Track Changes
The Origin Story of Canadian Music on the Internet (1990-2010)
by Cam Gordon

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Track Changes: The Origin Story of Canadian Music on the Internet (1990–2010) is the first book of its kind to document a cultural revolution in Canada, one now buried under broken URLs, corrupted hard drives, and discarded cell phones. Long before streaming services, viral hits, AI, and social media, the internet was already reshaping Canadian music. Spanning two pivotal decades, this book chronicles this transformation. Track Changes covers the rise of mailing lists, BBS communities, fan-built websites, MP3 blogs, e-commerce platforms, digital radio stations, music news websites, and other innovations that completely changed how artists reach audiences and how fans discover music. It also explores how the internet contributed to the collapse of major Canadian retailers, music magazines, mass market radio, and other corners of Canada’s cultural infrastructure. Drawing on original interviews, archival research, and vivid first-hand accounts, Track Changes tells the story of the early digital pioneers, artists, entrepreneurs, label heads, bloggers, and fans who used fledgling online tools to build communities, grow businesses, and shape careers. All this was done at a time when the internet’s impact was still very much TBD. Follow Track Changes on Instagram at @trackchanges_ca

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“Track Changes is a secret history that fills in the background of the digital landscape for any music fan in Canada who was remotely plugged in around the unique technological and cultural inflection point that was the turn of the century. It’s a fascinating look at the ambition, craftiness, naivete, and pure dumb luck–both good and bad–of the early internet era. For all the chaos and corporate body counts, it still feels like a simpler and more idyllic time compared to today.” —Frank Yang - Chromewaves “Cam Gordon is the perfect author for this book. He's a CanCon obsessive and a communications expert who has worked in tech. He gets it and he loves it. This book captures an often-overlooked music and media history. The decades of 1990 to 2010 are the early and fun days of what we now call social media. No doubt, Marshall McLuhan would approve.” —Jennifer Hollett - The Walrus, Twitter Canada, MuchMusic, Sony Music Canada

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Cam Gordon is a Toronto-based writer, music researcher, communications professional, and cultural commentator. Cam has written about music and culture for outlets including the Toronto Star, Chart Magazine, The Spill, This Magazine, and Wavelength Music. He began his media pursuits hosting a radio show on 93.3 CFMU at McMaster University and has been a recurring guest on the Toronto Mike’d Podcast, where he explores trends in music, media, technology, and sports. In 2013, he launched CompletelyIgnored.com, a blog that blends data analysis, humour, and design to present music insights through visual storytelling. His work has been featured on Alan Cross’s A Journal of Musical Things and other websites. Cam has also built a long career in communications. He served as Head of Communications for Twitter in Canada, helping to shape the platform’s national identity across the country. He has also held senior communications roles at Rogers and Seneca Polytechnic.

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Contributors

Author

Cam Gordon