ECMA nominee enjoys operating from rural setting

By Jennifer Hoegg

The Hants Journal/NovaNewsNow.com

ECMA nominee Eirinn Frasier, Windsor Forks, didn’t set out to be a music promoter. The talented young woman thought she might want to be a journalist or an interior decorator. She was enjoying success as commissioned furniture salesperson, however, when she was involved in a serious car accident. “They showed me my prize (for being top salesperson that week) while I was lying in the hospital.” But it wasn’t sales or design that Frasier returned to after her accident. “After losing career and financial status, I started doing things that I had always wanted to do – working in art, film and music. I settled down on music.”

Once the choice was made, Frasier set out to succeed in the business, opening EFE Music Group and starting to get to know the industry. “I got on a plane and flew to the Junos in Winnipeg on my own dime to volunteer. You have to do everything you possibly can.”

Although the lasting effects of her injuries make events like the Junos painful, Frasier knows she made the right career choice. “Physical limitations make any job difficult. But music gets to your spirit, making it easier to do what you need to do. There is no room for giving up.”

In just three years in the industry, Frasier has garnered recognition from her peers -- earning nominations in one category at the Music Nova Scotia awards 2005, two in 2006 and three in 2007. Now she’s nominated in the category of Industry Professional of the Year in the 2008 ECMAs alongside five others. “I was shocked to hear my name in there,” she says. “It’s nice to have a push that you’re going the right way.”

Operates from rural setting

What could draw an up-and-coming music promoter to Windsor Forks? Born to Cape Bretoners living in northern Saskatchewan, Frasier has lived all over Canada and enjoys more rural settings. When she and her partner found the perfect house in Windsor Forks, they decided to leave Halifax for country life eight months ago. “I’ve always liked Windsor; there is a lot of history. And this house was too good a deal to pass up. Especially with Martock in the backyard and trails around Palmer Lake.”

Frasier had to give up some of her managing and booking activities in order to relocate, but continues to deepen her involvement in the industry. “I created a more melodic mix of companies. Now, I could probably do my job in the Arctic if I had a computer and cell phone!”

Frasier’s business, EFE Music Group, works with two other ECMA Nominees, Jamie Sparks and The Contact, as well as up and comers Faded Blue and several East Coast indie bands. She and several subcontracted employees offer services in Digital Media Distribution (DMDS), radio tracking, Broadcast Data System (BDS), promotion, publicity, graphic design and web design.

DMDS allows artists to distribute digital singles to radio stations, an important new way of getting new music to listeners, and Frasier is the only person east of Ontario offering the service.

Frasier has plans to expand EFE Music. “I’m nowhere near where I want to be business wise.” On the personal front, she continues to volunteer, recently worked as an extra on two movies filmed in Windsor, and has plans to produce an independent documentary on the Second World War. An avid athlete before her accident, Frasier just bought her first snowboard is looking forward to a new challenge.

Music will remain her primary passion, though. “I was always going to end up working with music, since the day I was born.”

ECMA Industry awards will be handed out Feb. 10 before the Music Awards Gala in Fredericton, New Brunswick.