About Indigenous Music Countdown

Native Communications Incorporated (NCI-FM) began airing a top ten playlist in the spring of 1998. “NCI’s Aboriginal Top Ten” was first formulated as a radio playlist where announcers played songs hourly from a predetermined song-list. In the fall of 1999 this playlist evolved into a one-hour long which featured Aboriginal music from throughout North America. By the spring of 2000, the program was lengthened to two-hours and the name was changed to “The National Aboriginal Top Thirty Countdown”. The radio show was initiated by NCI’s David McLeod, who is a self professed “Aboriginal music fanatic.” He was recognized for his efforts at the 2001 Canadian Aboriginal Music Awards (CAMA’s) in Toronto. He was very honoured to receive the “Industry” award and promised to continue working towards the cause of Aboriginal music.

In the fall of 2008, the Aboriginal Music Countdown went national with the advent of a new Aboriginal broadcast association called the “Western Association of Aboriginal Broadcasters (WAAB).” The association united five provincial Aboriginal broadcasters to work together on common goals and interests. All five broadcast societies signed on to broadcast the National Aboriginal Top Thirty program.

In March of 2010 the name of the program was changed to “The National Aboriginal Music Countdown”. The format also rose to feature forty songs from across North America and also included some Indigenous music from New Zealand and Australia. A website was also launched to further promote the National Aboriginal Music Countdown and give access worldwide to anyone who has an interest in Aboriginal music. The website features a complete list of songs and their position on the chart and an audio version of the program. The recording is a week old in order to entice listeners to hear the latest program on their local or on-line Aboriginal radio station.

In May 2017 NCI FM unveiled a new logo and name once again. The change to the Indigenous Music Countdown is a modern change, freshening up the feel of the almost 20 year old program. The name change also is more inclusive, widening our network past Canada, to around the world. The Indigenous Music Countdown is adamant their goal is and aways will be to promote and further indigenous music. The Indigenous Music Countdown can be heard worldwide on our Soundcloud, Sirius XM, and 12 Canada wide radio stations including NCI FM.

Indigenous Music Countdown

The Indigenous Music Countdown is hosted by Dave McLeod, who spotlights today’s best new Indigenous music and shares interviews from artists who range from several genres including; hip-hop, rock, country, alternative, rock, folk and pop/dance.

NCI has been producing Canada’s longest running Indigenous music chart program since 2000.

“The name change is in recognition of the term Indigenous, now commonly used both nationally and globally. Over the last few years we’ve also begun to receive music from as far away as Australia and the U.S., so it’s a natural progression. We’re also experiencing a lot of momentum because of a very wide reach, due to our broadcast partners.” said David McLeod, Executive Producer of the IMC.

“We began airing the countdown after partnering with NCI in January of 2015 and continue to recognize the amazing music that exists within the Indigenous community,” said Jeff Leake, Director, Music Programming, SiriusXM Canada. “We’ve also added a number of singles to our regular rotation from the Indigenous Music Countdown.”

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