when the album comes out,” says Hurs. “We’ve had artists that got booking agents, managers, producers, sponsorships. Being part of their story is magic.”
Providing artists a stage to gain confidence, learn and develop their art, and connect directly with industry professionals is what it is all about. Says Hurs, “What if we didn't have these spaces for artists to develop? To build a sustainable music economy, we need to think of the future.” Speaking to the industry’s obsession with followers, streaming numbers, and social media, Hurs says that it doesn’t make sense, adding that, “David Bowie took a few albums before he had a hit. Imagine if, album one, they said, David Bowie, you're dropped?!”
The Indie Week online conference runs November 11-13 and will involve panels, workshops, and networking opportunities (including festival programmers, music offices and associations, booking agents, publishers, music supervisors, etc.) and exposure to international music markets. The Venue By Venue emerging artist festival runs November 14 and 15 and combines live performances, industry panels, Q&A sessions, demo listening sessions, and industry mixers, over multiple venues in London, Ontario.
For more information and tickets for Indie Week, visit: indieweek.com.
Learn more about the DIT community here: members.ditcommunity.com
