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Video: BC’s Music Industry Gathers to Identify Opportunities for Support

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Last week, we recapped a recent event in Victoria, BC, in which a collection of British Columbia artists, including Bryan Adams, Jesse Roper, and members of Current Swell, Cowboy Junkies, Chilliwack, and Spirit of the West, as well as members of the province’s music industry, came together to express the need for provincial support for music in the form of regulatory reform and reduced red tape, as well as financial support.

Video of the event is now available, including speeches from Graham Henderson, President and CEO of Music Canada; the Honourable Peter Fassbender, Minister of Community, Sport and Cultural Development; Bryan Adams on the importance of music in British Columbia; and a performance by Jesse Roper.

 

 

 

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BC’s Music Industry Gathers to Identify Opportunities for Support

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A who’s who of BC’s music industry and artists including Bryan Adams, Jesse Roper, members of Current Swell, Cowboy Junkies, Chilliwack, and Spirit of the West came together Monday evening at the Royal BC Museum for an event hosted by Music Canada for provincial politicians and decision makers. Together, they expressed the need for provincial support for music in the form of regulatory reform and reduced red tape, as well as financial support.

Many members of the government attended, including the Honourable Peter Fassbender, Minister of Community, Sport and Cultural Development, who expressed his support for BC’s music community in his remarks from the stage.

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In his remarks, Music Canada President Graham Henderson announced that Music Canada has, with the help of many partners in BC undertaken analysis of the province’s music sector to identify strengths and weaknesses. Our full report is forthcoming but our recommendations would help the province to:

  • Create and retain jobs
  • Grow and diversify the economy
  • Attract foreign direct investment
  • Build more vibrant music scenes
  • Boost tourism development
  • Attract talent to other sectors like the digital arts
  • And contribute to cultural and artistic growth

Attendees were not only treated to a wonderful acoustic performance by Jesse Roper, currently a finalist for the Peak Performance Project, but to a passionate speech from Bryan Adams on the importance of music in the province.

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The music industry in BC has a long and deep history, a pipeline for upcoming talent, many talented professionals and good infrastructure for live performance and recording, but has been plagued recently by such things as the widening gap in funding between BC and other provinces, rising property costs in BC’s large urban centres, and regulatory barriers.

In his remarks, Bryan Adams recalled his time as a musician starting out in BC. “British Columbia, as a young musician was a great place to start out, because they had a lot of venues to play, and it was receptive to live music. There was a lot of opportunities for musicians and a good musical scene when I started out, and it’s because of that – the local scene, and the fact that it was thriving on its own – that I was able to create the music that I’ve created over the years…But the thing that we’ve created here over the years is leaving us, and we need to protect it.”

We are very excited by the success not only of this event, but of our report and its recommendations to come, asking for BC’s provincial government to support music education, live and recorded music businesses, and tourism in its Spring 2016 budget.

Stay tuned for further details about the report in the coming months.

 

 

Several attendees shared highlights from the event on social media:

 

Additional photos from the event are embedded in the gallery below:

 

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Canadian Music Industry Hall Of Fame announces Andy Kim as 2016 inductee

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Canadian Music Week has announced Andy Kim as one of the 2016 inductees to the Canadian Music Industry Hall Of Fame. The veteran singer/songwriter will be honoured at the Canadian Music & Broadcast Industry Awards on May 6, 2016 in the Grand Ballroom at Toronto, ON’s Sheraton Centre.

Over his 50+ year career, Andy Kim has sold over 30 million records worldwide for hits like “Sugar, Sugar”, “Rock Me Gently” and “Shoot ‘Em Up Baby”, which was re-recorded in 2015 for his album It’s Decided, a collaboration with Broken Social Scene’s Kevin Drew.

The full release about the induction can be viewed on CMW’s website.

Newcap Radio President and CEO Rob Steele will also be honoured at the 2016 gala as he is inducted into Canadian Broadcast Industry Hall of Fame.

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Arkells Receive First Gold Plaques For High Noon

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Hamilton, ON’s Arkells paid a visit to the Universal Music Canada offices in Toronto last week, where they were presented with their first Canadian Gold award plaques for 2015 JUNO Rock Album of the Year High Noon. The band, who also took home the JUNO for 2015 Group of the Year in their hometown, thanked their fans through their Twitter page earlier this summer when the album was officially certified.

Arkells are currently preparing for a European tour in November before returning to Canada for a run of shows beginning November 21 in Quebec City.

