New Brunswick singer-songwriter Apryll Aileen started spending a lot of time in Los Angeles more than 10 years ago to help build a career in the music business.
She had many moments that made her feel like she was making progress.
At Christmas, the Venice sign in the trendy beachfront L.A. neighbourhood is lit up red and green, and there is an outdoor event to mark the occasion. One year, amid fake falling snow, Aileen opened for acts that included Al Jardine of the Beachboys and Tom Petty’s drummer, Steve Ferrone.
“This is so cool,” she said. “I’m from Saint John, I grew up in St. Martins … and I’m under the Venice sign hanging out with some of the coolest musicians.”
Those were the early days of her network-building in Los Angeles and other major music centres, which she believes to be an essential part of building a successful and sustainable music career.
Now Aileen is seeing that work pay off. She recently became a voting member of the Grammy recording academy, a validation for independent musicians like her in a competitive industry.
“Music is really tough,” said the pop musician. “There are moments where you kind of just go, ‘Am I really on the right path?’ I needed something to show me that I’m on the right path, that music is for me.”
Apryll Aileen plays the family piano for her dog, Tucker, in Rothesay. (Mark Leger/CBC)
Aileen, who was nominated for an East Coast music award earlier this year, said she plans to blend country influences into her next album and will be spending more time in Nashville.
She doesn’t spend as much time in L.A. these days and has been living between Saint John and Halifax. But she said it’s still important to stay networked in the large centres.
“I like my home base to be the East Coast, but maintaining those industry connections in major hubs is essential,” said Aileen, who has produced two full-length albums and songs written and recorded for shows and films.
As part of the process to becoming a Grammy-voting member, Aileen was nominated by two voting numbers and went through a peer review panel.
WATCH | ‘I’m on the right path … music is for me’:
N.B. musician becomes Grammy-voting member
Singer-songwriter Apryll Aileen becomes part of the recording academy voting process with the chance to attend the Grammys and maybe win one herself one day.
As a recording academy voting member, Aileen can cast votes in the various Grammy categories. She can also attend the awards ceremony in Los Angeles in February and submit her own work to be considered for nominations.
There are also networking and professional development opportunities.
Nashville singer-songwriter Meghan Pulles, one of the two recording academy voting members to nominate Aileen, said the networking is a career-building opportunity.
Nashville singer-writer Meghan Pulles said Aileen will benefit from the opportunity to attend the Grammys and be around the calibre of musicians winning awards there. (Submitted by Meghan Pulles)
“Now that she’s in the ‘Gram Fam,’ as we call it, I can introduce her to the people in the organization who mean a lot to me,” Pulles said.
She also said attending the Grammys, which she did for the first time last year, is good for musicians like her and Aileen.
“It really validates you as an independent artist,” Pulles said. “Being in a room full of people who are winning and getting nominated for Grammys, and having them tell you that your music is worth something to them, is crazy.”
There are more than 15,000 voting members who are artists, songwriters, producers, and sound engineers active in the music industry.
There are thousands of voting members — all artists, songwriters, or producers in the music industry.
But Vancouver music writer and broadcaster Alan Cross said it’s still an exclusive group. He was surprised Aileen had become a voting member, mainly because he doesn’t know anyone else who has.
“It is a very closed sort of society, you don’t really hear about a lot of people from Canada being invited in to be part of this,” said Cross, the Vancouver-based host of the podcast, Ongoing History of New Music.
Music writer and broadcaster Alan Cross said becoming a Grammy-voting member is a significant achievement for Aileen. (Submitted by Alan Cross)
Cross also said it’s a potentially good career move.
“You should be able to network with a lot of people who vote for the Grammys, which are all the big movers and shakers in the United States,” Cross said.
Music industry publicist Fiona Bloom said Aileen can take on a leadership role as an advocate for independent musicians like her trying to build a career in the industry.
“She can build this platform to be the voice and vehicle that drives, influences, and inspires like-minded artists who never thought this could be their reality,” Bloom said. “She will advocate for people like herself who, five years ago, wouldn’t have thought this was possible.”
Music promoter Fiona Bloom met Apryll Aileen at a Music NB event in Miramichi a decade ago and helped her break into the movie and television side of the music industry. (Submitted by Fiona Glass)
The Atlanta-based Bloom first met Aileen at a MusicNB conference in Miramichi more than a decade ago.
“We became instant friends and I just wanted to help her,” Bloom said. “I saw her show. I thought she was amazing. I loved her songwriting. I loved her voice.”
In the years since then, Bloom has periodically done publicity work for Aileen, opening the doors to work like writing and recording songs for shows and films, most notably Under My Tree for the Hallmark series, Mistletoe Murders.
“I spent a lot of time in L.A. specifically … to meet with directors, writers and just be inspired,” Aileen said.
“If it wasn’t for the TV and film side, I don’t know if I would still be doing music.”
Aileen lived in L.A., off and on, for about five years and also spent time building her career in New York, Toronto and the UK.
She’s now turning her attention toward Nashville, where she just became a member of the local Grammys chapter.
“My ideal situation for the next few years is keeping my base in Saint John and Halifax while visiting Nashville every three to four months,” Aileen said. “I’d love to sign a publishing deal or stay independent, but full-time living there isn’t in the immediate plans.”
The province’s waterways keep her rooted in the Maritimes, at least until she wins a Grammy of her own.
“I need to be able to swim,” Aileen said. “And until I get that Grammy song where I can have my own pool and invite my friends and family, I think just visits for now and keep one foot in Halifax, one foot in Saint John and visit Nashville.”