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.


Multiple events this weekend.

Fan Expo Vancouver will be occurring from the 21st to 23rd of February, 2025 at the West Building of the Vancouver Convention Center.

Admission information on this event is available by clicking here. The venue is next to the Vancouver Ferry Terminal and a twelve minute walk away from Waterfront Station, which services the Canada Line and Seabus Terminal.

The Oshawa Comicon will be held on Saturday the 22nd of February, 2025 from 10am to 3pm at YWCA Durham.

Admission is $5 or free for kids 12 and under. The venue is services by multiple route so please use the trip planner on the Durham Region Transit web site.

The Galaxy Records Sarnia S Record Show will be held on Sunday, the 22nd of February 2025 at the Sarnia Moose Lounge from 10am to 4pm.

Admission will be a cash donation to the lounge. And Routes 1 and 2 on Sarnia Transit services this venue from two stops on Confederation Drive, which is a two minute walk away from the venue.

The Peterborough Comicon will be held on Sunday the 23rd of February from 10am to 3pm at the Peterborough Curling Club.

Admission will be $5 or free for kids 12 and under. Unfortunately, the nearest bus stops to the venue, #1302 and #1600, are a 17 minute walk away. They are serviced by Route 7 on Peterborough Transit.

Please note that cash is preferred at these events so you may want to note the nearest ATMs to the venues where these events are occurring.

Cineplex Sells Store to CosmoBlue

I just received an email from Cineplex informing me that they’ve just sold their online store to Cosmoblue:

Burlington Pop-Up Show

There will be one event this weekend, the Burlington Pop-Up Record Show at the Halton Naval Veteran Association on Sunday, the 16th of February 2025, from 10am to 3pm.

Admission is a cash donation to the association. And the nearest bus stops are #204 and #207, which is serviced by Routes 3 and 6 on Burlington Transit.

Netflix Canada – Meh!

As readers of this blog know I wanted to give Netflix a try for three months during the holiday period and had hoped that I could get a bonus offer from PC Optimum, Scene, Air Miles or Rakuten on a Netflix Gift Card. But there wasn’t even an offer from Shell for bonus Air Miles or a discount via Amazon.ca from September 2024 to now, which was quite disappointing.

This is why I just bit the bullet and joined in December, thinking I’d binge watch all of the brand new films and television programs. But not only were the offerings sparse but a price hike was scheduled shortly after I joined. And this is why I chose to end my subscription after less than one month.

Former subscribers can attest that Netflix is far from generous with their discounts now.

There were no discounted appeals to re-join before and none when I was going through the process to end my subscription; Only an offer to pause my subscription for up to 8 weeks. But both Paramount+ and Disney+ offer big discounts to subscribers who have been with them for more than a year, the offers I got being a rate of $9.99 per month for three months for Disney+ and 50% discount on a year’s subscription on Paramount+.

Even Apple TV fans can wait until a season of their favourite show ends before resubscribing to binge watch it it’s entirety, with either 14,000 PC Optimum Points per month or with an Apple Gift Card that’s been discounted or obtained with bonus loyalty points. But where are the incentives?

Yes, I can subscribe to Netflix via Apple TV but I don’t own an Apple TV device, iPad or iPhone. And I would prefer being able to use the Netflix button on my Smart TV or cable box remote, like I had for years.

I think I could set it up to work anyway but this is all moot now – The subscription is canceled and I’m only going to rejoin after the fifth season of Stranger Things is up, for a short period.

I just hope that Wallace & Gromit‘s latest film will be released on blu-ray and not be a Netflix exclusive. I’ve put off buying the previous complications on blu-ray to buy a boxed set and not having “Vengeance Most Foul” on disc would be annoying.

Anyhow, I was once happy with Netflix Canada, for years, but now it’s overpriced and bland, mainly because Hollywood is quite satisfied regurgitating trope collections in lieu of films with imaginary plots and three dimensional characters. And innovation in foreign language television like Dark, Rita, Trapped and Bonus Family has dried up.

They’ll need more than a few documentaries to keep me as a subscriber for more than three months.

Last Minute Entry & More

I completely missed CompassCon:Oakville and thought there were no events this weekend.

This event will be held at Galaxy 707 Club on Saturday, February 8th, 2025 from 10:30am to 4:00pm, with early access from 9:30am for $10.

Regular admission with be $5 whilst 12 and under will be admitted free with a parent. The nearest bus stops to the venue are 2616 and 2937, which are located behind the venue and next to its parking lot, and these are serviced by Route 20 on Saturdays on Oakville Transit. And yes, this route does operate from the Oakville Go Station.

X-Box users should note that a $100 Game & Grub Gift Card purchase at participating Rexall stores from the 7th to the 13th of February, 2025 may make you eligible for a $10 Rexall Gift Card. Consult your local flyer for detail by clicking here.

Now for some unfortunate news for cinema fans in Quebec – Cinema Guzzo has closed all of their theatres in the province, immediately offering them for sale to cover their 39 Million dollar debts.

Cinestarz has secured their Dollard-Des-Ormeaux location and will be converting it shortly to their brand. But seven theatres remain unsold in the Montreal/Laval area.

Two Comic Conventions This Weekend.

There will be two comicons this weekend, in Ontario:

The first will be the Newmarket ComiCon, which will be held on Saturday, February the 1st, 2025 at the Optimist Youth Centre from 10am to 3pm.

Admission will be $5 or free for kids 12 and under. And the nearest bus stops are #6895 and #9851, which are serviced by Bus Route 033 and Yellow Rapid Transit on York Regional Transit.

The second will be the Bowmanville ComiCon, on Sunday, the 2nd of February, 2025 from 10am to 3pm at the Garnet B. Rickard Recreation Complex.

Admission will also be $5 or free for kids 12 and under. And the nearest bus stops are 93733 and 93734 for bus routes 502 and 902 on Durham Region Transit. This venue is also serviced by GO Transit with Route 88 via Bus Stops #100520 and #100716.

Google Play users should note that a 15,000 PC Optimum Bonus is being offered on $100 Google Play Gift Card purchases on January the 30th and 31st, 2025 at participating Shoppers Drug Mart and Pharmaprix stores. Consult your local flyer for details by clicking here.

This offer will also available via the PC Optimum app for other Loblaws brand retailers (Real Canadian Superstore, Atlantic Superstore, Loblaws, Dominion and Your Independent Grocer) and I believe it may be valid at these retailers up to February, the 5th, 2025.