Watch Arkells video for “11:11″ from the Gold-certified High Noon below:

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Trevor Guthrie Releases New Single Benefiting Canadian Veterans

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trevorguthriestrongJuno-winning singer/songwriter Trevor Guthrie has just released his latest single “Strong Hands”, an acoustic song benefiting Wounded Warriors Canada, a non-profit organization that supports Canada’s ill and injured Canadian Armed Forces members, Veterans, and their families.

While Guthrie has become known for his dazzling club anthems like the Gold-certified “Soundwave” and Double-Platinum collaboration with Armin van Buuren “This Is What Feels Like”, his latest emotional ballad aims to raise awareness and respect for Canada’s military Veterans.

“Strong Hands”, written nearly 10 years ago, was inspired by Guthrie’s trip to Normandy, France and Holland for the 60th anniversary of D-Day, where he befriended many Veterns – including one man that lived down the street from his childhood home.

The charity single can be purchased through iTunes and is available now.

 

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Rachel Platten presented with Double Platinum plaque on The Social

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American singer/songwriter Rachel Platten stopped by CTV’s The Social this week, where she was surprised mid-interview with a custom Canadian Double Platinum plaque for her breakthrough hit “Fight Song” (Sony Music Canada). Watch the interview below which features Platten discussing her inspiration for the song, her friendship with Taylor Swift and connecting with her fan base before being presented with the award.

You can also watch the video for “Fight Song” below.

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The first economic impact analysis of live music in Ontario to be released in November

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The live music industry in Ontario is thriving, and continues to position itself as a growing industry relative to the wider music industry. It has wide reaching economic benefits, and is a major source of income for artists at all stages of their careers. At a time of increased investment and international success, the industry is seeking to take the next steps to develop its capacity, increase growth, and effectively harness its strengths. It is in this spirit, that we’re excited to announce the forthcoming economic profile of live music companies operating in Ontario.

As some of our long-time readers may remember, in 2014, Music Canada – with the support of the Government of Ontario’s Ontario Music Fund – asked Nordicity to develop a profile and conduct an economic impact analysis of the live music industry in Ontario. This study is the first of its kind in the province. Through this survey, we have been able to create a profile that identifies the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats facing this community, while also providing it with a critical tool that will assist individual and cooperative efforts to grow the industry.

We asked the music community to stand up and be counted. Nordicity conducted research and interviews with artist managers, promoters, agents, music venues, and festivals from across the province to explore and better understand the revenue, audience, and economic impact of the sector. It is with this research that the study hopes to identify new lines of business, new jurisdictions, factors to facilitate growth, and potential or existing barriers to growth.

“We can’t wait to share – for the first time – data that attests to the growing success of Ontario’s live music industry. Live music contributes to the livelihoods of so many Ontarians – from promoters, to artist managers, to hotels and restaurants. Venues and festivals of all sizes and in all contexts, in communities large and small, provide critical opportunities for artists to develop and benefit from live performance.  And in turn, the depth of our live music offering fuels tourism in Ontario  Our soon-to-be-released report will put numbers behind these statements while also identifying opportunities for further growth,” said Music Canada’s VP Public Affairs Amy Terrill.

Stay tuned for a release of the full report in November.

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Music Canada Welcomes New Federal Government

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Yesterday Canadians voted for change and elected a new federal government. Music Canada congratulates Prime Minister-designate Justin Trudeau, and we look forward to working with him and the newly elected government to rebalance the copyright regime and ensure the business needs of the music sector are met.

We are pleased that the Liberal government has committed to taking a leadership role to initiate preliminary consultations for the 2017 Copyright Review. The Liberal government’s Copyright Review promises to give full consideration to the views of artists and creators. This is an opportunity to ensure that copyright legislation works for the 21st century.

Importantly, the Liberal government recognizes the significant challenges that creators face with the current Copyright Board structure. They have said that the current 2-3 year wait time for decisions is unacceptable due to its negative impact on people’s ability to earn a living. Music Canada has been a strong advocate for Copyright Board reform, and we look forward to partnering with our new government to find some real solutions to the problems that creators in Canada continue to face.

We look forward to speaking with the new government further on these issues, and about the recommendations of the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage study of the Music Industry. You can read more about the Liberal government’s plan for Canadian arts & culture on their website.

Music Canada is a non-profit trade organization that represents the major record companies in Canada. We also partner with a diverse cross-section of the music industry to promote and develop the business framework for music right across Canada. These partners include some of Canada’s leading independent record labels and distributors, recording studios, live music venues, concert promoters, managers and artists. Music Canada has undertaken groundbreaking research on the music sector and is a trusted source, a passionate advocate and we provide a respected forum for discussion of issues relating to music.

