Ontario to ban scalper bots

The Liberal government said Monday it will introduce new legislation this fall that will make automated ticket-buying “bots” illegal. It would also cap markups on resold tickets at 50 percent of their face value.(Castanet)

A Distorted Revolution: How Eric’s Trip Changed Moncton, Music and Me

“Cult heroes” isn’t the aspiration for most bands, but looking back at the short, inspirational life of Eric’s Trip, it’s hard to view the Moncton quartet’s career arc through any other lens. After all, this is a band that turned down a deal with Sub Pop Records at the height of their post-grunge fame and cred so they could get a deal that lent them more control — including the ability to record themselves in their Atlantic Canadian home. That’s the thrust of the new book A Distorted Revolution: How Music Changed Music, Moncton and Me from Moncton, NB-based music journalist Jason Murray.
(Exclaim!)

Trailer Park Boys add landmark Halifax eatery, bars to growing business empire

The Trailer Park Boys, Nova Scotia’s supposedly dopey mockumentary stars, are amassing a business empire spanning an online comedy network, production studio, beverage deals, marijuana branding and now a landmark Halifax restaurant and bar complex.(CBC.CA)

How Countries Around the World Fund Music—and Why It Matters

Courtney Barnett is a wise-cracking, guitar-mangling embodiment of what taxpayer support can do for a musician. In 2013, the Melbourne-based singer-songwriter was able to travel across the globe to play New York City for the first time thanks to support from the Australia Council for the Arts, a government agency. A year later, she was one of the first recipients of a new, state-sponsored grant that helped her record her debut album. When it came time to promote the results, 2015’s Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit, government money also went toward financing her South by Southwest showcase and a European tour. Along with gracing critics’ year-end lists and international charts, the record led to a Best New Artist nomination at the 2016 Grammy Awards.(Pitchfork)

And Finally

Eric’s Trip in Montreal from