#BOOKS: “TRACK CHANGES: THE ORIGIN STORY OF CANADIAN MUSIC ON THE INTERNET (1990-2010)”

A major chapter in Canadian music history has been hiding in plain sight for decades. It’s now been brought back into focus by Track Changes: The Origin Story of Canadian Music on the Internet (1990–2010), a new non-fiction book by Toronto-based writer Cam Gordon.

Available now through FriesenPress, the book offers the first comprehensive account of how the internet’s early evolution forever altered Canadian music culture. Track Changes captures two decades of change that largely slipped from view as early digital platforms went offline and the era’s consumer technologies became obsolete. The book recovers many of these moments and shares this partially hidden history of Canadian music, media and technology.

“People often talk about digital music as if it started with Napster or iTunes,” says author Cam Gordon. “What gets forgotten is that many Canadian artists, fans and entrepreneurs were already building and connecting online years earlier and straight through the early 2000s. Track Changes documents that shared history before it disappears completely.”

Gordon began writing Track Changes while working at Twitter as its head of communications for Canada, a role he held for nearly eight years. Previously, he wrote for music publications such as Chart Magazine and Wavelength Music while working in public relations, representing LG Electronics and other consumer technology brands. From his dual perspective as a tech insider and music fan, Gordon set out to chronicle a time in Canadian music culture that has never been fully captured or explained.

Track Changes examines the rise of new media and online innovation in Canada, including mailing lists, BBS communities, fan-built websites, MP3 blogs, early e-commerce platforms and online news outlets. The book also details how legacy brands were forced to evolve, including major record labels, retailers such as HMV and Sam the Record Man, and media leaders including CBC, MuchMusic and 102.1 The Edge (CFNY-FM).

The impact of Apple, Napster, Amazon and other global titans is also part of the story. Yet so are the important contributions of Canadian tech originals including the Nettwerk Music Group, online record labels such as MapleMusic and Zunior, the Puretracks digital music store, the 20hz and Stillepost message boards, and music blogs such as Chromewaves and Said the Gramophone.

Gordon also maintains a Track Changes Instagram account. The @TrackChanges_ca feed serves as an additional archive of Canada’s early internet music footprint. It shares screenshots, photos and stories from defunct websites, online forums, digital ads, news articles, blogs and social platforms.

“Track Changes is a good reminder of how purposeful and community-driven the early internet era was,” says Gordon. “There was no playbook. Global brands, Canadian startups and everyday fans alike were all figuring things out on the fly. As it turns out, a lot of the behaviours and technologies we take for granted today started as small experiments running off personal computers and dial-up connections.”

Track Changes: The Origin Story of Canadian Music on the Internet (1990–2010) is available now through FriesenPress, Indigo, Book City, McNally Robinson, Amazon and other online booksellers.