I'm moving to Canada in June and would ideally like to find work somewhat connected to the metal scene - want to follow my passions and all that I'd jump at the chance to work in music journalism or any office related work in labels, etc, etc.

Could anyone give me some starting points about how I could possibly pursue this? Any advice whatsoever would be appreciated!

My advice is to go to shows, make friends and connections, contribute however you can, and don't quit your day job. Expect to make no money, at least at first. In fact expect to spend your own capital a lot. Most metal bands are poor as fuck and could really use any help they can get, especially if they are at the point where their band is their primary job. The same goes with labels. Most are really dependent on volunteers. Most small label owners make barely enough to live off of, if that.

Honestly, you'd be the lucky one in a million if you can find a way to make a living off the metal scene.

Were you able to make a living in metal in your previous country?

Seriously, the other guys are right.... there aren't a lot of opportunities here. Canada has a really cool but very spread out metal scene. You'll have little problem connecting with cool people depending on your location. Just don't expect to earn a decent living for a while, if that's your goal.

Like everyone else has said,just don't expect to make any money at first,and you'll be fine.

I live in Toronto - there are daily local metal shows here. As far as making a living out of it you either must be such a great writer or know people who work in publishing or something. Metal in general is not big here as it is in Europe. Canadians in general as much less passionate about metal as compared to the US. I noticed that people here are not as crazy as in the US. I might be wrong but people here are more relaxed, thus metal is not as passionate.

Oh, I definitely don't think that's true at all. What you're likely to see in a metal scene depends not at all on what country you're in, especially in a spread-out place like Canada where the population density is all concentrated in very specific areas. It depends rather on cities, promoters, clubs...that kind of thing. some of the people in Toronto and Montreal are among the most passionate metalheads I know. In the US, places like Chicago are great for metal all round, and seemingly of all types..but it's the exception rather than the rule.

Is there a black metal mountain in Canada where bands can perform outdoor sonic rituals? There is one here in my home town. That being said, the only real way to make money in metal is to work for the Europeans.

Why does everyone seem to think metal is huge in Europe? It isn't. Most places the shows get small audiences, and there really isn't that much going on outside of the largest cities. Making a living off of metal in Europe is just as hard as anywhere else.

Metal's in somewhat of a 'boom' in my city, Calgary, and i can't think of anyone who makes a straight living on just Metal/doing music shit....maybe a few? pretty much everyone has something else to actually make money and live off of though. more probably could live off it, but it's a matter of convenience and misery and the balancing act of them both....just easier for most to shoulder the burdens of a job too

I think it's because Europe gets the greatest amount of metal shows in the world, even many bands from North America play more gigs in Europe than in their home countries.

I can only speak for Toronto, yes Marduk are coming here once a year, but the venues get smaller and smaller in the past 10 years that I'm here. I remember seeing metal shows in venues that fit 2000 people and all the shows now are happening in 600 capacity venues. I think Metal is getting smaller just because there is a new wave of metalcore, indie pop is getting bigger and dubstep is taking a chunk of the younger crowd.

As close as it gets to metal festival in Toronto is Heavy T.O - but the lineup is filled with close to 35% metalcore bands. The headliners are the same 20 year old bands as headlined 2 years ago. So the metal scene is not as growing with new talent as it is with fields like indie pop/rock and what I call "wussy" music, which brings in the ladies. I'm not going to lie, I like it myself. I dont know how many 16 years old are going to be exited about a new Absu album. But if you look 20 years ago many 16 year old were exited about the new Metallica or Pantera or Rob Zombie album. It was hip to be a metal head back then, its not as hip to be a metal head today.

Sounds cool! I'd really like to learn more about this!!

Hm, I can't say I agree there...there really wasn't much going on in TOronto twenty years ago, and things have definitely gotten better since then. Of course pop will always draw more attention..that'll never change. But I keep seeing younger guys getting into metal and the crwods at shows are getting more diverse from what I can tell. As for venues, well, the truth is that a lot of them have been very badly mismanaged over the years and have closed down for business reasons. Nobody books metal only..it'd be financial suicide to do so.

Guys, thanks so much for all the replies - much appreciated! I guess I need to resign myself to just working in the metal scene part time alongside a more conventional 'proper' job. I think the Canadian metal scene (and general economy! ) gets idealised so much here in Europe that I got my hopes up excessively. But thanks for all the tips and discussion!

Heh..does it now? That's interesting to hear.

Well, perhaps the fact that we have fewer bands means that the ones that are great are properly cultivated (yes, like flowers!) and stand out all the more in their greatness. I mean, we really ahve produced a number of fantastic bands and continue to do so, and I'm no patriot really...

There is a peak here(comparatively speaking. Most of our section of the coastal range is rolling hills) where you can see almost the whole local area. Just underneath it is a flat spot where a few times a year we drive a generator up and have a torchlit concert. The guys in our black metal scene will book a few touring bands to play which works perfectly because our area is a crossroads for coastal tours going between LA/ventura/Santa Barbara and Santa Cruz. The last headliner we had was Druden and it was epic. Usually a few weeks after the show the avant-garde/indie-metal scene does the same thing, but I'm stoked because this year's followup is a doom metal show.