Good morning. We’re starting the day with the latest trade news and analysis, but keep following along for more updates as our teams continue reporting today.
Meanwhile, I recently went inside a Canadian digital content provider that has become a global brand which is embraced and endorsed by the world’s top drummers. A desire to brush up my own skills at the kit got me interested in the Drumeo platform several years ago – before I realized it’s a Canadian business. That’s in focus today, but first:
In the trade news
- Trump raises tariffs on some Canadian goods to 35%, while Mexico wins a 90-day extension
- Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent indicates U.S. is willing to work with Canada on metals tariffs
- Trump’s use of tariffs violates the U.S. Constitution, federal court hears
- Here’s why the damage to Canada from Trump’s tariffs has been small (so far), writes Tony Keller
In the non-trade news
- HBC: The Weston family sought to avoid an auction in bid to buy the Hudson’s Bay charter
- Investing: TC Energy says investment opportunities are better in U.S. than Canada
- Banks: Canadian arm of China’s largest bank accuses ex-CEO of “misconduct” as it fights wrongful-dismissal suit
- Health: Insurers oppose Ontario’s proposed restrictions on exclusivity deals with pharmacies
A wall of snare drums at the Musora studio in Abbotsford, B.C.Jimmy Jeong/The Globe and Mail
In focus
Drum roll, please: How a British Columbia instructor built a global online juggernaut
How did Abbotsford, B.C., become a mecca for the world’s top drummers? Thanks to a group of musicians who’ve developed a huge online following by combining technology, instinct and a keen sense of musical culture.
Hi, I’m Jeff Jones, and I usually write about sustainable finance and green business for The Globe and Mail. But for a story this week, I’m on a different type of beat.
Big-name players specializing in rock, pop, R&B and jazz have made pilgrimages to a nondescript grey building in the city to showcase their percussion chops before several cameras, with the knowledge that the online content that’s uploaded to YouTube will be studied by legions of music geeks.
We’re talking the likes of Stewart Copeland of The Police, Chad Smith of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, teenage phenom Nandi Bushell and session drummers Steve Jordan, Gregg Bissonette and Simon Phillips. If you’re not familiar with all these names, don’t worry: The music instruction platform Drumeo aims to clue you in.
Drumeo is led by Abbotsford native Jared Falk, a drum teacher and entrepreneur who has tapped into, and perhaps even expanded, the global club of drummers and the drum-curious. Under umbrella company Musora Media Inc., he and his team have branched out to add video content and instruction channels for piano, vocals and guitar.
Drumeo co-founder, Jared Falk, on right, oversees a recording at the Musora studio in Abbotsford, B.C.Jimmy Jeong/The Globe and Mail
It’s a business that generates tens of millions of dollars in revenues annually, employing the latest digital tech for music students who access its instructional content through subscriptions. That includes lessons on technique and music theory, as well as a vast library of play-along tracks and high-tech tools to track progress and recommend new challenges. The YouTube content is entertaining and serves to attract prospective students into the instructional fold.
The secret to it all, according to Falk, is embracing the culture of music. Drummers, for instance, understand each other. They do most of their work at the back of the stage, laying down a rhythmic foundation while vocalists and lead guitarists soak up the glory.
As good as the top players are, there are passages even they struggle to master. Drumeo shows how they work through it, so students see they are being welcomed to an online sanctuary where everyone can learn from each other.
Brandon Toews, a talented drummer who hosts and interviews artists on the channel, explained the commonality well during a conversation we had when Musora opened its doors to me earlier this year: It’s an instrument that becomes a big part of your life, from dictating where you live (Can I make noise there?) to the kind of vehicle you drive (Will it haul my gear?). And, like all music, it’s therapeutic.
I normally cover environmental, social and governance issues and sustainable finance for The Globe, and I love an unusual business story. I also love drumming. I convinced my editors, Ryan Macdonald and Gary Salewicz, that this would make a great Report on Business feature.
Being the business editors they are, though, they wanted to know how it makes money. A big driver of growth was the pandemic, when thousands of people took the opportunity to start music lessons at home after years of holding off or to take their skills to the next level.
One thing that piqued their interest was a feature that involves putting a pro through the process of coming up with their own part for a song they do not know, which provides a fascinating glimpse into the creative mind (See: Dream Theater’s Mike Portnoy and his genre-bending take on Taylor Swift’s Shake It Off).
I hope you’ll check out my weekend feature on Musora and Drumeo, which explains the history of the business, its leader’s philosophy and how its principals constantly try out new ideas to expand its community.
Charted
What does a symbolic step mean in practice?
The Globe and Mail
Prime Minister Mark Carney announced Canada would recognize a Palestinian state at the upcoming United Nations General Assembly in New York. But experts suggest the move will not have major practical or legal implications in the months ahead. So what would Canada’s recognition of a Palestinian state mean in practice? Justice reporter David Ebner explains.
Bookmarked
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Up next: Have we seen Powell’s last rate cut as Fed chair?
Morning update
Global markets slid after the U.S. slapped dozens of trading partners with steep tariffs, while investors await U.S. jobs data that could make or break the case for a Federal Reserve interest rate cut next month. Wall Street futures were in negative territory, while TSX futures followed sentiment lower.
Overseas, the pan-European STOXX 600 was down 1.38 per cent in morning trading. Britain’s FTSE 100 slid 0.54 per cent, Germany’s DAX tumbled 1.95 per cent and France’s CAC 40 dropped 2.25 per cent.
In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei closed 0.66 per cent lower, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 1.07 per cent.
The Canadian dollar traded at 72.11 U.S. cents