Showcase aims to empower musicians.
Ahkinoah Izarh is a musician who started the Oh So Beautiful showcase, which he said is a model where performers are fairly compensated, meaning they get from it what they put into it. Auditions for the showcase are on Feb. 22 at the Gladstone Hotel Melody Bar.
Staff file photo/ERIN HATFIELD
One bad experience in the music industry, having to pay to perform, was enough to convince Ahkinoah Izarh he wanted to create something to put the power of performance back in the hands of musicians.
"As a musician, I have been a victim, if you will, to the pay-to-play model," Izarh said.
In the world of live music, pay-to-play is a trend where venue owners charge an up-front fee to performing artists to play there.
Izarh said that for some musicians, the pay-to-play model works, but for Izarh he knew there had to be another way to get his music out there.
"I thought there has to be a new model for this," he said. "I am doing it with pure intentions, a good heart and from the side of a musician."
Out of his experience booking and playing shows in the city, Izarh founded BLUEBLACKmusic, a production company and independent label as well as the name Izarh gives to his style of music.
Izarh, 28, has been singing and playing music for the past 10 years, but only began to look at it as a career in the past year.
He describes his music as the "deepest of blue".
"It stems from the blues and spirituals," said Izarh, who lives at Bathurst Street and St. Clair Avenue with his wife, Ahshaten, who plays viola with him.
BLUEBLACKmusic is Izarh's attempt at being an artist as well as the businessperson behind the music. Now he is encouraging other musicians and performers to take charge of their careers with the creation of a showcase called Oh So Beautiful, which Izarh said is a platform for Toronto's independent musicians to work together to create greater opportunities for themselves.
"You have to have a business mind or you risk having someone take advantage of you," Izarh said.
He said the Oh So Beautiful showcase encourages professionalism and integrity where performers are fairly compensated, meaning they get from it what they put into it.
As part of the showcase, performers are encouraged to sell tickets to the event. They receive half of the proceeds of the tickets they sell to the event.
"The most important thing a musician wants is an audience, but we want an audience without building the relationship and doing the work," he said. "I learned quickly...you have to create your own value. You have to put in to get something out."
Oh So Beautiful has produced pamphlets with the help of the African Canadian Legal Clinic, which helps musicians with the business side of the music industry by addressing things such as contracts and copyright.
BLUEBLACKmusic will host auditions for the next Oh So Beautiful showcase at the Melody Bar at the Gladstone Hotel Feb. 22. Doors open at 6 p.m. and auditions begin at 7 p.m.
From those auditions, a panel will choose two hosts and about 20 performers to play at the Oh So Beautiful concert series - three showcases that will take place at the Gladstone Hotel Ballroom this year.
Panelists include Orin Isaacs, Juno award-winning record producer, bassist and musical director; Bruce Chapman, manager at Toronto's Bloor St. Long and McQuade; singer/songwriter Selena Evangeline; and Izarh.
There is no charge to audition and there is no cover for the audience.
Oh So Beautiful was inspired by soul singer Curtis Mayfield who, Izarh explained, was one of the first performers to take control of his music by setting up his own record label and production team to ensure the artistic integrity of his music.
The title Oh So Beautiful takes its name from a Curtis Mayfield song with the same name.
"It is just the idea that what we have is beautiful so value it, cherish it, nurture it, take care of it," Izarh said.
Performers can register to audition at Oh So Beautiful by visiting www.ohsobeautiful.tk