Our Vision Statement

   We started Opry North for one thing and one thing only.  The artists.  In the ‘Our Story’ section of ‘About Opry North’ we told you the story about how we became involved in the country music world and what we’d noticed, how the artists didn’t seem to have anyone who would just Help them without lots of strings or hands out first.  Now, we do understand that this is an industry, and industries exist to make money.  But when you look at the heart of this industry it revolves around People.  These people had a dream, something they’d wanted to do that they were good at; that made them happy.  They wanted to sing, to get on that stage and perform for other people, people like you.  And in the meantime they worked, out in the real world (and many still do, singing at night and on weekends) like everyone else.  They are realists first and foremost, knowing that they may never end up on an award stage or earning Double Diamond status for that CD they’d worked hard to pay for.  But they still sing.  And we wanted to do something that would help them at the end of their day, something that they could count on without owing us a thing, knowing that we’d always do our best to give them a break and some words of encouragement when they need it.  And if our dreams come true, we’ll be able to do more for them than that.

   We’ve had a lot of people ask us why we called our website Opry North.  It’s pretty simple really.  ‘Opry’ because of the connotations to ‘tradition’, ‘longevity’ and ‘talent’, evidenced by the same idea that started the Grand Ole Opry down south.  And ‘North’ obviously because we are Canadian, based in Canada and with a strong feeling for our Canadian talent.  Opry North started out as an idea, was named after an idea and now it’s time to share that idea with everyone.  Maybe it’ll become a reality sooner than you think.

   We want to do more than we’ve been able to do so far.  The Internet presence is only the first step in a long-term plan to bring the level of our artists up to where it should be.  Now, we don’t know all there is to learn about how to run all that we want to do, but that’s where the help of those more experienced comes in as well as advice from the artists.  The Internet plan has worked out very well, with additional plans for that including establishing an online distribution centre for independent artists to help facilitate the sales of their material.

   Now for the facility plan.  We have been asking the artists that we run into what they thought about a facility set up ‘sort of’ like that of the Grand Ole Opry, where shows would be held at a venue on a regular schedule that they would be able to appear at, to keep themselves in the public eye when not able to tour or to showcase some new material to see how it works with an audience.  They’d appear on a bill with other artists, have a spot of their own and have a stable venue where they’d know what to expect and how things would work when they have some time to come out and play.  Plus, it would give those who are good but aren’t able to find enough showcase spots available to let the public see them a chance too, the up & coming crowd.  And so far, the reaction has been pretty favourable.  They have been quite enthusiastic about that idea and that is what we’d like to establish for them.  A place of their own.  Now, they’d still tour, making appearances at your local events and the like, but this would be just a little something extra where you could see more than one at the same show during a time when they may have been out of sight for a little while, in the studio or hidden away writing.  This is obviously a huge undertaking, involving building the facility or finding one that would be agreeable to our leasing it on a regular schedule without it conflicting with their other events.  But that is just one of the things we are aiming for.

   The next thing we’d like to see is the artists having their own organization.  Not a union really, more like their own association so they can put their voice into things that THEY want to.  A board made up of artists would govern the association, and they would be the best judges of what direction would most benefit them.  They would be able to establish things like ‘development bursaries’ for those just getting started, maybe educational grants for those taking post-secondary musical programs.  The possibilities are endless and they would control their own organization.  We’ve had enough of seeing them at the ‘mercy’ of the decisions of those who don’t make any music but all of the rules.  And if they’d like help getting it going, we’ll be there!

   We’ve had lots of inquiries as to why we don’t charge the artists for what we do.  That’s because we have seen the enormous amount of expenses they have already, and we don’t intend to add to that load.  They employ a staff, some on an agreement basis, some on a contractual basis and some ‘by the show’.  And it all adds up.  Add to that the travel expenses for everyone, the clothing, hair, instruments, vehicle expenses plus the costs associated with recording, marketing and promotional items (many of our artists are independent and have no ‘record company bank’ to pay for these things) and the list goes on.   So, while you think they’ll make lots by getting a nice big cheque for doing a show when you break it down it doesn’t go as far as you think.  And don’t forget the taxman, he gets more and more the more successful an artist becomes.  So, we don’t charge the artists for what we do.  We intend to finance our work in the future by taking on sponsor advertisers, businesses who think we’ve done a good job and want to spread their name through helping us with our work   The more we do, the more they get their name out there and everyone will win.  And sponsor advertisers will get the credit for making what we do possible through either buying ad space on the site, or the donation of equipment to help us get our work done.  We’ve learned you get a lot further by working together.

   So there it is.  All of our cards are on the table.  We’re aware that organizations can come and go, businesses fold and artists may become disillusioned and stop singing but we intend to keep going.  We’re a little group, but we’re determined, we’re pretty darned stubborn and we never give up on our friends.  We WILL always find a way, count on it.  And we hope we can count on you to keep your ears open.  When you hear a good country song, think of us. 

Kim Jamieson

CEO/Opry North/Whitepaw Productions

Wayne Tozzi

President/Opry North/Whitepaw Productions