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London UK Tackles Failing Music Venues

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Today in London, one of the world’s most prominent Music Cities, Mayor Boris Johnson made an historic announcement in hopes of stemming the threats posed against live music venues in the city.

As described in The Mastering of a Music City, Mayor Johnson established a Music Venues Taskforce earlier this year that was chaired by Mark Davyd of the Music Venue Trust. The task force has paved the way for a commitment by the City of London to a number of key policies described and recommended in our report, including:

  • The Agent of Change principle which has been effectively used in Melbourne and Montreal;
  • The London Music Development Board, an advisory board with broad representation from the music community and key public sector departments;
  • A champion for the night-time economy; and,
  • A pro-music planning approach with such things as a Culture and Planning Guide that provides ideas as to how planning policy can protect venues and cultural spaces, and an upcoming symposium with developers.

In addition, the Mayor’s announcement says that his office “will continue to work closely with local authorities, developers and the music industry to encourage a pro-culture approach, particularly in areas where there are music zones and clusters for example Camden, Denmark Street, Hackney and Soho.

The Mayor’s Venues Taskforce conducted a census of the live music venues in the city and found that 35% had been lost since 2007. The Mayor’s press release notes the importance of venues as incubators of talent, and drivers of music tourism. Musicians Frank Turner and Ed Sheeran also commented on the announcement, reinforcing the importance of the availability of spaces for new talent as they hone their skills and develop an audience.

We’re pleased that The Mastering of a Music City has been helpful in this exercise, but the real work has been done by the members of the task force and local advocates like Shain Shapiro of the Music Cities Convention and Tim Arnold of Save Soho. Congratulations! A lot is at stake in London, a great Music City where artists from around the world go to perform.

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Music Canada on the 2015 Federal Election

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As the federal parties have now released their platforms, we are reminded of the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage study of the Music Industry. The Standing Committee held 14 meetings in the music study, hearing from 82 witnesses and received 15 briefs. This process allowed the Committee to hear from stakeholders in areas that they may normally have less opportunity to interact with, such as music education and music tourism. The report resulted in 10 good recommendations and had the support of all three main parties.

Those recommendations included efforts to strengthen support for the music industry through future investment in funding mechanisms, and notably – digital distribution and streaming, with a specific focus on copyright legislation.

As we move closer to the upcoming election, we are struck by the fact that none of these recommendations made their way into the economic or cultural party platforms. Given the broad support for these recommendations, we would like to take the opportunity to reiterate the importance of continuing to strengthen Canada’s music industry through legislative reform. As columnist Kate Taylor said earlier this year,

Musicians have faced the devaluation of their labour since at least 2000 – remember Napster? – and many now speak sadly of a society that takes a free soundtrack for granted. People refuse to understand not merely why they should pay any significant amount for streaming of downloading, but also why somebody should be paying the pianist who’s playing live in a bar or the composer whose melody can be heard over the sound system. If there is, perhaps, some growing outrage over this state of affairs, it is because musicians increasing have a lot of company.”

This “cult of free” as Kate describes it, continues to harm Canada’s digital economy and its creators. The latest iteration of this is Aurous, a new service that uses an interface similar to other paid streaming models such as Spotify or Rdio, but allows users to stream music using BitTorrent technology without paying artists. Piracy is still a problem, and not just for musicians. For publishers, and creators of all kinds who need a functioning online marketplace in which to conduct their business and make a living.

Our colleagues at the CMPA have put together an in-depth examination of three federal parties’ music platforms. It is interesting how much each party is talking about the need for further copyright reform.

It appears as though all parties agree that the decision-making process of the Copyright Board lacks deadlines and any procedural certainty. The industry may have disagreement about the details of the Board itself, but one thing we all agree on is: it’s cumbersome, and needs to be changed. The Conservatives, with their majority on the Heritage Committee, along with the three parties interviewed for this survey, all have a workable plan to change this, and we are looking forward to working with the next government on these critical issues.

The NDP told CMPA, “as things are moving in the digital world, we believe rights holders and the public are both losing in this situation.” Support for increased copyright protections are evident in this survey and across the industry – we look forward to bringing these, and other concerns to government in the 2017 Copyright Review. The digital revolution isn’t going to go away. In fact, it’s going to continue changing, and at even faster speeds than it is now. It’s time the government make changes to help protect and foster Canada’s creative businesses.

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