B.C. musician’s song catches Canucks’ attention

When Adam Kirschner wrote ‘Slap Shot,’ he never imagined the song would be embraced by his favourite team.

“Hearing it in the arena was super surreal,” said Kirschner, who also goes by Noble Son.

Kirschner released ‘Slap Shot’ in March and it wasn’t written with the Canucks in mind. However, before attending a playoff game he spent hours producing a social media video addressed to the Canucks’ in-house DJ to get his song played during a break in the action.

Not only did the DJ play the song, Kirschner was asked to perform at a pre-game party, and is in talks to perform at an upcoming game at Rogers Arena.

Kirschner says self-marketing and promotion have become essential in today’s music industry.

“If I’m going to spend 80 hours making a song and I’m not willing to spend 20 promoting it, I’m kind of just handing it over to die,” said Kirschner, who is originally from Fort St. John. “For me, it’s one of the funner parts now. It’s like, you get to make the music and then figuring out an interesting way to present it to the world is exciting, but hard.”

One music industry expert tells CTV News social media has become a key tool for musicians to stand out in an ultra-competitive industry.

“You now have to do everything yourself. The good news is that you can do everything yourself,” said Chris Brandt, a music business instructor at the British Columbia Institute of Technology with over 30 years of experience in the field. “There are other bands that are as good as your band that play music just as great as yours, and sometimes, the difference maker isn’t competing on the level of music, it’s doing something creative that helps to break the tie.”

Kirschner has also started a social media campaign to get his song in the next EA Sports NHL video game, and believes he’s making headway.

Since the Canucks played his song, Kirschner says the ammount of streams for ‘Slap Shot’ have tripled in about a week.