EP/66: ALAN CROSS

Feature Episode: The Future of Music with the Legendary Alan Cross

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Today’s episode is our year end wrap-up where we look at the biggest tech trends impacting music and we contemplate where things may be headed in 2023 and beyond. We wanted to discuss the music metaverse, the state of Web3, the increasing popularity of old material and ‘streaming fatigue’. We discuss these developments with legendary storyteller Alan Cross. 

Alan is an internationally known broadcaster, interviewer, writer, consultant, blogger and speaker. Based in Toronto, he is best known nationally and internationally as host of the syndicated radio series The Ongoing History of New Music, The Secret History of Rock, and ExploreMusic. In his forty years in the broadcast and music business, he has interviewed the biggest names in rock, ranging from David Bowie and Ringo Starr to U2, Pearl Jam, Coldplay, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, AC/DC and the Foo Fighters. As avid listeners of Alan’s storytelling for decades, we are incredibly pumped to have him on the show today.

About ALAN

Alan Cross is an internationally known broadcaster, interviewer, writer, consultant, blogger and speaker. Based in Toronto, Ontario, he is best known nationally and internationally as host of the syndicated radio series The Ongoing History of New Music, The Secret History of Rock, and ExploreMusic. In 2013, he started the Geeks & Beats podcast with BNN's Michael Hainsworth.

In his forty years in the broadcast and music business, Alan has interviewed the biggest names in rock, ranging from David Bowie and Ringo Starr to U2, Pearl Jam, Coldplay, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, AC/DC and the Foo Fighters.

He’s perhaps best known as a musicologist and documentarian on his long-running syndicated radio show, The Ongoing History of New Music. The program began in 1993 and so far, there are nearly 1000 one-hour episodes. Podcasts of those programs have been downloaded 12 million times around the world.

During his five-year tenure as program director of 102.1 the Edge/Toronto, he was named Program Director of the Year three times at the Canadian Music Awards.

Outside of radio, Alan’s résumé includes four books; dozens of public speaking engagements (TEDx, Ad Age and TD Financial among them); a series of national music columns; voicework for commercials; and content creation for TV, movies, record labels, artist management companies and streaming music services like Spotify, Songza and YouTube. He’s also a frequent guest commentator/analyst on a myriad of media outlets.

In 2011, Alan toured with William Shatner as part of a stage production called As Time Flies. He also was instrumental in creating content for a travelling science museum exhibit called The Science of Rock ’n’ Roll – which, by the way, was the genesis of The Science of Sound.

Alan is also sought after as a consultant for radio content. His current client is Corus Radio Toronto (102.1 the Edge and Q107). One of his companies, Major League Mixes, provided music advice for professional sports teams like the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Alan has been deeply involved exploring the past, present and future relationships between music, technology and social networking.

Learn more about Alan and catch up on the latest on his blog: ajournalofmusicalthings.com/ where you’ll find links to his various social channels. A list of upcoming speaking gigs in 2023 can be found here: www.ajournalofmusicalthings.com/im-back-doing-speaking-gigs-the-next-salon-event-is-coming-up-friday/