Beth Marie Anderson will be in Victoria later this month for the 2012 Vancouver Island Music Awards (VIMA). Anderson was nominated in the Song of the Year Award category for Fallen Angel.
The aspiring country singer said it is the first time she has submitted her work for an award and said she is thrilled to be nominated.
“It pretty cool. It is nice to be recognized for your work. It was one of the first songs I ever wrote” she said.
She confessed she is excited but nervous as well because there are 10 nominees in the category. She added that the category is the only one recognized by the Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada (SOCAN) which pays royalties to creators and publishers of music and also fosters Canadian music creation.
The VIMA awards ceremony takes place April 21 in Victoria and Anderson said it will be a great opportunity to network with people in the industry and to meet new musicians. Anderson said some of the featured nominees including herself performed last month in Victoria.
Anderson is one of just a few musicians from the mid-island nominated and she said she is excited to find out what the outcome will be.
“It would be nice to say you won a music award…to have something behind you that solidifies your status as a musician. I have worked hard for it. I hope I win. If I lose I won’t be really sad,” she admitted.
She said she wrote Fallen Angel in 2006 but the meaning of it has changed since she first recorded it.
“The song is about falling in love for the first time. When I originally wrote the song I played it on the piano for my boyfriend. Then I went to Nashville for five days. I was just starting out and I booked a studio and recorded the song and I thought it sounded so awesome. When I cam back I ended up breaking up with my boyfriend and then I wrote a bunch of break up songs,” she recalled.
Anderson said eventually she re-recorded it and then the song took on a whole new meaning.
“I related it to my friends and family and everything I have gone through. Basically it is about my support system. My friends call it a Beth Classic.”
The emerging country artist has been working hard to gain some ground in the thriving music industry of Nashville, Tennessee. She is now working on a plan to make Nashville her permanent home.
Her first trip to the country music capital happened just over five years ago and since then hasn’t looked back.
Along with recording her music she also attended a songwriting course with the Nashville Songwriter Association International.
The experience of working with some of the world’s best in the business inspired her to write five new songs in a matter of days, all of which can be found on her album Open Road which was released in 2010 with 10 original tracks.
The KSS grad admitted that she loves the city filled with songwriters and music producers and will continue to work hard saving up enough money so she can go back and hang out in the city and continue to learn the ropes.
When Anderson records her next CD she agreed she wants to do it justice and that will take some money. For now she is hoping her fans will check out her Facebook page and give her a thumbs up.
“I need to get fans on my Facebook page because record labels look there and you have to have a lot of likes.”
She added you can also get free music downloads on her Facebook page. You can also follow her journey through her website www.bethanderson.ca, Myspace and Twitter.