Welcome to the Buymusic.ca Blog

 

 

 

 

 

 

Greetings fellow music consumers and welcome to the buymusic.ca blog.

Here you will find various information relating to the purchase of music online and by mail, as well as sheet music, music instruments and memorabilia.

I will also be posting various commentaries and reviews in regards to these services and various related issues.

To begin either click on an option in the menu to your left, which features various source listings, or scroll down for my blog entries. And if you are aware of a Canadian music retailer or record convention or fair that I have missed, please contact me with details.

Thanks. And Enjoy.


GST/HST Holiday Now Active

The GST/HST Holiday is now active up to February 15th, 2025 on multiple products, including selected imported items. And although music recordings are not exempt from GST/HST during this period, printed biographies, audio books on compact disc, printed books on music education (music theory/instruction) and printed books on home recording and the music industry are exempt.

For example, “Music Production 2024+ Edition: Everything You Need To Know About Producing, Studio Recording, Mixing, Mastering and Songwriting in 2024 & Beyond” is available on Amazon Canada and Indigo Canada, tax free, as is the “The History of Canadian Rock ‘N’ Roll“, “Is This Live?: Inside the Wild Early Years of MuchMusic: The Nation’s Music Station” and the Martin Short autobiography “I Must Say: My Life As A Humble Comedian“.

Amazon Canada has just created a site on which tax free items are listed, including some children’s toys, video games and video game consoles.

Road trip to Southern Ontario?

There will be two pop up record shows this weekend in the Niagara Peninsula, both of which are free.

The first will be in Ridgeway, Ontario, where the Brimstone Brewery will be hosting a pop up shop on December the 14th, 2024, from 1pm to 7pm.

And the second will be in Virgil, Ontario, at the Silversmith Brewing Co., on Sunday, the 15th, from 11:30am to 6pm.

Both are small town events where public transit isn’t available. And cash is preferred at these events so you might want to pop into the local ATM.

By the way, the $10 CT Money Offer on $100 Google Play Gift Card purchases being offered by participating Canadian Tire stores that expires on December 12th, 2024 will be replaced by a $10 CT Money Offer on $100 Indigo Gift Card purchases on the 13th and that offer will expire on the 19th of December 2024. Please consult your local flyer for details.

If you are still interested in purchasing Google Gift Cards, you can get a 7500 PC Optimum Point Bonus on $50 Google Gift Cards at participating Shoppers Drug Mart and Pharmaprix stores from December 14th until December 19th, 2024. And participating Rexall stores will be providing a $5 Rexall Gift Card to customers purchasing $50 Rakuten Kobo gift cards from the 13th to 24th.

Click here for your local Shoppers Drug Mart/Pharmaprix flyer and click here for your local Rexall flyer.

You should also note that Amazon Canada is currently offering a $7.50 credit on $50 Rakuten Kobo Gift Cards as well as other credits on gift cards. Click here for details.

This Weekend’s Events

There will be two record shows and five comics this weekend, most of which will be in Ontario.

The ACGN EXPO Fest, will be an Anime and comic convention that will be held from 1pm to 7pm this Saturday, December 7th 2024, at the Tsawwassen Mills, in Tsawwassen, British Columbia.

Admission is free. And this venue, a major shopping centre, is serviced by Route 609 on Translink via Bus Stops 59511 and 59532.

The Newmarket Comicon will also be held this Saturday at the Optimist Club of Newmarket from 10am to 3pm.

Admission will be $5 of free for kids 12 and under. And the nearest bus stops to the venue are 9851 and 6985 on York Region Transit.

Another comic event, CompassCon Etobicoke, will also be occurring that day from 10am to 3pm at the Royal Canadian Legion in Etobicoke, Ontario.

Admission is $5 or free for kids 12 and under and advance tickets are available. The venue is located next to both the Long Branch Go Station and Long Branch loop, the later being serviced regularly by TTC Streetcars. And note that multiple bus routes on Miway also service that station.

The first record show of this weekend will be on the opposite side of Toronto on Sunday, the 8th of December 2024, which is of course the Toronto East (Scarborough) Vinyl Record & Collectibles Show at the Ellesmere Community Centre from 10am to 3pm.

Admission is $5 and the nearest bus stops to the venue are 7719 and 7720 on the TTC.

The Bowmanvillle CD and Record Show will again be held at the Bowmanville Memorial Park Clubhouse from 10am to 4pm this Sunday, as well.

This is a free event and the nearest bus stop is an 8 minute walk away at the corner of Liberty Street and. S and Prince St. That stop’s number is 1499 and it is serviced by Route 902 on Durham Region Transit.

The Port Perry Comicon will also be held this Sunday, but from 10am to 3pm at the Scugog Community Recreation Center.

Admission will be$5 or free for kids 12 and under. And the nearest bus stop to the venue is 2452, which is serviced by Route 905 on Durham Region Transit.

And finally, this year’s last monthly Capital Trade Show will be held at the Nepean Sportsplex this Sunday, the 8th of December 2024, from 10am to 3pm.

This is a free event and the nearest bus routes to the venue, 1683 and 1652 are serviced by multiple major bus routes on OC Transpo.

And remember, cash is preferred at these events so don’t forget to look for your bank’s nearest ATM to the venue. Enjoy.

Cyber Monday Gift Card Offer

Amazon.ca is offering a 20% credit on select gift cards today. Click here for details.

Record Store Day: Black Friday

The Black Friday edition of Record Store Day is this weekend, on the 29th of November 2024.

Participating Canadian retailers will be offering special releases on vinyl, cassette and CD, some of which will be limited editions and/or picture discs.

BTW, a Bonus $50 Rexall Gift Card offer will be offered on purchases of $250 Rakuten Kobo Gift Cards at participating Rexall stores from Friday, November 29th to December 5th, 2024. And on Black Friday itself, the same gift card offer will apply to $250 Apple Gift Card and $250 One4All Gift Card purchases. Click here to consult your local flyer.

Note that Amazon Canada may also offer discounted gift cards and special offers on Black Friday via this special link.

Streaming Service Specials

Prime members at Amazon Canada that watch Prime Video will probably notice that heavily discounted subscriptions are now being offered to them.

I just subscribed to Britbox for $2.75 a month for two month, which will go up to $10.99 a month when these two months are over. And this two month 75% discount offer is also available for Crave, Stack TV, AMC, TSN, RDS, Starz, Crushyroll, Super Channel, MGM+, Telethon+, AcornTV, AllBLK, Stingray, The Great Courses Signature Collection, BBC, PBS Masterpiece, PBS Documentaries, Family TV, Teletoon+, Shudder, BBC Earth, Love Nature, OutTV and Smithsonian Channel.

A three month offer is available for Paramount+ at $5.49/month and $19.99/month afterwards and all of these offers expire on December 2nd, 2024.