TORONTO – Corus Radio today announced the opening of ExploreMusic, an on-air and online music discovery service to be led by former The Edge 102.1 program director and Ongoing History of New Music host Alan Cross.
ExploreMusic will air on the company’s network of new rock stations across Canada and will feature “the latest music news and opinion, interviews with established and emerging artists, behind-the-scenes information, technology and a host of other music-related topics, ExploreMusic begins service as a daily half hour radio show and online destination,” says the press release.
Offering a resource for context, recommendation and music exploration, Cross brings his music knowledge and industry expertise to his new role as senior program director at Splice Interactive Media, Corus Radio’s interactive arm, and host of ExploreMusic.
"While there are a lot of online music services that provide a selection of music crafted to various tastes, ExploreMusic is different in that it’s run by real people with real passion for music, not a pre-determined algorithm," said Cross in the release. "Actual human beings – the musical friends that make up the ExploreMusic team – help fans navigate through the nearly infinite amount of available music in a welcoming, evolutionary and celebratory way."
An in-house initiative stemming from Splice Interactive Media, “ExploreMusic’s goal is to create a convenient starting point for musical discovery – an on-air and online destination that helps listeners discover new music and music that’s new to them. Showcasing features such as Five Songs You Gotta Hear Today, The List (featuring two Top 17 lists – one with recommendations from the ExploreMusic team, the other from listeners), Music News and the Music Geek Blog, to name a few, both the radio show and web site offer one stop listening, discovering and sharing,” reads the release.
"These are exciting times for music fans. Technology and the Internet have greatly expanded the musical choices available to everyone, but it’s all a bit overwhelming," added David Huszar, general manager, Splice Interactive Media. "Alan is a friend of mine and over the years he has turned me on to some pretty cool new music I’d otherwise never have heard because I can’t spend all day searching online. We thought this was the right time to extend this service to the million or so music fans across Canada who regularly turn to Alan for his vast knowledge of the music that matters to them."
ExploreMusic can be heard weekdays at 7 p.m. from Monday to Thursday and at 8 p.m. (ET) on Sunday on 102.1 the Edge (Toronto), and Monday to Friday on Y108 (Hamilton) at 1 p.m. (ET), FM96 (London) at 6:30 p.m. (ET), Power 97 (Winnipeg) at 6:30 p.m. (MT) and 99.3 The FOX (Vancouver) at 8:30 p.m. (PT).
